In keeping with a season in which some of the best Section 4 golf ever was played within the Southern Tier Athletic Conference Metro Division, team and individual champions came out of the Metro at Tuesday’s conference tournament.
Maine-Endwell capped a season highlighted by three 18-hole tournament titles by claiming the team crown at Mark Twain Golf Course in Elmira by two strokes over fellow Metro power Vestal. They shared the division championship with Binghamton before M-E beat out Vestal for the Section 4 Class A title last week on a tiebreaker. M-E went 12-2 in dual meets.
Binghamton senior Sam Ligas secured medalist honors with a 1-over-par 73. Maine-Endwell junior Blaise Brixner, defending STAC champion, fired a 2-over-par 74 for second place.
A three-way tie for third at 77 included Elmira’s Jack Cavalier, along with the Ithaca duo of Rowan Hinrichsen and Griffin Levine.
“It feels great,” Brixner said of the team win. “For our team to win the DiNunzio, sectionals and STAC is awesome. For me to break our school record and have some low rounds for our 18-hole tournaments, it definitely feels like it’s all paying off.”
Players dealt with varied weather, from wind chills below 40 degrees to strong winds to rain to hail that left greens covered, causing a brief delay late in the event. Brixner said his hands were “super cold” the first six holes.
Joining Brixner among the Spartans’ top-five were Tino Shattuck and Chase Buckley, who tied for seventh with 81s. Frankie Shattuck added an 87 and Keane Arron an 88 to account for M-E’s team score of 411. Matt Leniek was No. 6 scorer with an 89.
Brixner pointed to a summer of playing together and “a ton” of practice as two elements to M-E’s success.
“They’re such a great group of kids,” Maine-Endwell coach Rob Krowiak said. “They’re fun to watch, they’re fun to coach, they make it easy for me. I’m so proud of them. All the credit goes to the boys.”
Vestal had five players shoot from 82 to 84 for a 413 total. Johnny Gorman, Michael Hotalen and Ben Tanton led the way with matching 82s. Ligas led Binghamton to third place out of the seven schools that qualified to compete for the team title.
“It started out with the DiNunzio tournament,” Krowiak said. “We won that and to be able to come out and have a successful season where we were co-division champs with two other teams – Binghamton and Vestal – and then win the sectionals and STAC, it’s just really tough to do.
“Just trying to instill in these guys that every shot counts. It really comes through in these 18-hole tournaments. We won by two, we won in a tiebreaker, and we won by two. I think every kid out there can think of a shot either that they may have given away or that they may have earned to help the team win those championships.”
Ligas secured first STAC title
The title was the first at the conference or sectional level for Ligas, a senior. He’ll be back in the spring of 2025, along with at least three M-E players and others from the STAC, to compete in the Section 4 tournament that determines who competes in the state tourney.
“I think it went really well,” Ligas said of his season. “Played really well in these big tournaments.”
Ligas turned four birdies and five bogeys into a 1-over round in trying conditions.
“Just trying to hit middle of the greens, two-putt, get out of there with a par,” he said.
He added of the conditions, “Even if it’s cold or windy or rainy, you’ve just got to stay focused and play the next shot.”
Brixner rebounded after slow start
Brixner was making a bid to sweep sectional and STAC individual titles after shooting a 4-under 67 to take the Class A title last week at Soaring Eagles Golf Course.
“It went all right,” he said of Tuesday’s round. “I had a rough start. I went bogey, bogey, bogey to start. I brought it back and finished 2-over. It was definitely cold out there, but I hit the ball pretty well.”
Beyond his three-hole start Tuesday, Brixner delivered a historic season after tying for ninth place at last season’s state tournament at Mark Twain. His 5-under round last week broke his own program record for a nine-hole score set earlier in the season.
“Blaise probably had the greatest single season in Section 4 history,” said Krowiak, previous nine-hole record-holder at M-E. “He had a minus 2.1 stroke average and his worst round of the year in nine-hole matches was one over. … He was impressive and all the guys really have bought into the system and what’s expected to be on the team and what you have to do to compete and get better and get to these points where you can be successful in these tournaments.”
Quotable
Krowiak said the high level of play in the Metro Division this season was good for both the STAC and Section 4.
“I think the competition instills in us wanting to get better, wanting to compete and overall helps us do well in things like this,” Krowiak said. “To have possibly the other two best teams in your own division that you’re playing twice all throughout the year prepares you for big tournaments like this.”
Team scores
Maine-Endwell 411, Vestal 413, Binghamton 421, Horseheads 425, Norwich 426, Binghamton Seton Catholic Central 437, Oneonta 458.
Top Individuals
Sam Ligas (Binghamton) 73, Blaise Brixner (M-E) 74, Jack Cavalier (Elmira) 77, Griffin Levine (Ithaca) 77, Rowan Hinrichsen (Ithaca) 77, Jack Fesetch (Horseheads) 80, Tino Shattuck (M-E) 81, Chase Buckley (M-E) 81, Brevin Bennett (Norwich) 81, Josh Stout (Horseheads) 81, Julien Smith (Norwich) 81, Owen Harrison (Chenango Valley) 81, Max Lisio (Binghamton) 82, Johnny Gorman (Vestal) 82, Michael Hotalen (Vestal) 82, Ben Tanton (Vestal) 82, Ryan Schappert (Union-Endicott) 82, Logan Kim (Vestal) 83, Joe Mastrantonio (Elmira) 83, Drew Scoville (SCC) 83, Finn Barber (Corning) 84, Justin Alvord (Vestal) 84, Will Pipher (SCC) 84, Dylan Brislin (Oneonta) 84.
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Recap of the Southern Tier Athletic Conference golf championship
