Golf: Here's what happened at Monday's NJSIAA State Boys Championship
BRIDGEWATER – Liam Pasternak owns the distinction of winning what is believed be the most crowded playoff in the history of the NJSIAA Boys Golf Championship.
The junior from Morristown survived a four-way playoff with a birdie on the third playoff hole to capture the overall Tournament of Champions title on Monday at Raritan Valley Country Club.
“To be honest, I was just trying to keep calm as much as possible,” Pasternak said after winning with an 11-footer for birdie on the par-3 10th hole. “I was doing a lot of mindful breathing.”
Pasternak secured a playoff spot after shooting 3-under-par 69, and he was joined by Montville senior Eli Kaufman, Newark Academy junior Arjun Caprihan and Bernards sophomore Noah Ochab. Kaufman and Caprihan had a trio of playoff pars on the 10th, with Kaufman runner-up via match of cards, while Ochab three-putted his first playoff hole to finish fourth.
Morris County had plenty to celebrate, as Delbarton won the TOC team title. The Green Wave carded a four-player score of 299 to finish 13 strokes ahead of Christian Brothers Academy and 17 ahead of Newark Academy in the 24-team field.
“Everyone had it,” Delbarton coach Sean Flanagan said of his foursome, “and the nice thing is we probably have two, three, four more kids in the hopper that could have stepped right in and shot the same score.”
Fittingly, that four-way battle for the TOC individual title was the lone playoff in a tournament that features six team and six individual group champions.
Here’s a look at the group breakdowns:
Non-Public A
Delbarton’s quartet shot 78 or better to card 299 and also win the heavyweight Non-Public A title. Junior William Kramer shot 73, senior John Myles Dziadzio and junior Matthew Lu each shot 74 and junior Jake Kurtzman 78.
Caprihan won the individual title with 69, which was one shot better than St. Joseph junior Liam Moloney. Caprihan had five birdies and two bogeys.
Non-Public B
Ranney carded 321 to win Non-Public B and it was 20 strokes better than Morristown Beard. Ranney had a trio shoot in the 70s: sophomore Gavin Carlin had 77, senior John Welch 78 and sophomore Samson Landers 79.
Gill St. Bernard’s senior Lance Hollingshead won individual honors with a 71 that was four strokes better than Morristown Beard sophomore Alex Levy.
Group 1
Mountain Lakes won Group 1 with a 321 that was 12 strokes better than Metuchen, and the Morris County school swept both titles. Junior Ryan Powers won individual honors with 73, and he was supported by junior Max Troisi’s 80 and an 82 by senior Kyle Maute.
Group 2
In the closest team battle, Wall won Group 2 with a 322 that was one stroke better than Madison. Seniors Patrick Scenna and Boden Pepe each shot 78 and senior Charlie Cormey had 81 for the champions.
Kaufman won the individual crown over Ochab, thanks to his three playoff pars and Ochab’s bogey.
Group 3
Millburn won Group 3 with 317, and that was two shots better than Mainland and four ahead of defending champ Ramapo. Millburn swept both titles, with senior Nate Beck capturing individual honors with 72. Sophomore Tong Si added 76 and junior Gavin Quartin 81 for Millburn.
Group 4
Cherry Hill East won Group 4 with 324 and it was two strokes better than Ridge and three better than Morristown. Senior Brian Cotter and junior Jesse Serata led the winners with 79 apiece.
Pasternak’s 69 won him Group 4 and it was four strokes better than the runner-up, senior teammate Cormack Meldrum.
Pasternak’s 18-hole round included five birdies and a double-bogey. The 10th hole was used for all three playoff holes, and he never did worse than par on all four attempts at that hole.
“I hit three good shots, in regulation and the first two playoff holes,” Pasternak said. “Going into [the playoff], I knew all I needed to do was trust my game, and stay in the moment, and try and do the best I can.”
NJSIAA Boys Golf Championship
At Raritan Valley CC, Bridgewater
Non-Public A
Teams
1. Delbarton 299
2. Christian Brothers Academy 312
3. Newark Academy 316
4. Pingry 319
Individuals
1. Arjun Caprihan, Newark Academy 69
2. Liam Moloney, St. Joseph 70
3. Jack Puma, CBA 71
4. Michael Asselta, St. Joseph 73
5. William Kramer, Delbarton 73
6. John Myles Dziadzio, Delbarton 74
Non-Public B
Teams
1. Ranney 321
2. Morristown Beard 341
3. Princeton Day 356
4. Rutgers Prep 373
Individuals
1. Lance Hollingshead, Gill St. Bernard’s 71
2. Alex Levy, Morristown Beard 75
3. Gavin Karlin, Ranney 77
4. John Welch, Ranney 78
5. Samson Landers, Ranney 79
6. Elizabeth Wang, Princeton Day 82
Group 1
Teams
1. Mountain Lakes 321
2. Metuchen 333
3. Haddon Township 356
4. Pequannock 363
Individuals
1. Ryan Powers, Mountain Lakes 73
2. Luke Krombholz, Metuchen 75
3. Max Troisi, Mountain Lakes 80
4. Derek Czepiel, Pequannock 81
5. Kyle Maute, Mountain Lakes 82
6. Jakob Krombholz, Metuchen 82
Group 2
Teams
1. Wall 322
2. Madison 323
3. Holmdel 332
4. Mendham 354
Individuals
1. Eli Kaufman, Montville 69
2. Noah Ochab, Bernards 69
3. Jack Hennelly, Monmouth Regional 73
4. Alex Patel, Madison 75
5. James DeRocini, West Deptford 76
6. Liam Brandt, Mendham 77
Group 3
Teams
1. Millburn 317
2. Mainland 319
3. Ramapo 321
4. Moorestown 333
Individuals
1. Nate Beck, Millburn 72
2. Harry Cohen, Ramapo 73
3. Jake Morgan, Roxbury 74
4. Tong Si, Millburn 76
5. Keller Tannehill, Mainland 76
6. Jimmy Veale, Wayne Hills 77
Group 4
Teams
1. Cherry Hill East 324
2. Ridge 326
3. Morristown 327
4. Freehold Township 352
Individuals
1. Liam Pasternak, Morristown 69
2. Cormack Meldrum, Morristown 73
3. Alex Yong, Hunterdon Central 74
4. Alex Marchetti, Hillsborough 76
5. Christopher Parrish, Kingsway 76
6. Ethan Gallagher, Ridge 77
Tournament of Champions
Teams
1. Delbarton 299
2. Christian Brothers Academy 312
3. Newark Academy 316
4. Millburn 317
5. Mainland 319
5. Pingry 319
7. Ranney 321
7. Mountain Lakes 321
7. Ramapo 321
10. Wall 322
11. Madison 323
12. Cherry Hill East 324
13. Ridge 326
14. Morristown 327
15. Holmdel 332
16. Metuchen 333
16. Moorestown 333
18. Morristown Beard 341
19. Freehold Township 352
20. Mendham 354
21. Haddon Township 356
22. Princeton Day 356
23. Pequannock 363
24. Rutgers Prep 373
Individuals
(Top 8 earn medals)
1. Liam Pasternak, Morristown 69
2. Eli Kaufman, Montville 69
3. Arjun Caprihan, Newark Academy 69
4. Noah Ochab, Bernards 69
5. Liam Moloney, St. Joseph 70
6. Jack Puma, CBA 71
7. Lance Hollingshead, Gill St. Bernard’s 71
8. Nate Beck, Millburn 72
9. Ryan Powers, Mountain Lakes 73
9. Cormack Meldrum, Morristown 73
9. Michael Asselta, St. Joseph 73
9. Harry Cohen, Ramapo 73
9. William Kramer, Delbarton 73
9. Jack Hennelly, Monmouth Regional 73
15. Matthew Lu, Delbarton 74
15. Alex Yong, Hunterdon Central 74
15. John Myles Dziadzio, Delbarton 74
15. Jake Morgan, Roxbury 74
15. Preston Devieux, Pingry 74
20. Luke Krombholz, Metuchen 75
20. Alex Patel, Madison 75
20. Alex Levy, Morristown Beard 75
23. Tong Si, Millburn 76
23. Ryder Hodgson, Bergen Catholic 76
23. Aarush Malmandi, Don Bosco 76
23. Keller Tannehill, Mainland 76
23. Christopher Parrish, Kingsway 76
23. James DeRocini, West Deptford 76
23. Alex Marchetti, Hillsborough 76
30. Braden Bhalla, Ridgewood 77
30. Nicholas Yagnik, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 77
30. Gavin Karlin, Ranney 77
30. Liam Brandt, Mendham 77
30. Jimmy Veale, Wayne Hills 77
30. Ethan Gallagher, Ridge 77
36. Christian Klemanowicz, Freehold Township 78
36. John Welch, Ranney 78
36. Nick Campanella, St. Joseph (Met.) 78
36. Ryan Quigley, Holmdel 78
36. Patrick Scenna, Wall 78
36. Jake Kurtzman, Delbarton 78
36. PJ Foley, Mainland 78
36. Boden Pepe, Wall 78
44. Tyler Cammarota, Passaic Tech 79
44. Brian Cotter, Cherry Hill East 79
44. Jesse Serata, Cherry Hill East 79
44. Justin Forman, Washington Township 79
44. Nathan Tallinder, Madison 79
44. Jack Stamberger, CBA 79
44. Samson Landers, Ranney 79
44. Sam Dolan, Ridge 79
44. Aryik Yadav, Newark Academy 79
44. Jun Chun, Old Tappan 79
54. Evan Sorensen, CBA 80
54. Max Troisi, Mountain Lakes 80
54. Jaisal Yadav, West Windsor-Plainsboro North 80
54. Daniel Herzchel, Mainland 80
54. Jordan Weiss, Ramapo 80
59. Daniel Cassidy, Middletown South 81
59. Connor Breen, Shawnee 81
59. Charlie Cormey, Wall 81
59. Gavin Quartin, Millburn 81
59. Rohan Yadav, Pingry 81
59. Owen Kirchner, Pingry 81
59. Derek Czepiel, Pequannock 81
66. Brady Crow, Moorestown 82
66. Enzo Allain, Ridge 82
66. Elizabeth Wang, Princeton Day 82
66. Jakob Krombholz, Metuchen 82
66. Kyle Maute, Mountain Lakes 82
66. Griffin LaLonde, Montclair Kimberley 82
66. Matt Merkel, Holmdel 82
66. Patrick Sharpe, Holmdel 82
66. Jack O’Connor, CBA 82
66. Jackson Chudnoff, Ramapo 82
76. Danny Cantwell, Moorestown 83
76. Benedikt Guth, Newark Academy 83
76. Eshaan Golchha, Pingry 83
76. Ethan Barroway, Cherry Hill East 83
76. Peter Lafon, Haddon Township 83
76. Sam Rosenberg, Cherry Hill East 83
76. Tommy Kalavruzos, Moorestown 83
83. Trevor Sieben, Shawnee 84
83. Blake Steele, Madison 84
83. Robert Ding, Princeton Day 84
86. Zach Freed, Mainland 85
86. Thomas Cotter, Morristown Beard 85
86. Kyle Ames, Moorestown 85
86. Teo Bengtsson, Madison 85
86. Drew Levy, Morristown Beard 85
86. Chase Jakubowski, Wall 85
86. Nathan Scheck, Newark Academy 85
86. Agguth Reddy, Rutgers Prep 85
86. Matthew Cecilione, Freehold Township 85
95. Jake Blom, Metuchen 86
95. Peter Keith, Ramapo 86
95. Ryan Lalin, Mountain Lakes 86
98. Corey Gold, Freehold Township 87
98. Chris Hannan, Ranney 87
100. Kevin Zugale, Ridge 88
100. Anders Farley, Mendham 88
100. Sef Bajraktarevic, Pequannock 88
100. Jake Greenseid, Millburn 88
104. Rohan Shah, Princeton Day 89
105. Tim Hueber, Haddon Township 90
105. Arjan Singh, Rutgers Prep 90
105. Christopher Ahn, Metuchen 90
105. Seth Harris, Mendham 90
105. Remy Mander, Holmdel 90
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Golf: Here's what happened at Monday's NJSIAA State Boys Championship
