When it won the Section III Class AA tournament in 2018, the West Genesee boys golf team had not gone through a spectacular reason, and instead peaked right at the end, when it counted most.
Perhaps not wanting to wait as long in 2019, the Wildcats got a crucial win on Aug. 29 at Liverpool, where depth mattered in WG’s 206-212 victory over the Warriors.
Kevin McDermott shot a 38 at Liverpool Country Club, the low individual round. No other Wildcat broke 40 as three Liverpool golfers – Spencer Baum, Dylan Husted and Connor Boland – each shot 39.
However, no other Warriors round was lower than Kyle Kirkby’s 47, and WG had Jake Weaver put up a 41, with 42s from Ryan Joyce and Dan Benetti as Peyton Mullane clinched the win with a 43.
WG then made it back-to-back wins on Aug. 30 by edging Fayetteville-Manlius’ White team 207-212. Mullane and Weaver led this time around, their 38s just ahead of Kevin McDermott’s 40 as Benetti had a 43 and Ryan McLane finished with a 48. Ryan Till shot a 49.
A rematch with Liverpool loomed on Thursday afternoon at Westvale, and while it was closer, the result was the same, WG doing just enough to beat the Warriors 194-197.
On Liverpool’s side, Husted tore his way to a 32 and Baum shot 34, while Boland had a 37. Then it went all the way down to a 44 from Dante Cassella and a 50 from Kyle Kirkby.
Far more consistent, had all of its players shoot between 37 and 40, Weaver leading the Wildcats with a 37 as McDermott had a 38, Benetti shot a 39 and 40s were posted by Mullane and Joyce.
This tough week concluded with WG welcoming Fayetteville-Manlius Green to Westvale in a first-place showdown, and while the Wildcats had some good rounds, it still lost 187-197 to the Hornets.
Mullane’s 35 beat every individual except F-M Green’s Adam Butch, who had a 33. Three other Hornets broke 40, while only McDermott (38) joined Mullane in that category for WG as Benetti and Joyce both shot 41 and McLane added a 42.
Skaneateles improved to 4-1 with its 217-251 victory over LaFayette on Aug. 30 at Orchard Valley, with Ty Jones again at the forefront for the Lakers thanks to his nine-hole score of 38.
Tyson DiRubbo remained consistent, finishing with a 41, while Shawn Luce earned a 43. Drew Henderson, with his round of 47, was one shot clear of the 48 from Spencer Mack.
Another win came on Wednesday, Skaneateles playing in its sixth consecutive road match but still finding enough to defeat Tully 222-238 at Vesper Hills.
Jones continued to pace everyone, recording a 35 that was well clear of the 42 shot by Luce. DiRubbo and Henderson both finished with 47s and Charles Pinckney and Reese Dunn had matching rounds of 51.
Westhill prevailed on Aug. 30 against Homer, a 217-230 decision at Cortland Country Club fueled by a 40 from Anthony Maglisco and a 41 from Aidan Ryan. Luke Gilmartin and Mike Britt each shot 43, with James Hunt contributing a 50.
Back home at Camillus Hills last Tuesday, Westhill won again, 220-251, over Chittenango, with Maglisco’s second straight 40 just clear of a 41 by Ryan.
Hunt improved to a 44, matching the Bears’ Tyrus Kelly, while Devin Young got a 47 and Britt added a 48, and Westhill followed up on Thursday with an impressive 203-227 victory over Tully at Camillus Hills.