Panthers golfers finish season at championships
Shane Stackpole shot a 99, leading the way for the Central Aroostook Panthers at the Class C state team championships held at Natanis Golf Club in Vassalboro Saturday.
Tyson Cyr carded a 108 for the Panthers, while Ted Wheeler was next with a 119. Isabelle Wright and Taia Tilley followed with scores of 122 and 129, respectively.
The Panthers shot a 447 as a team, placing them 10th out of 11 teams.
“The state championship is always a challenge as most of the team works the harvest, so they go about three weeks without swinging a club,” said Panther coach Adam Metzler. “It can be challenging to go that long without playing and four of the team members haven’t had the opportunity to play at the state championship yet so that was a new experience for them, but we played a practice round [Friday] and the team really enjoyed the course.
“The actual championship was a new experience for the team and the size of it caught them off guard a bit, but once the golf started they did exactly as I was expecting. The team all had a good time and really enjoyed the experience and they are already looking forward to making it back next year,” he added.
Central Aroostook compiled a 4-2 regular season match record and placed second at the Aroostook League championships held in Houlton last month. Metzler said Stackpole, Cyr and Wheeler all showed great improvement from 2015 and that the new players, Wright and Tilley, picked up the game fast and improved as the season went along. The veteran coach said all five are underclassmen, so next year looks promising.
Logan Thompson fired the lowest round of the day regardless of class with a 68 in powering Mattanawcook of Lincoln to the team championship.
The Lynx carded a 311, 18 shots ahead of runner-up St. Dominic of Auburn.
Rounding out the top five were Winthrop (347), Dirigo of Dixfield (350) and Houlton (358).
The individual state championships will also be held at Natanis Saturday, Oct. 15. Local golfers competing are Fort Fairfield’s Jon Bernard, Sara Edgecomb and Sadie Edgecomb and Presque Isle’s Hunter Flynn and Libby Boone.
