Three from County Qualify for State Golf Tourney
LENOX, Mass. -- Three individuals from Berkshire County on Tuesday earned the right to compete in next week's Division 2 State Championship at Crumpin-Fox.
Mount Greylock's Matt Wiseman carded a 9-over-par round of 78 to place fourth overall at the Western Massachusetts D2 Championships at Cranwell Resort and Golf Club.
Eight teams and four individuals competed for sectional honors and the right to advance to the state championships.
Cathedral High repeated as the team champion with a score of 331, beating runner-up Belchertown by nine strokes. Both the Panthers and Orioles will compete at Bernardston's Crumpin-Fox as teams.
Of the four individuals in Tuesday's field, both the Berkshire County entrants earned the right to advance on their own. Drury High School's Nick Bator tied for fifth place with a 79, and Monument Mountain's Dylan Buffoni tied for eighth with an 83.
Bator, who teed off on the first hole on Tuesday, said that his day got better after making the turn, and things looked even brighter when he sank a 4-foot birdie putt on the 315-yard, par-4 14th hole.
"I was doing alright up to there and then the birdie helped," Bator said. "The front nine I didn't do great on. The back nine, which I did worse on in the practice round, I did much better on today."
Like Bator, Wiseman, who started on the third hole, rallied halfway through his round.
"I had kind of a slow start," Wiseman said. "I got about eight holes in and I was already six over, and then I kind of got it going and played the last 10 at 2-over. That kind of saved me. I putted really well today. That kept me in it.
"I made a nice par putt on the 11th hole. That kind of got momentum going. Then I got a couple of pars and a birdie."
Wiseman's coach was not surprised that Wiseman's play on the green was the key on Tuesday.
"Matt has a great touch," Brian Gill said."He's great around the greens.
"And the greens on the back - Ben [Gilooly] will be the first to tell you - ate him up. They ate Kyle [Alvarez] up. Normally, Kyle has that great touch. He didn't have it today, and Matt did."
Gilooly and Alvarez carded rounds of 85 and 88, respectively, for Mount Greylock, which finished fourth in the eight-team field.
The other Berkshire County team in full force on Tuesday was Wahconah, which placed seventh behind rounds of 91 and 92 from Gage Frazier and Andrew Beaudoin.
Gill said the Mounties were hoping to send their whole team to Bernardston next week, but they're happy to be sending Wiseman.
"We're ecstatic about our share of the Berkshire County title," he said. "We're ecstatic Matt is moving on. We're a little bit disappointed as a team that we don't get to keep going.
"We didn't have that fourth score that we needed. We knew we needed a fourth score, and we didn't have it today. But still we were close. It could have happened, and that's why you're frustrated.
"But I love my team. I'm not going to take anything away from them. We're just a touch disappointed."
TEAM SCORES
1. Cathedral 331
2. Belchertown 340
3. Palmer 342
4. Mount Greylock 349 (Matt Wiseman 78; Ben Gilooly 85; Kyle Alvarez 88; Bennett Zimmerman 98)
5. Southwick 350
6. Frontier 352
7. Wahconah 395 (Gage Frazier 91; Andrew Beaudoin 92; Mike Shea 106; Thomas Gonzales 106)
8. Mahar 411
TOP 10 INDIVIDUALS
1. Ryan Chrabascz, Belchertown, 36-39--75
2. Joe Brosseau, Cathedral, 43-34--77; Billy Marchard, Cathedral, 41-37--77
4. Matt Wiseman, Mount Greylock, 41-37--78
5. Nick Bator, Drury, 41-38--79; Nathan Murphy, Palmer, 37-42--79.
7. Nate Patterson, Frontier, 41-39--80
8. Dylan Buffoni, Monument Mountain, 42-41--83; Frankie Murray, Belchertown, 45-38--83
10. Zac Steigmeyer, Cathedral, 40-44--84