Entering the final hole Rutland’s Sebastian Pell and Champlain Valley’s Cooper Guerriere were tied at 68. The duo was part of the same group that teed off first at Burlington Country Club at the Vermont high school boys state championship.
“We both hit pretty good drives in good spots,” Pell said. “I hit it right next to the green. Cooper hit his second shot into the fescue on the left and he chunked the second one. But then he (Guerriere) put it on and had a good look for par. I had a good look for birdie. I just missed the birdie putt.”
Despite missing out on his fourth birdie of the round, Pell eeked out the one-stroke victory parring on the final hole while Guerriere needed six strokes to get the ball in the hole giving the Rutland senior first place.
This is Pell’s first ever individual state championship.
Guerriere’s 74 powered the Redhawks for a first-place victory in the team competition for the first time since 2020.
The team competition was just as narrow as the individual, with Champlain Valley (+51) defeating Rutland (+52) by one stroke. The golfers had to battle the cold and windy conditions throughout most of the course. The Redhawks score of 335 is the highest top score since Essex won with 337 strokes in the fall of 2017.
More: A four-time and three-time champion at Vermont girls golf state championships
Over in D-II, Otter Valley’s dominance continued. Senior Lucas Politano won his third consecutive individual title as the Otters won their third team championship in four years. Politano took first place with a score of 74, finishing six strokes ahead of runner-up Rowan Turner from Stowe.
“It feels great,” Politano said. “It’s obviously not something that a lot of people could say that they’ve done.”
The senior continued his dominance on this course as he won the Vermont Amateur this past summer. In the state championship, Politano parred on 13 holes in the round.
Boys golf championship results
At Burlington Country Club
DIVISION I
Team scores: 1. Champlain Valley 335; 2. Rutland 336; 3. Essex 345; 4. South Burlington 352; 5. Mount Mansfield 367; 6. North Country 383.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Sebastian Pell, Rutland, 73 (medalist); 2. Cooper Guerriere, CVU, 74; 3. Bryce Terborgh, Essex, 78; 4. Teddy Maynard, SB, 81; T5. Gavin Letourneau, MMU; Jack Bryan, CVU, 83; 7. Kyle Blanchard, Rutland, 84; T8. Evan Marchessault, SB; Oliver Graves, CVU, 85; 10. Quinn Vincent, CVU, 86.
DIVISION I
Team scores: 1. Otter Valley 352; 2. Hartford 367; 3. Harwood 368; 4. Stowe 370; 5. Lyndon 398; 6. Stratton 432.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Lucas Politano, OV, 74 (medalist); 2. Rowan Turner, Stowe, 80; 3. Jackson Howe, OV, 81; 4. Mattie Serafin, Mill River, 82; 5. Thomas Thorburn, Hartford, 86; 6. Jake Smith, Windsor, 87; T7. Maxwell Bevins, Montpelier; Teelin Nowlan, Hartford, 89; T9. Chase Ladebouche, Harwood; Braedon Bellows, Harwood, 90.
Contact Judith Altneu at jaltneu@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @Judith_Altneu.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: CVU, Rutland, Otter Valley, claim honors at boys HS golf championship
