Boys' Varsity Golf

The Peddie girls' golf team claimed the team title at the 10th Swing Against Cancer Golf Invitational at the Peddie Golf Club on Saturday afternoon. Over eight thousand dollars was raised for the American Cancer Society.

Freshman Ella Chon fired a seven-over par 80 (40-40) to capture medalist honors for the Falcons, besting Lawrenceville's Angel Zhang (80) on a match of cards. Junior Ava Chon (85), senior Shannon Boyle (87) and freshman Emma Li (88) rounded out the Falcons' top scorecards. Peddie (340) held off Blair's late charge to win by five strokes.

"I had a lot of fun playing yesterday. Both my driver and putter were working well," said E. Chon. "My birdies on eleven (par 4, 307 yds.) and thirteen (par 3, 135 yds.) really helped save my round. We have an amazing team of talented and supportive girls this year, and I feel so fortunate to be a part of the Peddie team."

Coach Stefanie Graefe expressed the importance of veteran leadership and the contributions of newcomers to the program.

"Shannon Boyle, Kathleen Zhang and Ava Chon have provided mentorship and encouragement for our new young players," she said. "Our freshmen, Emma Li and Ella Chon, have brought incredible energy and focus to the team. They embrace a healthy competition challenging each other six days of the week in both practice and matches."

On the boys' tees, Lawrenceville edged Peddie by three strokes, 309-312, to capture the team trophy.

Garrett Kessler of West Essex shot a one-over 73 (38-35) to earn medalist honors for boys. Junior Winston Kelenc-Blank posted a 75 (37-38) to lead the Falcons' runner-up finish, followed by junior Kaiwen Wang (78), and seniors Chris Dorey (79) and Rohan Kichlu (80).

From the links, Peddie boys' coach Ben Bickford said: "Our players had a great day and to place second in this event is a solid accomplishment. I am also very happy for our girls' team which has been working so hard and deserves this victory. I hope we can build upon this result and continue to have success the rest of the season. We know that we will see these MAPL teams later in the season, and we look forward to the challenge. Particularly after the year these kids have endured, I am just happy to see them out on the golf course with all of these other great golfers.

"More importantly, this event is about thinking about others and competing with a great cause in mind. The American Cancer Society does great work, and I am proud of our efforts on their behalf. Golf can be a very individual sport, so it is gratifying to see our golfers dedicate themselves to this cause. It makes me very proud as both a coach and faculty member."

Girls' Team Scores: 1-Peddie 340. 2-Blair 345. 3-Hill 399. 4-Hun 405. 5-Lawrenceville 436.

Boys' Team Scores: 1- Lawrenceville 309 2-Peddie 312. 3-Hill 318. 4-Hun 322. 5-West Essex 323. 6-St. Joe's Regional 326. 7- St. Augustine 328. 8-Blair 366. 9-Pennington 374.

COMPLETE TEAM INDIVIDUAL SCORES

Girls' Top Individual Results: (Par 72, 5,555 yards)

• 1. Ella Chon (40-40) 80, Peddie (Match of Cards)
• 2. Angel Zhang (38-42) 80, Lawrenceville
• 3. Lucy Barton (43-40) 83, Blair
• 4. Chloe Barton (40-44) 84, Blair
• 5. Ava Chon (44-41) 85, Peddie
• 6. Molly Wu (45-42) 87, Blair
• 6. Lynssi Italia (43-44) 87, Hun
• 6. Shannon Boyle (43-44) 87, Peddie
• 9. Emma Li (45-43) 88, Peddie
• 10. Kathleen Zhang (49-40) 89, Peddie
• 11. Jass Sanchez (51-40) 91, Blair
• 11. LuLu Nakagawa (45-46) 91, Hill
• 13. Ellinor Lagor (46-47) 93, Hill

Boys' Top Individual Results: (Par 72, 6,278 yards)

• 1. Garrett Kessler (38-35) 73, West Essex
• 2. Brendan Meagher (39-35) 74, St. Augustine
• 2. Jack Tarzy (37-37) 74, Hun
• 2. Ben Gubbay (38-36) 74, Lawrenceville
• 5. Winston Kelenc-Blank (37-38) 75, Peddie
• 6. Jack Saad (39-37) 76, Lawrenceviile
• 6. Lucas Steinmetz (35-41) 76, Hill
• 8. Liam Krey (40-37) 77, St. Joe's Regional
• 9. Billy Gussler (39-39) 78, Hill
• 9. Nick Rafetto (40-38) 78, Hill
• 9. Adrian Jordan (38-40) 78, Lawrenceville
• 9. Kaiwen Wang (41-37) 78, Peddie
• 13. Isaiah Marseille (39-40) 78, Blair
• 13. Christian Deussing (40-39) 79, Hill
• 13. Chris Dorey (41-38) 79, Peddie
• 13. Luke Jeanes (40-39) 79, Pennington

The Peddie boys' golf team claimed the 2021 Mid-Atlantic Prep League Championship on Wednesday at Trenton Golf Club, posting a three-pair total of 236 (78.7 avg.), good enough for a six-stroke advantage over runner-up Lawrenceville. Intermittent rain and slick greens made for difficult shotmaking on the par 72, 6,369-yard layout.

"The boys played a very impressive tournament on a challenging golf course in really tough conditions," said coach Ben Bickford, who picked up his seventh MAPL title. "On any day, Trenton Country Club is a real test, but with the rainy weather, it was particularly challenging. The format of the MAPL championship means that all players need to contribute to the ultimate team effort, so this win in many ways is the most gratifying result we can ask for.

"But we are not done. We have four more matches and States, and our guys are playing some of their best golf. I look forward to seeing what they can do as we concluded the season."

Leading the Falcons, Chris Dorey '21 and Winston Kelec-Blank '22 fired a 3-over par 75. The Falcon duo recorded a 40 alternating shots on the front nine and steadied themselves coming home on the best-ball card with a 1-under 35. Rohan Kichlu '21 and Tair Sarsenov '23 notched an 80 (42-38), while Kevin Wang '22 and his partner Deven Seth '22 shot an 81 (43-38).

Hill School's Billy Gussler and Thomas Beaudoin teamed up to record a tournament-best 2-over par 74 (38-36), and the Lawrenceville tandem of Jack Saad and Dorian Robinson posted a 77 (41-36) for a third-place finish.

The modified Ryder Cup format adds some intriguing variables to the outcome of the MAPL. Each school fields three, two-man teams and plays 18 holes. The front nine is alternate shots, the back nine best ball. In the alternate ball scoring, partners take turns hitting the same ball and alternately hitting the tee shots. On the back nine, each player plays his own golf ball and the low score among the two partners on each hole is that team's score.

Since the tournament's inception in 1999, Peddie tops the leaderboard with nine titles, followed by Blair (six), Hill (four) and Lawrenceville (three).

TEAM SCORES: PEDDIE (236), Lawrenceville (242), Hill (245), Hun (251), Blair (254).

Junior Winston Kelenc-Blank fired a 2-over par 74 to claim third place (on cards) for Peddie at the NJISAA Prep A Tournament on Thursday and senior teammate Chris Dorey added another 74 to lead the Falcons to a four-player total of 306, besting runner-up Lawrenceville by nine strokes. Junior Deven Seth shot a 77, while sophomore Tair Sarsenov rounded out the Peddie scorecard with an 81 on the par 72, 6,278-yard layout at the Peddie Golf Club. With the win, Peddie earned its second straight championship.

Freshman Adrian Jordan claimed medalist honors for Lawrenceville with a sparkling 1-under par 71.

Morristown-Beard earned the Prep B title with a 344 as Logan Jaeger led the Crimson charge with a 79, good enough for the medalist award.

NJISAA Boys' Golf - Prep A Team Results 1. Peddie 306 [Winston Kelenc-Blank (74), Chris Dorey 74, Deven Seth (77), Tair Sarsenov (81)]; 2. Lawrenceville 315 [Adrian Jordan (71), Ben Gubbay (77), Jack Saad (80), Jimmy Decillo (80)]; 3. Hun School 322 [Jack Tarzy (76), Christian Deussing (80), Jack Kearns (80), Michael Deussing (86)]; 4. Blair 338 [Bryaden Bae (77), Isaiah Marseille (78), Josh Thomas (85), Matt Neuffer (98)]
5. Oratory Prep 341 [John Clarke (74), Pete Skinner (85), Joe Marchese (89), Jack Callandriello (93)]

NJISAA Boys' Golf - Prep B Team Results 1. Morristown-Beard 344 (Logan Jaeger (79), Justin Benbasset (86), Mathew McIntyre (87), Thomas Cotter (92); 2. Princeton Day School 350 [Eli Soffer (81), Robert Ding (86), Karan Shah (90), Jamie Granato (93)]; 3. Pennington School 365 [Leo Brunk (80), Luke Jeanes (91), Eddie Kennedy (96), Tom Maguire (98)]; 4. Montclair Kimberley 368 [Mike Cestone (85), Bryce Cherry (90), Russell Francis (94), Jack Silva (99)]

Top Individual Scorers Under 80 Prep A:
1. Adrian Jordan (L'ville) 71
2. John Clarke (Oratory) 74 (second by comparing cards)
3. Winston Kelenc-Blank (Peddie) 74 (third by comparing cards)
4. Chris Dorey (Peddie) 74
5. Jack Tarzy (Hun) 76
6. Deven Seth (Peddie) 77
6. Bryaden Bae (Blair) 77
6. Ben Gubbay (L'ville) 77
9. Isaiah Marseille (Blair) 78

Top (7) Individual Scorers Prep B
1. Logan Jaeger (Morristown-Beard) 79
2. Leo Brunk (Pennington) 80
3. Eli Soffer (PDS) 81
4. Mike Cestone (Montclair Kimberley) 85
5. Justin Benbasset (Morristown-Beard) 86
5. Robert Ding (PDS) 86
7. Mathew McIntyre (Morristown-Beard) 87