CENTRAL NEW YORK – On a typical October Tuesday morning, Cazenovia and Chittenango boys golfers made their way to Rogues Roost and teed off in the Section III small-school fall tournament.
And as it turned out, the Lakers and Bears would finish with the exact same team total, with some special individual efforts part of the story.
Finishing at 417, Cazenovia and Chittenango tied for fourth place. Christian Brothers Academy, unbeaten in the regular season, shot 405 to edge Skaneatlees (409) for team honors as Westhill was third with 411.
Even more exciting was the individual performances, featuring two golfers who made big announcements early in the week that they would both attend Hobart College in Geneva.
Cazenovia senior Jack Byrnes will do so in baseball, having played four different sports, including two in the fall as he took part in golf while taking a starring role on the state Class B no. 3-ranked football Lakers.
Meanwhile, Chittenango senior Alex Moesch is on his way to Hobart for basketball after leading the Bears to its first sectional championship since 1977.
And this happened just as both would contend for sectional golf honors, with Moesch shooting a 75 at Rogues Roost to finish third behind Homer’s Mitch Riter (71) and CBA’s Jack Gregory (73).
Right behind him was Byrnes, whose 76 shared fourth place with Westhill’s Devin Young. Also, Byrnes’ teammate, Liam Colligan, tied for ninth with a 79 and Moesch’s teammate, Ty Kelly, had an 81 to finish alone in 13th place.
All four of them – Moesch, Byrnes, Colligan and Kelly – earned spots in next May’s Section III state qualifying tournament.
Cazenovia arrived with a bit of momentum following last Monday’s tough 210-211 victory over Skaneateles in the latest Laker duel at Cazenovia Country Club.
Colligan shot 37 that beat out 38s from Skaneateles’ Drew Mancini and Jack Marquardt. Byrnes shot a fourth-place 40.
Just as important were the 43s from Will Guider and Chris Kelly, which allowed Cazenovia to stay out in front, but Nick Guider had to shoot 47 to maintain that lead against a 43 from Will Murphy, a 45 from Tyson DiRubbo and 46 from Henry Major.
