Submitted photo. Warren JFK’s boys golf team stands with the state championship trophy on Saturday at NorthStar Golf Club. From left-to-right: Assistant coach Joey Canaan, junior Andrew Fredenburg, senior Taggart Carfangia, junior Henry Phillips, junior Andrew Lapolla, junior Julian Bolino and head coach James Lapolla.

WARREN — After the first day of the Division III state golf tournament on Friday, the Warren JFK boys golf team sat three shots off the lead.

Despite the solid start, Eagles coach James Lapolla knew his team was capable of more.

“After the first day, I had a little heart-to-heart with the boys,” Lapolla said. “I told them, here are my expectations, and you guys fell below them — not in a bad way, just to the degree where I was like, I know you’re better golfers than this.”

Lapolla challenged his team and they responded in the final round on Saturday, as the Eagles put together a masterful performance to defend their title and capture their second straight Division III state championship at NorthStar Golf Club.

“They went out today and everybody was swinging high, everybody was playing great. They showed me that we are better golfers. We have that talent,” Lapolla said. “It’s pure excitement. There’s no words to describe it. It’s so much fun to watch. So much energy and excitement. It’s been a blast.”

In the first round, JFK shot a 328, which put them in second place behind Sugarcreek Garaway.

But in Saturday’s final round, the Eagles showed why they’re the defending champions, as they shaved 22 shots off their first-round score to shoot 306 for a two-day total of 634 to win the tournament by two shots over Van Buren (636).

“I think nerves definitely played a factor (on Friday),” junior Andrew Lapolla said. “We just let them go because we weren’t in the lead. We’re chasers, and we had nothing to close, so we might as well give it our best and we’ll be right there.”

By the sixth hole on Saturday, JFK erased its first-round deficit and climbed up the leaderboard to take the lead. They maintained that lead as they got to the turn, but it fluctuated throughout the back-nine.

Despite that, the Eagles still had to hold off a charging Van Buren team down the stretch to close out the tournament.

“We started off pretty well — a lot stronger than yesterday,” junior Henry Phillips said. “Then on the back-nine, it looked pretty bleak. I checked the scores and it didn’t look good. I just told myself, I’m going to go out and try to make as many birdies as I can. I made three birdies on the last six holes and we won by two. So it was pretty up and down for sure, but we brought it home.”

Phillips and Andrew Lapolla proved to be two steadying forces for the Eagles, as they each put together back-to-back rounds in the 70s to lead the team.

Phillips went 76-73 to shoot 149 and finish tied for sixth overall, while Andrew Lapolla shot 77-74 for a 151 to finish tied for ninth with Cardinal Mooney’s Alex Eckstein.

Junior Andrew Fredenburg provided two consistent rounds with an 84-80 for a 164 total, which put him in a tie for 30th. Senior Taggart Carfangia then finished 62nd by shooting 94-93 for a 187 total.

But junior Julian Bolino had the biggest turnaround performance for the Eagles. After a disappointing 91 in the first round, Bolino bounced back with a 79 during the final round on Saturday, which provided a big lift for the Eagles’ team score. Bolino finished with a 170 total to finish in 41st.

“Individually, I saw nothing but determination and the want to do it again,” James Lapolla said. “They all went out and they had great attitude. They were all uppity, everyone was hitting great, everyone was happy, encouraging and everybody wanted to win today. It was nothing but great team camaraderie, just what we needed to get the job done.”

Winning another state championship has been like a dream for JFK’s core since they’ve been playing together since they were kids.

“It’s great to do it again,” Phillips said. “It shows that it wasn’t a fluke. We worked hard and deserved it. There’s nobody else that deserves it more than these guys. They work so hard and they deserve it so much, so it’s great.”

With Phillips, Andrew Lapolla, Fredenburg and Bolino all set to return next season for their senior years, JFK is already eyeing a possible three-peat.

“It’s definitely in the cards to try,” James Lapolla said. “It’s not going to be the same course next year, but you never know. We have the same golfers. They’re going to mature, they’re going to play more tournaments and they’re going to become better golfers. So we’ll see what next year brings.”

BADGER, MOONEY FINISH STRONG

Both Badger and Cardinal Mooney also put together solid team performances in Saturday’s final round to finish out the state tournament and the 2024 season strong.

After opening with a 340 on Friday, the Braves sat in 10th place behind the Cardinals in ninth place with a 335.

Badger then bounced back with a 320 on day two to finish the tournament in seventh place with a team total of 660. Mooney also improved on the second day, shooting 333 for a team total of 668, good enough for 10th place.

Individually, Eckstein led the Cardinals. He opened with a 71, which put him tied for second overall. But then an 80 in the final round gave him a 151 total, which put him in a tie for ninth overall.

Seniors Austin Mariani and Austin Tricker paced the Braves with a 15th- and 17-place finish, respectively. Mariani was consistent with a 77-77 (154), while Tricker improved on his first-round 80 with a final round 75 for a 155 total.

Dante Turner had a similar performance for the Cardinals, shooting 78-76 (154) to share 15th with Mariani.

Rounding out the scores for Mooney, sophomore Tyler Guerrieri shot 95-82 (177) for 57th, senior Elias Lyras shot 91-95 (186) for 61st and junior Constantine Stamp shot 101-102 (203) to finish 70th.

For Badger, junior Tyler McWilliams shot 89-86 (175) and tied for 50th, sophomore Brody Shay shot 94-82 (176) to tie for 55th and junior Jacob Metz shot 100-115 (215) to finish 71st.