While the last word aim for the River Hill golf crew this fall could also be repeating as state champions, the street to defending titles formally kicked off in emphatic trend Tuesday on the District V event at Crofton Country Club.
The Hawks, for a 3rd straight season, captured the district crown as a crew, posting a four-player complete of 298, eight pictures higher than second-place Marriotts Ridge (306). It’s the bottom district crew complete in program historical past.
Leading the way in which to victory was senior Benjamin Siriboury, who received the boys particular person title by three pictures over Marriotts Ridge junior George Williamson, taking pictures a 1-under-par 71. . It marks the second profession district crown for Siriboury, who now seems to be to turn into the primary boys participant in Maryland highschool golf historical past to win three straight state championships when the state event tees off on the University of Maryland on Oct. 23-25.
“I don’t want to say that the team has something to prove, but I think there’s a part of them that wants to show that last year wasn’t a fluke,” River Hill coach Matt Graves stated. “These kids are very driven and they know what is at the end of the tunnel. They have set the bar incredibly high and now the question is: Can we back it up? Today I think was a big step toward showing what we are capable of.”
For all of the acquainted faces atop the crew and boys particular person competitions, there was a breakthrough champion among the many ladies. Following a number of top-three postseason finishes the final couple seasons, Glenelg senior Megan Kirkpatrick fired an even-par 72 to edge River Hill’s Helen Yeung (73) by one shot to vault herself into the winner’s circle for the primary time.
“It really just feels so great because I have come so close so many times and it seems like it’s always been River Hill this or Marriotts Ridge that. So, yeah, to finally get one is really amazing,” Kirkpatrick stated. “The funny thing was I actually wasn’t that nervous coming into today. I just kind of felt like if I just played my best, then that’s all I could control and things would then work out however they were supposed to.”
Five groups — River Hill, Marriotts Ridge, Crofton (330), Glenelg (334) and Severna Park (343) — certified for the state event later this month. Additionally, all male gamers that shot 82 or higher and all feminine gamers that shot 96 or higher superior to states.
Crofton was the highest Anne Arundel county college, led by junior Owen Newberry, who tied for third individually with a 76. Despite advancing, coach Collin Snyder stated he’s nonetheless ready to see his group put all of it collectively.
“Our goal today wasn’t just to qualify, it was to win. We were [third] last year and our goal was to improve, so we really haven’t quite lived up to our expectations yet,” Snyder stated. “I think some of it is that the kids are putting pressure on themselves to compete for and win that state championship as a team, which I don’t think is necessarily a bad thing, but it just means that we have to come back out here tomorrow at practice and get back to work.”
Siriboury truly stumbled out of the gates. An errant method over the inexperienced on the primary gap led to a bogey and his drive on the second gap discovered the bushes down the left.
But he managed to regular the ship with a number of pars earlier than birding the par-3 fifth. Later, back-to-back birdies on the twelfth and thirteenth holes distanced himself from the sphere and allowed him to cruise in for the three-shot win.
“I was a bit worried, actually, coming in because I have a new swing I’m working on and I wasn’t really feeling it. I told my dad before the round that I didn’t know what to expect and after those first few swings, it was definitely not too good,” Siriboury stated. “Luckily, although, I used to be capable of finding my groove a few holes in as I obtained extra used to it. It actually was only a matter of staying affected person, I feel.
“I missed some wedges later in the round, but I was able to save myself on those holes by getting up and down.”
On the way in which to ending alone in second place, Williamson made one birdie and 4 bogeys. It marks the very best postseason end of his profession.
“I’ve been playing a lot in the offseason and in the county matches I did pretty good, so I felt like I was ready to compete and try to get over the line in one of these three postseason tournaments,” Williamson stated. “I was close today and I feel good heading into counties next week.”
In addition to Crofton’s Newberry, additionally inserting within the high 5 among the many boys had been Broadneck’s Ben Coe (T3, 76) and Southern’s Winston Thomas (T3, 76).
Like Siriboury, Kirkpatrick bogeyed her first gap of the day earlier than surging to the highest of the leaderboard. It was a birdie on her third gap, the par 3 twelfth, that obtained her going. She then rattled off 9 straight pars earlier than a birdie on No. 4 moved her below par for the primary time.
It was one other birdie on her seventeenth gap, matching a birdie by a hard-charging Yeung, that saved Kirkpatrick forward by two pictures heading into the ultimate gap.
She then proceeded to hit her tee shot on the final par 3 to inside 15 toes of the flag. That’s when issues obtained attention-grabbing, nevertheless, as she raced her first putt almost 15 toes previous the outlet.
“The adrenaline kind of picked up there on that last green when I realized how close I actually was [to winning] and I think that was probably the first time all day I actually felt nervous,” Kirkpatrick stated. “Luckily that birdie on the hole before kept me ahead by two, so I had an extra shot to work with. I was able to refocus myself, knowing I just needed to two-putt to still win.”
Kirkpatrick calmly reset herself and lagged her par putt to inside a foot of the outlet, permitting her to faucet in for bogey and the one-shot victory.
Yeung, a two-time defending particular person state champion in her personal proper, performed her remaining 4 holes Tuesday in 2-under par to place a little bit stress on Kirkpatrick. It finally was simply too little, too late.
“It took a lot of grit out here today and I think I just finally found my swing tempo there in the middle of the back nine,” Yeung stated. “It was kind of a wakeup call for me I think when I finally made my first birdie on No. 6, the par 5. I kind of kept it going from there, but Megan played very well throughout the round and she deserved it today.”
Rounding out the highest 5 finishers for the ladies had been Marriotts Ridge’s Lila Becker (third, 76), Severna Park’s Nicol Chovanec (T4, 77) and River Hill’s Michelle Yeung (T4, 77).
Top boys finishers: 1. Benjamin Siriboury, River Hill, 71; 2. George Williamson, Marriotts Ridge, 75; T3. Ben Coe, Broadneck, 76; T3. Owen Newberry, Crofton, 76; T3. Winston Thomas, Southern, 76; T6. Mark Berg, River Hill, 77; T6. Aidan Kim, Marriotts Ridge, 77; T6. Dev Sheth, Howard, 77; T9. Jonathan Moon, Marriotts Ridge, 78; T9. James Smack, Broadneck, 78.
Top ladies finishers: 1. Megan Kirkpatrick, Glenelg, 72; 2. Helen Yeung, River Hill, 73; 3. Lila Becker, Marriotts Ridge, 76; T4. Nicol Chovanec, Severna Park, 77; T4. Michelle Yeung, River Hill, 77; 6. Cate Lee, Atholton, 79; 7. Summer Stroop, Broadneck, 81; 8. Samadhi Tennakoon, Glenelg, 83; 9. Evelyn Park, River Hill, 85; T10. Iesha DeSilva, Glenelg, 87; T10. Charlene Pak, Marriotts Ridge, 87; T10. Riyanna Patel, Reservoir, 87.
()
Source: www.bostonherald.com