WEST BOYLSTON — Taking sixth place in the Cape Cod National Invitational last week left a bit of a sour taste in the mouth of the St. John’s of Shrewsbury golf team.
Sunday afternoon, battling a windy and frigid day on its home Wachusett Country Club course, the Pioneers found a much sweeter result in another battle of the best.
All four scorers finished under 80 in the Catholic Conference Championship, guiding St. John’s back to the winning mark it’s used to with a first-place score of a plus-20.
The Pioneers didn’t have the top individual scorer, as BC High’s Jack Waldner came in from the last group to take the crown with a score of 74 (two-over). They did show the most depth to take the top team prize, though, led by Dom Garbarino’s 76 (four-over).
The Eagles finished second with a plus-27, just edging St. John’s Prep with a plus-28.
Pioneers head coach Sean Noonan was more than pleased with the win, especially considering the undesirable conditions outside.
“It’s a huge win,” said Pioneers head coach Sean Noonan. “It’s always nice to get a win no matter what, this is a tough conference. … It took a long time, it was cold – it was a perfect time to teach. This is mentally (tough).
“It was great. It’s good for the program.”
Garbarino split the second-place mark of 76 with St. John’s Prep’s Tripp Hollister and Terry Manning. Manning was mostly shot-for-shot in the first group with one of the Pioneers’ next-best scorers, Matt Quinn, who finished at 77 (five-over). Ronan Mooney also scored a 77 for the Pioneers and Nick Genhardt rounded out the top finish with a 78 (six-over).
“Everyone played well,” Sean Noonan said. “That’s kind of our MO this year. We don’t have a superstar, we have a lot of really good, solid golfers. 76, 77, 77, 78 – that’s good playing today in this weather. I’m happy with that.”
It looked like the individual crown would be split three ways up until the very last score was submitted, as Waldner came inside from the dark with a surprised grin when someone told him his score was the top finish.
Putts were working especially well for him on the fast greens, and he kept cool with consistency by only bogeying three times and double-bogeying once. Even despite tough visibility, his best stretch was the back nine with six pars and two birdies.
“It’s just exciting. I wasn’t expecting it, and it was fun,” he said. “I made a lot of putts, it felt easy. … I just tried to keep it simple (in the weather conditions).”
Nick McCabe played a big role for BC High as well with a 77 (five-over).
CATHOLIC CONFERENCE GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
Wachusett Country Club
Team Scores:
1.) St. John’s (S), +20
2.) BC High, +27
3.) St. John’s Prep, +28
Individual Scores:
1.) Jack Waldner, BC High, 74 (+2)
T2.) Terry Manning, St. John’s Prep, 76 (+4)
T2.) Dom Garbarino, St. John’s (S), 76 (+4)
T2.) Tripp Hollister, St. John’s Prep, 76 (+4)
T5.) Matt Quinn, St. John’s (S), 77 (+5)
T5.) Brendan Zinck, Malden Catholic, 77 (+5)
T5.) Nick McCabe, BC High, 77 (+5)
T5.) Ronan Mooney, St. John’s (S), 77 (+5)