2024 Shore high school golf: Boys, girls preview, top players, rankings, schedule
There was a seismic shift on the boys high school golf landscape locally last spring, as Wall ended a decade-plus of CBA dominance to emerge as the Shore’s top team, and one of the best in the state.
Now, with Monmouth commit Pat Scenna leading the way, the Crimson Knights look to repeat at the Monmouth County and Shore Conference Tournaments, and make a run at an overall state championship after finishing fourth a year ago.
“We knew last year how good a chance we had, and this year I feel we have an even better chance, so we’re excited to get back to it,” said Scenna, who won the individual MCT title and finished a shot back at the SCT last season. “We’ve been hitting the ball until it's dark out to get ready, to be ready when it’s time to play tournaments and play the best we can. Hopefully when TOC comes around we’re all playing well.”
How dominant had CBA been?
The Colts had won 10 straight Monmouth County Tournament titles, dating back to 2012, and 12 straight Shore Conference Tournament titles. But the Crimson Knights pulled off a sweep, shooting 299 at Charleston Springs to win the Shore Conference title.
Wall coach Matt Stefanski always puts together a challenging schedule, and this season is no different, with his team set to face top competition, including defending its title Wednesday at the Garden State Cup, after beating Don Bosco Prep, Hunterdon Central, the eventual state champion, CBA and Westfield there a year ago.
It all begins with Monday’s Wall Invitational at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune, with a strong field expected for the season-opening event.
“We’re not there yet, but we have the potential to be one of the best teams in the state,” said Stefanski, entering his 21st season, with his program having won five of the last eight sectional titles, and Group 2 crowns in 2021 and 2023.
Scenna, who was top 3 at MCT, SCT and the state championship tournament as a sophomore in 2022, when he won the individual title at the Wall Invitational.
“I feel like in this preseason we seem we’re just as good as we were last year, even after losing Alex (Menges) and some other guys. Bo (Boden Pepe) and Charlie (Cormey) have gotten exponentially better over the last year. They’re going to be competing in all the events now to win, not just help the team out.”
Scenna and Holmdel star Patrick Sharpe, a runner-up at last year's SCT, will join Menges, and ex-CBA star Ethan Lee at Monmouth next season, as the Hawks’ seek to use local talent as a foundation for building the program up.
And for Scenna and other top Shore players, there’s motivation provided by the fact that two former Shore Conference champs, CBA’s Chris Gotterup and Mater Dei’s Ryan McCormick, are playing on the PGA Tour this season.
“I’ve heard stories about (Gotterup) from a lot of people, about how maybe he wasn’t on that Tour trajectory in high school but in college (at Rutgers) he worked harder than anyone else and now he’s on the Tour,” Scenna said. “I’m hoping to get to college and put the work in and try to do what he does.”
GIRLS GOLF: Holmdel wants more
It is exciting time for Holmdel girls golf, with the Hornets coming into the 2024 season as defending champions in both the Monmouth County and Shore Conference tournaments.
And at the top of the lineup is junior Sirina Ganne, the reigning NJSIAA individual champion, who beat her teammate, senior Minna Liang, in a playoff to win the Shore Conference individual crown.
And while the Hornets are preparing for what they hope will be a breakthrough season the state level, the optimism is somewhat tempered by what coach Kathy Bradley feels is the inequitable situation her team faces.
As it stands now, the NJSIAA has only three sections – North, Central and South – for girls golf, while boys golf has Groups 1 through 4 in North, Central and South, plus North and South Non-Publics.
“The one thing we’ve been trying to get through to the NJSIAA is that we need to make divisions (groups) for girls golf,” Bradley said. “When they started girls golf they didn’t have that many teams but it’s all still in one pool this year.
“We just want what the boys have. We’re not going to be able to win a state championship playing against schools that can recruit players – from all over the world.”
While Ganne and Liang qualified as individuals based on their performance during the season, the Hornets were unable to quality as a team for the state championship tournament.
Ganne was the first Shore Conference player to win the state title since Red Bank Catholic’s Taylor Totland in 2012. Her older sister, Megha, is a sophomore at Stanford who currently sits 52nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.
Big changes for NJ high school golf
The way high school golf is administered changes dramatically this season, with every team in the state requiring players to do live scoring on a hole-by-hole basis on their phones. In the past, the scores in a tournament, for instance, were kept by a coach that accompanied each group. Now, coaches will be free to actually roam around the course and coach their players, with the ability to interact with them now when they’re not on the tee or green.
“I think adding the coaching component is very good,” said Stefanski, who, along with Southern head coach Jeff Reilly, was on the NJSIAA committee that helped usher in the changes, part of a two-year pilot program.
The statewide online scoring system will help calculate players who qualify for NJSIAA championships based on their performances during the season. It’s the only way players can qualify for the season-ending state championship at Raritan Valley, with the sections now team qualifying events. The only way a player not previously qualified as an individual for the state championship can make it into the field now is by winning their section.
Wall Invitational on tap
When teams gather at Jumping Brook Country Club in Neptune Monday for the season-opening Wall Invitational, it marks the traditional starting point for the high school golf season in New Jersey.
This year’s tournament features an expanded field, with each team limited to its top four players, not top 5, in an effort to bring more teams into the event.
The top group at this year’s event is a good one. It features Monmouth-bound Scenna, Notre Dame commit Liam Pasternak from Morristown, Monmouth Regional’s Jack Hennelly, bound for Saint Peter’s, and Southern freshman Paul Reilly, with the son of Rams’ long-time head coach Jeff Reilly playing his first high school tournament.
BOYS GOLF: PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jack O’Connor, CBA, Jr.
No one was as consistent as O’Connor last season, finishing fifth at Shore Conference and seventh at Monmouth County, before winning the South Non-Public title and placing 19th at the Tournament of Champions.
Ethan Weinberg, Colts Neck, Jr.
He was fifth at the Shore Conference last year, four shots out of the top spot, after placing 13th at Monmouth County. He closed his junior year placing eighth in Central-South Group 3.
Dan Cassidy, Middletown South, Sr.
Cassidy helped the Eagles to top-5 team finishes at Shore Conference and Monmouth County, individually placing sixth and 11th, respectively.
Christian Klemanowicz, Freehold Township, Sr.
As a junior for the Patriots, he finished third at the NJSIAA Central-South Group 4 tournament, going on to shoot 82 at the state championship tournament, after finishing seventh at Monmouth County and 11th at Shore Conference.
Sam Landers, Ranney, So.
The Panthers’ young star made quite a first impression as a freshman, beginning with a seventh-place finish at Monmouth County. He followed it up by placing 14th at Shore Conference, fifth at Non-Public South, and 50th at the state championship.
GIRLS GOLF: PRESEASON PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kashish Malik, Marlboro, Jr.
After winning the Shore Conference and NJSIAA South sectional titles as a freshman, Malik won Monmouth County last spring and placed fourth at Shore Conference. She closed the season with a strong 17th place finish at the state championship tournament.
Minna Liang, Holmdel, So.
She helped push the Hornets to team titles at Monmouth County and Shore Conference by finishing fifth and second, respectively, at the two area championships, losing a playoff to teammate Sirina Ganne at the SCT. She then placed 14th at the NJSIAA Central sectional, and 45th at the state championship.
Peyton Cerminaro, Howell, Sr.
A fixture over the past three seasons, Cerminaro won the Shore Conference title as a freshman in 2021. Last spring she had another solid campaign, finishing eighth at the SCT, 12th at the MCAT, 39th at the state championship and 37th at the boys’ Shore Conference Tournament.
Sabrina Liding, Freehold Township, Sr.
With top-10 finishes at both the Shore Conference and Monmouth County tournaments, including placing sixth at the SCT, Liding was an Asbury Park Press All-Shore second team selection as a junior for the Patriots.
Caroline Hickey, Rumson-Fair Haven, Sr.
Entering her third season in the Bulldogs’ lineup, Hickey comes off a solid season in which she placed 10th at Shore Conference and 14th at Monmouth County.
BOYS GOLF: PRESEASON TOP 10
1. Wall
2. CBA
3. Holmdel
4. Colts Neck
5. Ranney
6. Middletown South
7. Freehold Township
8. Southern
9. Howell
10. Point Boro
GIRLS GOLF: PRESEASON TOP 5
1. Holmdel
2. Marlboro
3. Trinity Hall
4. St. Rose
5. Southern
2024 GOLF TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
BOYS
April 16 – Ocean County (LBI National)
April 18 – Monmouth County (Charleston Springs)
April 24 – Shore Conference (Charleston Springs)
May 6 - NJSIAA Central & South sectionals
Group 4 (Charleston Springs)
Group 3 (River Winds)
Group 1 (Cream Ridge)
Non-Public South (Mountain View)
May 7 – NJSIAA Central & South sectional
Group 2 (Twisted Dune)
May 13 – NJSIAA State Championship (Raritan Valley)
GIRLS
April 15 – Monmouth County (Howell Park)
April 15 – Ocean County (Bey Lea)
April 29 – Shore Conference (Jumping Brook)
May 6 – NJSIAA Central Sectional (Stanton Ridge)
May 7 – NJSIAA South Sectional (McCullough’s)
May 14 – NJSIAA State Championship (Raritan Valley)
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ high school golf 2024 season preview: boys, girls top players
