Ellington finishes sixth in CIAC Division III boys golf as Alex Fox takes 10th

Carl Adamec, Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
·9 min read

Jun. 8—NEW BRITAIN — As she tapped in for bogey on the 18th hole at Stanley Golf Course Monday, Alex Fox acknowledged a small cheer from her Ellington High teammates with a wave and a smile.

For Knights' coach Michael Stiles, though, the wave signified a goodbye to his senior captain.

"It's very hard," Stiles said. "She's a captain and has been a tremendous golfer for us. She's really made me proud putting up with all the stuff of playing on a boys team for four years. She's everything you'd want in a leader, a captain, and a player."

Fox finished with a 10-over-par 81 to finish in a tie for 10th at the Division III championships.

St. Joseph won the team title with a total of 329 to edge Lewis Mills by one stroke. Tolland was third at 333. Waterford junior Danny Torres and Cromwell sophomore Jack Wise were co-medalists at 3-over 74.

"I'm just so happy to have my senior season," Fox said. "I was so bummed last year because we would have had such a great team and had a chance at states again. It is what it is. I'm happy we had this season and happy I played pretty well."

Fox was 6-over after five holes but picked up a pair of birdies to make the turn at 4-over 40. She gave the birdies back with two bogeys to open her back nine. She was able to save par on the par-4 14th when after hitting out sideways following an errant tee shot, she knocked a gap-wedge to within a foot of the hole.

A double-bogey on No. 16 ended her hopes of a top-3 showing. Her weariness showed on the final two holes with a pair of bogeys as approach shots got away from her.

Her smile didn't go away.

"I just tried to stay hydrated, stick through it, and do the best I can," Fox said.

Ellington, seeded second, settled for sixth with a team total of 345. Sophomore Bradley Sawka led with a 3-over 75 to tie for third.

Fox gave up a chance to win the Division II girls individual championship that was held Monday in order to try and help the Knights win their first team title since 2004.

She had no regrets.

"I have all summer to do my individual tournaments," Fox said. "This was my last chance to play team golf and I figured we had a pretty good chance. We had a good team and I wanted to see if we could win it."

Fox will now head to Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, to play for the reigning Division III national champions.

"I can't wait to get down there," she said.

Youth served

Tolland freshman Max Baldwin didn't play like a freshman in his first state championship event.

"I played pretty well and made about everything I looked at," Baldwin said. "It was tough because it was really hot.

"You're nervous but you have to take it shot by shot. You can't let the nerves get to you and you have to stay focused."

Baldwin finished with a 3-over 75 to be part of the tie for third place. A bogey on No. 18 would cost him a spot as co-medalist.

It was a learning experience.

"Every stroke matters," Baldwin said. "There are three or four strokes out there that everyone had that could have gotten us over the top."

Senior Max Bos tied for seventh with a 7-over 79 for the Eagles, who were seeded third.

"We had a great season but it just didn't end the way I thought it night," veteran Tolland coach Augie Link said. "We started the season well but as of late we've slumped a little. And today showed we weren't on our A-game. But Baldwin and Bos were great, and the whole team has been great to work it. I have no complaints."

Passing the torch

East Catholic saw its championship reign from 2019 come to an end as it placed fifth with a total of 338. Seniors Ben Eskin (79) and Christian Luca (82) paced the Eagles.

"We came in ranked five, and we came in where we ranked so I'm pleased with that," veteran East Catholic coach Tom Malin said. "We had some nice scores and a couple of disappointments, and that's OK. We have a relatively young team and we'll be back to compete next year."

Sawka said he didn't hit the ball as well as he wanted but managed his game well to get into the tie for third.

"He's an outstanding player, and I've had a lot of outstanding players come through our school," Stiles said. "I like his composure. He's able to move forward after a poor shot. The sky's the limit for him."

Suffield (365) finished 10th with Justin Lucido shooting an 86.

Eagle eyes

Waterford's Torres was in the clubhouse for almost two hours before Cromwell's Wise reached the tee on No. 9, his final hole.

Wise was 1-under after eight holes but a stretch of six bogeys in seven holes had him falling out of contention with three to go.

"I had to calm down," Wise said.

Solid pars on 16 and 17 gave him an opportunity to match Torres' 74 with an eagle on the 460-yard, par-5.

Nothing less would do.

"I hit a perfect drive, a nice little cut over the fairway bunker," Wise said. "I had 180 yards uphill coming in with the wind behind me. I took a 7-iron, and it ended up pin high about 15 or 20 feet away. I knew I had to make it for something good to happen."

Playing in his first state event, he'd have the best feeling he could.

"It's awesome," Wise said. "I didn't expect much, didn't expect this. I was hoping to put up my best score. This feels amazing."

St. Joseph's first state title was clinched when freshman Colin Firda tapped in for bogey on No. 18, though he didn't know it at the time.

"I got nervous at the end there," Firda said. "I thought ... I'm pretty happy, now."

Divots

Fairfield Prep won the Division I title at Tallwood Country Club by four shots over Conard with Glastonbury taking third another shot back. Connor Goode had an even-par 72 to be part of a four-way tie for second, two shots behind Amity Regional's Brett Chodos ... Led by medalist Matt Doyle (5-under 67), Daniel Hand won the Division II crown by nine shots at Timberlin Golf Course over Pomperaug. RHAM's Presten Duprey tied for eighth (76) ... In Division II girls golf, Woodstock's Mia Dang took advantage of Fox's absence as her 8-over 80 at Farmington Woods Golf Club helped the Centaurs to the team title. East Catholic finished ninth in team standings as Kendra Obrycki tied for 27th with a 105.

BOYS GOLF RESULTS

Division I

At Tallwood Country Club, Hebron (par-72)

Team results: Fairfield Prep 296, Conard 300, Glastonbury 301, Darien 304, Hall 307, New Canaan 309, Greenwich 318. Staples 321, Ridgefield 323, Fairfield Ludlowe 326, Shelton 326, Cheshire 330, Amity Rrgional 345, Xavier 347, Southington 347, Fairfield Warde 349, Manchester 355, Simsbury 356, New Milford 359.

Top 10 individuals: Brett Chodos (Amity Regional) 70; Garrett Brown (Conard) 72; Charles Schrohe (Greenwich) 72; William Huntington (Fairfield Prep) 72; Connor Goode (Glastonbury) 72; William Gregware (Conard) 73; Marc DeGaetano (New Canaan) 73; Charles Duffy (Fairfield Prep) 73; Jack Kennedy (Conard) 74; Thomas Ostberg (Darien) 74; Charlie Dolan (Glastonbury) 74.

Glastonbury (301): Gavin Kvadus 76, Ethan Kalk 85, Nicholas DiNino 79, Charlie Dolan 74, Connor Goode 72.

Manchester (355): Jonathan Kropp 94, Justin Keller 85, Jack Keller 96, Andrew Fogarty 92, Dominic Cavallo 84.

Division II

At Timberlin Golf Course, Kensington (par-72)

Team results: Daniel Hand 299, Pomperaug 308, Notre Dame-West Haven 310, Berlin 316, Farmington 316, Avon 321, East Lyme 322, RHAM 329, Wilton 333, E.O. Smith 340, Branford 344, Wethersfield 346, Masuk 349, Woodstock 354, Weston 354, Fitch 359, Guilford 363, East Haven 367, Brookfield 369.

Top 10 individuals: Matt Doyle (Daniel Hand) 67; Alex Elia (Wilton), 71; Jonathan Bushka (Notre Dame-West Haven) 71; Cole Hahn (Avon) 72; Logan Rolfe (East Lyme) 74; John Guerrera (Farmington) 74; Caleb Smith (Farmington) 75; Presten Duprey (RHAM) 76; Luke Brower (Pomperaug); 76; Braden Shea (Berlin) 76; Daniel Casanta (Pomperaug) 76; Matthew Gagliardi (Daniel Hand) 76; Jake Ivan-Pal (Notre Dame-West Haven) 76.

RHAM (329): Andrew Macca 86, Jack Luby 91, Presten Duprey 76, Jimmy Hulland 87, Carson Waddell 80.

Rockville: Cam Lucas 80.

Division III

At Stanley Golf Course, New Britain (par-71)

Team results: St. Joseph 329, Lewis Mills 330, Tolland 333, Killingly 335, East Catholic 338, Ellington 345, Waterford 349, Cromwell 362, Jonathan Law 364, Suffield 365, Stonington 369, Watertown 372, Granby 374, Morgan School 379, Sheehan 383, Plainville 390, Haddam-Killingworth 391, Bacon Academy 392, Nonnewaug 399.

Top 10 individuals: Danny Torres (Waterford) 74; Jack Wise (Cromwell) 74; Sean Dowd (Granby) 75; Max Baldwin (Tolland) 75; Bradley Sawka (Ellington) 75; Colin Firda (St. Joseph) 77; Ben Eskin (East Catholic) 79; Max Bos (Tolland) 79; Charlie Joiner (Lewis Mills) 80; Andrew Bonini (Lewis Mills) 81; Andrew Flynn (St. Joseph) 81; Alex Fox (Ellington) 81.

Tolland (333): Jacob Hickey 89, Tyler Whitwell 94, Aidan Cady 90, Max Baldwin 75, Max Bos 79.

East Catholic (338): Shane Luca 87, Adam Eskin 90, Ben Eskin 79, Nathanael DiSalvatore 91, Christian Luca 82.

Ellington (345): Aidan Stimac 95, Cameron Cole 94, Nate Miller 100, Alex Fox 81, Bradley Sawka 75.

Suffield (365): Nicholas Sickman 99, Aiden Grabowski 90, Tim Galica 94, Leif Lindeland 95, Justin Lucido 86.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.