North Jersey golf highlights: Don Bosco, St. Joseph winners at Bergen Team Championship
EMERSON – Don Bosco experienced a hot-and-cold golf season, and it ended with a heated finish and a championship.
The Ironmen squeezed out a one-stroke victory over Ramapo in the Large School Division at Thursday’s Bergen County Odell Nassar Team Championship.
Don Bosco carded a shoot-five, count-four score of 301 at Soldier Hill Golf Course, with senior Stephen Viray leading the way with smoldering 5-under-par 66.
“We had not been playing well of late, and the kids brought it together,” Don Bosco coach Gerard Ross said. “They knew how important this was, and how prestigious this tournament is, and being the best in Bergen County is saying a lot.”
Meanwhile, St. Joseph repeated as Small School champion with 302. It comes six days after the Green Knights won the Big North Conference Bergen Bracket, and Thursday marked their fourth crown of the season.
Scores from the Bergen Team Championship count toward next week’s Bergen County Dan Luciano Individual Championship. Thus, Viray will carry a five-stroke lead into next Thursday’s 18-hole finale at White Beeches G&CC in Haworth. Scores of 81 or better advanced.
Viray holds a five-shot lead over the defending champion, Ramapo junior Harry Cohen, who shot 71. There is a three-way tie for third at 72, with Ridgewood sophomore Braden Bhalla and St. Joseph teammates Michael Asselta, a sophomore, and junior Liam Moloney. Tied for sixth with 73 are Northern Highlands junior Ryan Klarreich and Dwight-Englewood sophomore Jaden Aroesty.
Don Bosco had a quartet shoot in the 70s. In addition to Viray’s 66, his sophomore brother, Julius, shot 77, and senior Cameron Ward and sophomore Aarush Malmandi each shot 79.
Stephen Viray had six birdies and one bogey to build his five-shot lead. His putting was outstanding and, on his final hole of the shotgun event, the par-4 13th, he sank a 7-footer for birdie.
“Honestly, I just think everything went right,” Viray said. “When I missed, the misses weren’t bad. And when I was in the fairway, I would put it close, and I was making a lot of putts.”.
St. Joseph also had a quartet shoot in the 70s. In addition to Asselta and Moloney each carding 72, freshman CJ Antifonario and sophomore Darren Coyle shot 79 apiece.
“We’re just building momentum throughout the season, and it’s a great way to finish the year,” St. Joseph coach Kevin Rooney said. “The boys are all coming together and playing well.”
Bergen County Team Championship
At Soldier Hill GC, Emerson
Par: 71
Team scores
Large School
Don Bosco 301
Ramapo 302
Bergen Catholic 313
Northern Highlands 317
Ridgewood 317
River Dell 327
Tenafly 329
Old Tappan 341
Fort Lee 360
Fair Lawn 361
Small School
St. Joseph 302
Dwight-Englewood 318
Demarest 320
Leonia 321
Ramsey 348
Glen Rock 356
Indian Hills 363
Cresskill 378
Mahwah 386
Saddle River Day 406
Individuals
Stephen Viray, Don Bosco 66
Harry Cohen, Ramapo 71
Braden Bhalla, Ridgewood 72
Michael Asselta, St. Joseph 72
Liam Moloney, St. Joseph 72
Ryan Klarreich, Northern Highlands 73
Jaden Aroesty, Dwight-Englewood 73
Peter Keith, Ramapo 74
Noah Rubach, Tenafly 75
Benjamin Oh, Bergen Catholic 75
Jake Aronson, Demarest 75
Aaron Koo, Leonia 76
Ryder Hodgson, Bergen Catholic 76
Finn Doherty, Ridgewood 77
Alex Na, River Dell 77
Julius Viray, Don Bosco 77
Chris Vrtis, Bergen Catholic 78
Vince Parlamis, Demarest 78
Taiyoung Cha, Leonia 78
Jayden Na, River Dell 78
Hoewon Park, Tenafly 78
Dylan Sawyer, Pascack Hills 78
Jun Chun, Old Tappan 78
Ben Aronson, Demarest 78
Jordan Weiss, Ramapo 78
Jackson Chudnoff, Ramapo 79
Darren Coyle, St. Joseph 79
CJ Antifonario, St. Joseph 79
Eric Kim, Tenafly 79
Nicholas Park, Fort Lee 79
Cooper Peck, Fair Lawn 79
Cameron Ward, Don Bosco 79
Aarush Malmandi, Don Bosco 79
David Han, Bergen Catholic 81
John Keyes, Bergen Catholic 81
Miles Krieger, Dwight-Englewood 81
SeongJune Bae, Northern Highlands 81
Danny Lax, Dwight-Englewood 81
Jack Sposa, Ramapo 81
Dylan Ayer, Ramsey 81
William Casper, Glen Rock 81
EJ Jens, Northern Highlands 81
Wayne Hills sweeps Passaic titles
Junior Jimmy Veale and Wayne Hills are the new kings of Passaic County golf.
Veale won the individual title and led the Patriots to the team championship at the Passaic County Golf Championship on Thursday at Preakness Valley GC in Wayne.
Veale, a Manhattan College commit, shot 3-over-par 73 to finish two shots ahead of the defending champion, Passaic Tech senior Tyler Cammarota. Last year, Veale shot 83 and Cammarota won with 75.
Wayne Hills carded a shoot-five, count-four score of 328 to finish five strokes ahead of two-time defending champion Passaic Tech and 11 ahead of Wayne Valley. Patriots senior Richie Graniere joined Veale in the top five with a 78 that placed him fifth.
This represents a dramatic one-year improvement for Wayne Hills, which last year finished fourth with 381, 48 strokes behind Passaic Tech. Two sophomores contributed to Thursday’s 328, with Joey Calton shooting 85 and Brady Driesse 92.
Passaic County Championship
At Preakness Valley GC, Wayne
Par: 70
TEAM SCORES
Wayne Hills 328
Passaic Tech 333
Wayne Valley 339
Eastern Christian 360
DePaul 362
Hawthorne 387
Lakeland 387
West Milford 407
Passaic Valley 411
INDIVIDUALS
Jimmy Veale, Wayne Hills 73
Tyler Cammarota, Passaic Tech 75
Vincent Maione, DePaul 76
Ryan Hayes, Wayne Valley 77
Richie Graniere, Wayne Hills 78
Lucas Egan, Wayne Valley 80
Thomas Scheidegger, Passaic Tech 80
Nehemiah Rhee, Eastern Christian 82
Zach Soder, Passaic Tech 82
Matt VanderWeele, Lakeland 82
Big North Championship: St. Joseph rolls to title
ROCKLEIGH – St. Joseph continues as North Jersey’s No. 1 golf team, and Ramapo’s Harry Cohen has climbed into the chase to repeat as North Jersey Golfer of the Year.
St. Joseph won the overall title at Friday’s Big North Conference Championship Bergen Bracket at Rockleigh Golf Course. The Knights carded a shoot-five, count-four score of 303 that was five strokes better than the shocking runner-up, Demarest.
“Throughout the season, we’re getting better and better, and they’re learning how to close these tournaments out, and our results show that,” coach Kevin Rooney said after the Green Knights’ third 18-hole title of the season. "This team is together, the camaraderie is great, they’re all rooting for each other, and it just shows on the course.”
Cohen won the individual title by carding a birdie on the first playoff hole after he and St. Joseph junior Liam Moloney finished 18 holes tied at 2-under-par 70.
In the playoff, Cohen reached the green on the short par-4 10th hole with a 275-yard drive into the wind and two-putted for birdie. Moloney parred after pulling his drive to the right, chipping onto the green and two-putting.
“At the beginning of the year, the putting was really rough,” said Cohen, who last year led the Green Raiders to the State Group 3 title. “Now I’m starting to swing well and the putting is decent, so I just have to keep practicing and getting better.”
Cohen led Ramapo to the Freedom Division title with 312, and that was fourth overall, one shot behind Don Bosco’s 311.
St. Joseph had a quartet shoot 81 or better. In addition to Moloney’s 70, sophomore Michael Asselta – who has the inside track on Golfer of the Year with three titles and a hole-in-one to his credit – shot 74 to tie for sixth. Freshman CJ Antifonario shot 78 and sophomore Darren Coyle 81.
Demarest won the National Division title and two freshmen led the way. Freshman Jake Aronson shot 73 and tied for third overall with Old Tappan senior Jun Chun and Northern Highlands junior Ryan Klarreich. Norsemen freshman Vince Parlamis shot 74 to finish in a five-way tie for sixth.
River Dell claimed the Patriot Division title with 343, and senor Alex Na led the way with 78. Fort Lee claimed the small-school American Division crown with 379, behind an 86 from sophomore Cyrus Chin.
Big North Bergen Bracket
At Rockleigh GC
Par: 72
TEAM SCORES
United Division
St. Joseph 303
Don Bosco 311
Bergen Catholic 327
Paramus Catholic 374
DePaul 390
Freedom Division
Ramapo 312
Northern Highlands 316
Ridgewood 317
Indian Hills 384
Paramus 414
National Division
Demarest 308
Tenafly 332
Old Tappan 335
Pascack Valley 381
Bergenfield 475
Patriot Division
River Dell 343
Ramsey 346
Pascack Hills 364
Westwood 371
Mahwah 389
American Division
Fort Lee 379
Fair Lawn 402
Dwight Morrow 449
Dumont 457
INDIVIDUALS
Harry Cohen, Ramapo 70*
Liam Moloney, St. Joseph 70
Jake Aronson, Demarest 73
Jun Chun, Old Tappan 73
Ryan Klarreich, Northern Highlands 73
Vince Parlamis, Demarest 74
Eric Kim, Tenafly 74
Michael Asselta, St. Joseph 74
Stephen Viray, Don Bosco 74
Aarush Malmandi, Don Bosco 74
Braden Bhalla, Ridgewood 75
Cassandre Mayer, Paramus Catholic 76
CJ Antifonario, St. Joseph 78
Ryder Hodgson, Bergen Catholic 78
Alex Na, River Dell 78
Jackson Chudnoff, Ramapo 78
Jack Sposa, Ramapo 78
Parker Rollins, Ridgewood 79
Michael Ledlow, Ramsey 79
Noah Rubach, Tenafly 79
*-Cohen won on first playoff hole
Dwight-Englewood big winner at NJIC Championship
RIVER VALE – Dwight-Englewood had added motivation after not qualifying for the State sectionals in the heavyweight North Non-Public A.
The Bulldogs won the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Meadowlands Division title Friday and shot the overall low score at par-70 Valley Brook GC.
Senior Danny Lax shot 3-over-par 73, sophomore teammate Jaden Aroesty was runner-up with 76 and Dwight-Englewood carded a shoot-four score of 314 that was 26 strokes ahead of the next-best team, Leonia.
“I told my guys, ‘Let’s make a statement’ since we didn’t make the state tournament,” Bulldogs coach Dan Farinola said, “and try our best in the league and the county. And we came out firing.”
Lax finished strong to win the shotgun event. He birdied his final hole, the par-4 eighth, by hitting a pitching wedge from 129 yards to set up a 2-foot putt. On the par-3 seventh, he maintained a one-shot lead by sinking a 12-footer to save par.
Glen Rock won the Colonial Division title with 348 and had the top two finishers. Sophomore Brendan Burkhardt shot 78 and junior William Casper 80. Cresskill won the Patriot Division crown and sophomore Gavin Kim led and was low individual with 85.
NJIC Championship
TEAM SCORES
Colonial Division
Team scores
Glen Rock 348
Eastern Christian 400
Butler 419
Garfield 465
Meadowlands Division
Team scores
Dwight-Englewood 314
Leonia 340
Hasbrouck Heights 384
Palisades Park 404
North Arlington 476
Patriot Division
Cresskill 356
Saddle River Day 373
Waldwick 408
Park Ridge/Emerson 447
INDIVIDUALS
Danny Lax, Dwight-Englewood 73-m
Jaden Aroesty, Dwight-Englewood 76
Aaron Koo, Leonia 77
Brendan Burkhardt, Glen Rock 78-c
Taiyoung cha, Leonia 80
William Casper, Glen Rock 80
Zachary Wolpov, Dwight-Englewood 81
Stacy Han, Leonia 82
Adam Avery, Butler 83
Todd Merson, Dwight-Englewood 84
Gavin Kim, Cresskill 85-p
m-Lax won Meadowlands title
c-Burkhardt won Colonial title
p-Kim won Patriot title
EMERSON – Holy Angels is playing golf as well as any team is playing any spring sport in North Jersey.
The Angels, with no seniors in the lineup, three-peated at Wednesday’s Bergen County Girls Golf Championship, placing four players in the top five at Soldier Hill Golf Course.
“They’re playing really, really well, and you’ve just got to hope that they continue playing well,” said coach Pat Dunne, whose team is defending NJSIAA State champion.
Junior Angelina Kim repeated as individual champion with an even-par 71, and the Angels carded an impressive shoot-five, count-four score of 292. Bergen Tech was runner-up with 328 and Immaculate Heart was third with 333 - and last year this trio posted a 1-2-3 finish at the State Championship.
“Today the biggest part of my game was to stay patient,” Kim said. “I had a lot of putts just slipping by the cup, and I was able to hit my driver well and my irons fine.”
Holy Angels sophomore Olivia Lee was runner-up with 72, just missing a 20-foot birdie putt on her final hole. Junior Inha Jun was fourth with 74, and freshman teammate Eleanor Lim was fifth with 75.
Immaculate Heart senior Marisa Flores finished third after a stellar back nine and 74 gave her third over Jun via a match of cards. Bergen Tech junior Bella Crespo was sixth with 76, and sophomore teammate Olivia Pak was the seventh and final player to break 80 after shooting 79.
With Big North Conference and Bergen County titles in hand, Holy Angels’ next focus is Monday’s North sectional at Great Gorge in Vernon. The State Championship is May 14 at Raritan Valley in Bridgewater.
“They just go out very disciplined, play their game, and they all trust each other, and they all know that each of them is going to contribute,” Dunne said.
Bergen County Girls Championship
At Soldier Hill GC, Emerson
Par: 71; Yardage: 5,260
Team scores
Holy Angels 292
Bergen Tech 328
Immaculate Heart 333
Ridgewood 350
Ramapo 351
Demarest 374
Northern Highlands 385
Old Tappan 408
Individuals
Angelina Kim, Holy Angels 71
Olivia Lee, Holy Angels 73
Marisa Flores, Immaculate Heart 74
Inha Jun, Holy Angels 74
Eleanor Lim, Holy Angels 75
Bella Crespo, Bergen Tech 76
Olivia Pak, Bergen Tech 79
Cassandre Mayer, Paramus Catholic 80
Alana Flores, Immaculate Heart 81
Aubrey Lee, Bergen Tech 82
Skylar Lee, Ramapo 82
Taiyoung Cha, Leonia 82
Reese Fishman, Ramapo 83
Ava Heins, Northern Highlands 83
Emma Bang, Holy Angels 83
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey golf highlights: Don Bosco, St. Joseph win Bergen titles
