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EXETER — In the District 2 Team Golf Championships on Friday, Wyoming Valley Conference champs Crestwood and Wyoming Seminary had to deal with many obstacles.
Not only did eight of the 10 golfers have to deal with pockets of downpouring showers as their rounds were wrapping up, they also had to overcome strong opponents.
The Comets faced Wallenpaupack and coach Bob Simons, who is the state’s all-time winningest coach. The Blue Knights were up against Forest City and its two very good golfers.
Those obstacles proved to be too much for the WVC schools as Crestwood fell to Wallenpaupack 330-341 in the Class 3A final, and Sem dropped the decision to the Foresters 339-366 in the 2A championship.
Still, both teams had solid seasons. Coughlin was the favorite pick to win WVC 3A this season, but the Comets defeated the Crusaders twice in team tournaments, the Tryba Preseason Tournament and earlier in the week at the WVC Team Playoffs.
The Blue Knights finished an undefeated season for the first time in at least 10 years and will be represented at next week’s District 2 Individual Championships at Elmhurst Country Club with five golfers.
“We have accomplished a lot this year. I think we achieved a lot more than I expected at the beginning of the year,” Crestwood coach Mark Jarolen said. “When you think about winning the Tryba, going 10-1, winning our division and winning our overall conference championship and second in Triple-A District 2. Not a bad year.”
On Friday, the Comets improved by 11 strokes from their showing earlier in the week when it defeated Coughlin led by Shane Angle’s 82 and John Hawley’s and Tyler Papura’s 83, but it still wasn’t enough to top the Buckhorns as Kyle Pillar and Corbin Babyak each shot 79 for the low score by anyone at Fox Hill Country Club.
Although Simons now has 591 career victories, he picked up his first District 2 title; the team has previously won District 12 championships before moving to D2 in the mid 1990s.
Crestwood’s Mike Golden shot 93 to round out the team’s scorers, while Molly Mowatt and Alex Pillar fired 86 for Wallenpaupack.
“It’s a good group. They really enjoy playing. They don’t put a lot of pressure on themselves and they do what they have to,” Jarolen said.
Seminary’s lowest score came from Hubert Bournival, who finished the day with 88. Three Foresters shot lower than him though. Dylan Odell and Adam Kowaleski, both returning District 2 qualifiers who were in contention to qualify for the regional tournament last year, led the team shooting 80 and 84. Forest City freshman Collin Ennis also scored 84, and Mitchell Blake added a 91.
After Bournival, Jarod Godlewski carded 90, Dan Rogers shot 93 and Liam Gilroy fired 95. Bournival, Rogers and Gilroy will participate in the individual district tournament on Monday and will be joined by teammates Bobby Wilson and Noah Munley.
Crestwood’s Angle, Hawley and John McGroarty will also look to reach regionals by shooting a low score at districts.
Wallenpaupack advances to the team regional round and will take on Selinsgrove; Forest City faces Montgomery/Muncy in the 2A regional; both matches will be on Thursday at Eagles Mere Country Club in Muncy Valley.
District 2 Team Golf Championships
CLASS 3A
Wallenpaupack`330
Kyle Pillar`38-41-79
Corbin Babyak`38-41-79
Molly Mowatt`41-45-86
Alex Pillar`45-41-86
Crestwood`341
Shane Angle`38-44-82
John Hawley`42-41-83
Tyler Papura`39-44-83
Mike Golden`46-47-93
CLASS 2A
Forest City`339
Dylan Odell`42-38-80
Adam Kowalewski`40-44-84
Chris Bebla`42-42-84
Mitchell Blake`49-42-91
Wyoming Seminary`366
Hubert Bournival`44-44-88
Jarod Godlewski`39-51-90
Dan Rogers`47-46-93
Liam Gilroy`43-52-95
