Dave Chase knows that regular-season records don’t matter. For a sport like golf, it all comes down to what happens on the day of the championship.
Hopkinton went into the NHIAA Division II state team championship tournament as the top seed with a 29-1 record, and Mascenic went in second with a 26-1 mark. In the end, it was Woodsville (26-3 in the regular season) that came out on top at the D-IV final at Mount Washington Resort Golf Club at Bretton Woods on Tuesday.
The four Engineer scorers shot a combined 24-over-par 312 to narrowly beat Mascenic (28-over 316), while Hopkinton settled for third at a 35-over 323.
Hawks senior Evan Fairneny tied for third with a 5-over 77 over 18 holes at Mount Washington, while Hopkinton teammate Zach Hopper, a junior, finished in a four-way tie at 86 for the final spot for Saturday’s individual state championship at Beaver Meadow Golf Course, which also happens to be their home track over the summer.
Mascenic’s Josiah Hakala shot a 3-under 69, while Fall Mountain’s Mitchell Cormier was 1-under 71 to take second place ahead of Fairneny heading into Saturday’s second round.
Woodsville’s Jackson Horne tied with Fairneny for third, while Concord Christian senior Owen Carney (eighth, 9-over 81) and Hillsboro-Deering freshman Gavin Ford (11th, 12-over 84) also made the cut to advance to Saturday’s final.
Fairneny and Hopper had a great day for Hopkinton, but Woodsville had great days from all its scorers to take the school’s first-ever team crown in a contest that was – on paper – supposed to come down to Mascenic or Hopkinton.
“At the end of the day, the rest of us could not get it together,” Chase, Hopkinton’s head coach, said. “It’s one of those situations where, even though we were 29-1, it all comes down to playing well on that one day. Woodsville shot out of their minds. We battled with Mascenic all day, back and forth. (Woodsville) might have been a little more relaxed; we might have been a little tight.
“But you can’t take anything away from (Hopkinton’s) season. I couldn’t be prouder of the time and effort they put into this season.”
Tee off was supposed to be at 9 a.m., but the teams were informed late on Monday that the start had been delayed ah hour because of expected frost. When the course had melted and the golfers were able to start, it was 11 a.m.
But that isn’t an excuse, and the Hawks aren’t making any.
“It was a little quirky, but quirky for everybody,” Chase said. “They had great attitudes. As a coach, I’m very proud of all the guys. … Unfortunately in sports, sometimes you don’t have your ‘A’ game, today we didn’t.”
Gilford (334), Campbell (337), White Mountains (338), Conant (340), Prospect Mountain (345) and Fall Mountain (350) rounded out the team scores.
Concord Christian’s Owen Heizer (88); Hopkinton’s Hal Stokes (93), Bronson Ammann (96), Adam Richter (96) and Tate Doolan (97); and H-D’s Cooper Dean (113) were the other local competitors.
Coe-Brown (348) and Kearsarge (391) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the D-III championship that was played at Windham Country Club.
Souhegan (19-over 307) easily bested Derryfield (325), Lebanon (338) and Pelham (341), while Plymouth (399) and ConVal (409) rounded out the team scores.
Kearsarge senior Meghan Blood (seventh, 14-over 86), and Coe-Brown junior Jack Smith (15-over 87) and sophomore Alex Myslinksky (18-over 90) made the cut for Saturday’s individual championship.
Souhegan’s Nick Nowak (2-over 74) has a significant lead over teammate Matt Canavan (8-over 80) and ConVal’s Wyatt Burbank (9-over 81) through the first round.
Bishop Brady’s Chris Grimbilas (91) was tied with five over competitors for 14th, missing the cut by just one stroke.
Liam Marquette (93) and Hunter Demas (98) also scored for Coe-Brown, while Joe Fenton (105), Nick Miller (112) and Connor Marquette (122) also competed for the Bears.
Charlie Reeve (96), Owen Blood (101), Ryan Donelan (119) and Andrew Cushing (124) rounded out Kearsarge’s athletes, while Bishop Brady’s Jack Allen (109) and John Stark’s Adam Morrissette (115) and Bobby Arnold (119) were the other area golfers to compete.