High School Golf State Championship Preview
Two of the most exciting days of the golf season get underway on Tuesday morning at Cranston Country Club – the Rhode Island High School Golf State Championship.
And this year is arguably the biggest one yet as all three championships (boys, girls, team) will all be decided, as GolfNewsRI reported.
In previous years, the Girls Championship was held separately.
First round tee times begin around 7 a.m. on Tuesday and end just before noon time.
Here are a Few Things to Know:
What Teams Made It:
The teams that made it to the State Championship are Barrington, Hendricken, Cranston West, East Greenwich, La Salle, Moses Brown, Mount St. Charles, North Kingstown, Pilgrim and Prout.
There will be a cut after round one to the top three teams.
Notable Individuals Playing (not part of team tournament):
Along with the teams, there are a handful of boys and girls playing for individual titles, despite their teams not making the tournament.
Those players include Toll Gate’s Ryan Dacey, Narragansett’s Sebastian Carlsson, St. Rays’ Nick Emery, Cumberland’s Jonny Walsh, Coventry’s Sam Fuentes, Smithfield’s Samantha Tinsley, St. Mary-Bay View’s Katherine Waldorf and more.
Everybody playing for their respective teams have a shot at the individual title.
Storylines:
La Salle going for Repeat:
The Rams enter the tournament looking to repeat last season’s team championship victory.
With Max Jackson, Olivia Williams and Joe Earley locked in, they will be tough to beat.
However, East Greenwich was two strokes better than them in the regular season, and Hendricken and Barrington were only two strokes behind La Salle.
The Rams are the favorites, however, expect runs from EG, Hendricken and Barrington.
Max Jackson Going for Three-Peat
La Salle’s Max Jackson will continue his chase toward history as he looks to win his third straight individual championship.
Over the past two seasons, Jackson has won the State Title with “relative” ease, and perhaps that will happen again this week.
However, for what it is worth, EG’s Ryan Marcantonio beat Jackson in stroke average during the regular season and so did Toll Gate’s Ryan Dacey, granted it was by percentage points.
Of course, the caveat is that they were not all playing the same course, so put into that what you will.
Other than Marcantonio and Dacey, players that you could see challenge Jackson include Narragansett’s Sebastian Carlsson, Prout’s DJ Bruno and Jackson’s own teammate Joe Earley.
Girls Division Battle Royal
Moses Brown’s Kylie Eaton and La Salle’s Olivia Williams have traded championships over the last year, with Williams winning the 2022 Girls State Title, Kylie winning the Women’s Amateur and Williams beating Kylie in the Junior Amateur.
Who will take the next chapter of this friendly rivalry?
Or, it could be neither of them and Kylie’s sister Adriana could get the win. Adriana is a freshman at Moses Brown and won a Challenge Cup Tournament earlier this season.
She has also come close to beating her sister on several different stages.
Other players to watch on the girls side include Smithfield’s Samantha Tinsley and Barrington’s Lily Dessel.
Notable Tee Times:
Full list of tee times HERE
First tee time off:
7 a.m.
Barrington’s Nolan Leonard, Middletown’s Evelyn Button, West Warwick’s Logan Jarbeau
9:15 a.m.
Cranston West’s Michael DeCesare, Portsmouth’s Joe Nardolillo, Prout’s Mark Roberts
10 a.m.
La Salle’s Molly McCrillis, Moses Brown’s Hana Shuster, Smithfield’s Samantha Tinsley
10:09 a.m.
Barrington’s Lily Dessel, Hendricken’s Avery Picchione, Moses Brown’s Jack McNulty
10:36 a.m.
Hendricken’s Michael Pezzullo, Moses Brown’s Adriana Eaton, Barrington’s Sean Bonneau
10:45 a.m.
Barrington’s AJ Colonna, Hendricken’s Brady Williams, Moses Brown’s Parker Kroll
10:54 a.m.
Moses Brown’s Kylie Eaton, Hendricken’s Andrew Chadwick, Barrington’s Cole Vieira
11:30 a.m.
East Greenwich’s Dylan Marcantonio, La Salle’s Olivia Williams, Chariho’s Ian Dunham
11:39 a.m.
East Greenwich’s Brendan Fox, La Salle’s Joe Earley, Narragansett’s Sebastian Carlsson
11:48 a.m.
La Salle’s Max Jackson, Toll Gate’s Ryan Dacey, East Greenwich’s Ryan Marcantonio