Boys Golf Wins Fourth at State

Rene Moore, Assistant Online Editor

May 17, 2019

Earlier this week the MHS boys golf team competed in the State tournament and placed fourth out of eight teams, which is one place better than the 2018 tournament where the team placed fifth out of eight teams.

Jack Cronin, junior, has been to State every year since starting high school and was All-State last year. He said the team had expected to place higher than they did based on their regular season record.

“All of us felt pretty prepared just based on how we were winning everything,” Cronin said.

He said the teams they played last year were not very good, so they were expecting to win. However, when they began playing, they realized the teams this year were much better.

However, Cronin also said he was proud of how he performed this year.

“I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do,” Cronin said. “Freshman and sophomore year, I was kinda disappointed with my finish, but I was pretty proud of myself this year.”

Cronin is hopeful and confident the team can win State next year, and that he, personally, can achieve All-State again.

Blake Mazzola, sophomore, went to State last year as well. He said he felt prepared for the tournament this year because of his experience and his team won almost every tournament they competed in this year.

“I wasn’t that nervous because I was there last year, and I just had experience from previous times,” Mazzola said.

Mazzola said he also thought they were going to win this year, but he has high hopes for next year because the team will remain the same.

“I thought we were going to win it,” Mazzola said. “We got fourth, but we only lost by a few strokes to the first place team.”

Mazzola said the teams they lost to this year will have different players next year because the majority of the students they competed against were seniors. He said this will better their chances at winning State next year because his team will have even more experience.

Mazzola said he is excited to return to State next year, and compete for first place.

“It was kind of fun since we knew everyone there, and it was a bigger tournament,” Mazzola said. “It was just really fun.”

Eric Schweain, boys golf head coach, said the team had a lot of momentum going into the State tournament this year, which made him very excited.

“We won our Conference outright with the teams they put in the Yellow Division,” Schweain said. “We won our Conference tournament, then we won Districts, then we won Sectionals.”

Schweain said the team did not practice two days after winning Sectionals because he wanted to ensure the players were staying on top of their homework and working with their teachers because they would be missing school for State.

“Then we worked a lot on short game,” Schweain said. “We love to hammer these drives long distances, but it’s from 130 yards in where you make the biggest difference.”

Schweain said he was the most confident about having five golfers with him who had experienced State before. He said there are several differences at State than other tournaments throughout the year, so having players who have already been there is beneficial.

“You’re always worried about what the elements are going to bring,” Schweain said. “On Tuesday, there was more of a wind, so you have to adjust your club selection according to the wind variation you see.”

Schweain said overall he is really proud of his team after State.

“We’ve had a number of strong runs, and we’ve had a lot of strong effort through the season,” Schweain said.

Schweain said the team is going to continue working, some even through the summer, and finish out the school year strong before coming back next year and placing better in State.

“I’ve never said this this far before season, but we’re this close,” Schweain said. “I’m going to put it out there and say our goal is to win State next year.”