RallyNorth.net

Mon, Oct 19, 2015 09:00 AM @ North Andover

Team	Final
Pentucket	0
at North Andover	1
Beverly	2

Knights win D2 North golf title

About six holes into his round at the Division 2 North Sectional Monday, North Andover High senior Jack McKay nearly buckled.

“I’m coming off a double-bogey, headed to one of the toughest, longest par-3s you’ll play (236-yard 16th at Hillview Country Club in North Reading), and three groups are stacked up,” said McKay. “It’s got to be 35 degrees out, and I have to sit in the cold for 20 minutes with nothing to think about but that double.”

McKay simply rose up and overcame.

“It became a mental game, and we’re pretty tough,” said McKay, who finished with a 78.

He and the Knights are on a mission, a quest that remains alive and well as they claimed the North sectional golf championship.

Frigid temps and frozen greens, a chilling relentless wind and the pressure that your high school career could end immediately all pushed scores up, changing the golf from a test of skills to a test of wills.

“It was so cold, I mean we sat for over an hour in frost delays,” said Knight Jack Kelly, who tied for fourth overall at 76, along with teammates Liam McEvoy and Sam Caron. “In the shade, or parts of fairways you were hitting off frost. It just was not a good day to be out there. But you have to have the mindset to play shot by shot and not worry about the conditions.”

The formula worked brilliantly as North Andover’s four-low score total of 306 was two shots better than runner-up Beverly.

The brilliant four-year careers of Kelly, McKay, McEvoy and Will Berberich extends to the Division 2 State Championships at Crumpin-Fox in Bernardston next week.

The 2015 Knights are the second sectional golf champ in school history. And this one comes after a third-place finish last year and a runner-up placing in 2013.

“It’s so nice to put it together under tough conditions like we did as a team,” said Kelly. “I think it’s like Will said. If we take it step by step, anything is possible.”

McKay noted after being so close the last couple years, there was a certain sense of urgency as the Knights headed to Hillview early Monday morning.

“It’s last chance to get one for us seniors,” said McKay. “We’ve been right there in the mix, but for me, there was a little added pressure I had in the back of my mind. I thought, it could be my last high school golf event. I just tried to keep my cool all day.”

As for the cold weather, McKay and Kelly says bring it on.

“We’re not a team that takes days off,” said Kelly. “We practice in anything. We’ll be ready for anything.”

In addition to the team race at states, all three 76s (Kelly, Caron and McEvoy) will be playing for the state individual crown at Crumpin-Fox.

ABBOTT ADVANCES

Amesbury’s Chris Francoeur fired a one-under par round of 69, nipping his St. John’s Prep teammate James Turner (70) to win the Division 1 North title at Beverly Tennis and Golf Club.

The Prep dominated the team battle, knocking off fellow qualifiers Lincoln-Sudbury and Malden Catholic.

Nate Abbott of Andover shot a 75 to move on to next week’s Division 1 States in the individual competition. He finished tied for sixth overall, just under the cutline of the top 10.

Abbott was the lone area state qualifier.

“I had a very good round,” said Abbott. “I played several times in the cold the past week and was able to get used to the weather.”

Of course, nothing was too easy for the senior.

“It started pretty rough, actually. I was six-over par through the first six holes. But then the greens softened up a little bit and I was able to roll some putts in. I was one-under par over the last 12 holes.”

Division 1 North Championship

at Beverly GC (par 70)

Team scores: 1. SJP 290, 2. Lincoln-Sudbury 300, 3. Westford 322, 4. Central 323, 5. Haverhill 324, 6. Andover 326

Individual scores:

Andover — Nate Abbott 75, Tyler Trapp 83, Charlie Alagero 84, Jason Spencer 84, Cole Spencer 86, Josh Gruenberg 88

Central — Alec Brunelle 78, Noah Lucier 80, Andrew Veilleux 82, Conor Osborn 83, Ryan Ajemian 86, D.J. King 91

Haverhill — Alec Steed 80, Mike Battaini 81, Sean Bellemore 81, Declan Davis 82, Jared Tucker 82, Nick Chacon 88

Methuen — Ryan Hamilton 85