St. Johns County's double title: Ponte Vedra boys, Beachside girls win state golf titles
The Ponte Vedra High boys won their ninth state golf championship.
The Beachside girls won their first — and the first state team title in the school’s short history.
Those two championships, at the Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills on Wednesday, made St. Johns Country the high school golf capital of Florida for the day.
Indeed, when Ponte Vedra coach Mickey Leapley accepted the championship trophy for the eighth time as the Sharks coach (the first state title was under Pete Molinari), he commented, "How about those St. Johns County public schools?"
Beach party at Class 2A state golf: Beachside girls take six-shot lead, Beachside boys in third
The Sharks extended their state record for the most FHSAA titles in boys golf and won their seventh in a row — also adding to the record they set two years ago — when Cameron Reed led four starters among the top 17 at the El Campeon Course to top Beachside by seven shots at 34-over-par 610.
Beachside’s Sofia Rivera and Maddie Rathjen finished among the top six and the Barracudas nipped Broward American Heritage by three shots at 34-over 600 at the Las Colinas Course. Ponte Vedra (636) was third.
While Beachside still has come catching up to do with the Ponte Vedra boys program, they did something the Sharks didn't do this year: they were undefeated in nine-hole matches, regular-season 18-hole events and swept the district, regional and state tournaments.
Sharks depth wins out again
Reed (73—150) led Ponte Vedra’s boys with a tie for sixth, five shots out of a playoff involving Lorenzo Rodriguez of Belen Jesuit and Drew Campbell of Tampa Jesuit, both shot 1-over.
Broward American Heritage (622) finished third and Tampa Jesuit and Archbishop McCarthy tied for fourth (627).
It was perhaps the team’s most extraordinary state title. Leapley had no returning starters for the first time since he took over the program 10 years ago and he shuffled the lineup constantly to find the right combination.
But the Sharks won the district and region titles, with Reed finishing first and second, and the rest of the team played well enough to give Ponte Vedra, as usual, the balance it needed to outlast the main competitors.
"I had faith in them," he said. "I knew we had the talent to win and it was a matter of getting the experience to believe in themselves. We played very steady, especially at the end. I think it was a really cool day for our school and for Beachside."
The four players who scored for the Sharks played the last four holes at El Campeon at 2-under, with only two bogeys. Reed eagled the 14th hole and parred the last four.
Dylan Mason (75) and Joey Hage (77) tied for 13th at 153 and Sean Grzebin (77) finished 17th (154) to account for the rest of the Sharks’ scoring.
Beachside was led by Nolan Harper’s tie for third (75—146). Jaspreet Kondal tied for 13th (73—153).
Luke Splane of St. Augustine (76), playing as an individual, finished 12th at 152. Connor Williams of Lake City Columbia (77) tied for 20th.
Beachside girls hold off American Heritage
The Beachside girls had a six-shot lead to start the day and maintained it throughout as the day turned into a two-team race with American Heritage.
Rivera (71) tied Nancy Cox (73) of Ponte Vedra for second place at 1-under 141, a shot behind individual champion Katherine Schaefer of American Heritage. Rathjen (75) tied for sixth, Ralienne Nacional (82) tied for 22nd and Fiona Clancy (77) tied for 25th.
Rivera and Rathjen provided the final cushion when they played the final four holes at a combined 1-under, with only one bogey. Rathjen birdied Nos. 15 and 18.
"It's just amazing," said Beachside coach McKenzie Parks. "We've only been open for two years to be the first-ever state champion is something I will never forget and the girls will never forget. It's truly special."
Elle Reisner of Fernandina Beach, playing as an individual, shot 73 and tied for ninth at 150. Karlee Gainey of Lake City Columbia (80—157) tied for 22nd and Sadaly Campbell of Fernandina (84) tied for 40th.
Alison O’Brien of Columbia (79—159) tied for 32nd and the Tigers finished 11th.
Parks said Nacional and Clancy provided the depth behind Rivera and Rathjen.
"Fiona really came through and put up a solid round," she said. "Raleinne battle back from a tough front nine to finish out her senior season well. Sofia and Maddie are the two anchors who will put us on the board but we needed the rest of the girls to play well."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: St. Johns Sweep: Ponte Vedra boys, Beachside girls win state 2A golf
