Though it had already proved that it was good, the Cicero-North Syracuse Blue boys golf team saved its best and important effort for when it counted most.
The Northstars emerged from a close four-way contest for the top spot Wednesday at Radisson Greens to take the Section III fall championship among Salt City Athletic Conference Metro division sides.
And while that was going on, Liverpool claimed some sectional honors, too, when senior Dylan Husted emerged as the individual medalist, beating out, among others, his Warriors teammate, Spencer Baum.
This particular sectional team tournament carried all sorts of mystery, partially because of the close competition among C-NS Blue, Fayetteville-Manlius and Baldwinsville during the regular season.
The Northstars lost both head-to-head matches with the Hornets, but split with the Bees, including a 191-198 loss to B’ville earlier in the week at Timber Banks.
Another element to the story was the elements itself. Cold temperatures, occasional wind and a Radisson course that took lots of rain in the 24 hours before the sectional tournament would make it play much longer than its listed 6,600-plus yards.
With scores tightly bunched among all the contenders, what made the difference for C-NS Blue was the fact that it was the only team to record four 18-hole scores below 80.
Senior Ryan Sisco led the Northstars, shooting a five-over-par 77. Right behind him, sophomore Jake Nardozza posted a 78, while junior D.J. Villnave and freshman Sean Lawler each put together rounds of 79.
It was an 82 from junior Darin Townsend that ended up clinching the sectional title as C-NS Blue finished at 395, four shots ahead of both B’ville and West Genesee, who finished at 399 as F-M posted 400 to take fourth place.
Meanwhile, the individual race, which included SCAC Empire division golfers, would feature no golfer running away from the field, which ultimately favored Husted.
Putting together an even-par 72, Husted did enough to finish one stroke head of the 73 from Oswego’s Ryan Bartlett. Baum, who began the season by winning the Drumlins Invitational, managed a 74 and finished alone in third place.
Aside from the 91 by Austin Alberici and 95 from Brian Pellegrino, C-NS also had its Green team in the sectional tournament, which finished with a team score of 435.
Cullen Scott’s 84 paced C-NS Green, with Riley Rumble and Carter Costello both shooting 86. Brody Kennedy had an 89 as Devin Kellogg produced a 90. They were ahead of a 92 from Nick Wentworth.
Liverpool shot a team score of 429, just ahead of C-NS Green. Behind Husted and Baum, Dante Cassella posted a 90, with Connor Boland earning a 96 and Kyle Kirkby shooting 97 as Kaeden Hacker finished at 104.
All five of C-NS Blue’s top finishers – Sisco, Nardozza, Villnave, Lawler and Townsend – joined Husted and Baum in qualifying for the May sectional state qualifying tournament at Seven Oaks.
Before all this, C-NS Blue and C-NS Green had one more head-to-head match,, with Blue prevailing 189-219. Sisco shot a 35, with Nardozza getting a 36 as Villnave and Sam Thompson each posted 39 and Lawler added a 40.
For C-NS Green, it was Kennedy and Cullen Scott posting rounds of 41 in front of the 44 by Wentworth as Rumble had a 46 and Joe Degroat added a 47.
