Melrose sends two golfers to North finals
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—The Melrose High golf team has completed their fall season following an appearance at the Middlesex League Shoot Out and more recently, the Div. 2 North Finals held on Oct. 14 at Bradford Country Club.
Melrose finishes their season 5-6 and in second place in the Middlesex Freedom League behind winner Wakefield. Just a few points shy of D2 North Final team qualification, Melrose nonetheless finishes with plenty to boast about, with high scores recorded at the league finals, a few upset wins, and sending two athletes to a postseason battle among the division’s best.
Longtime Melrose head coach Rick McDermod reflects on a season that began in August before school even started. “We had a couple matches that really came down to the wire. One more win would have had us 6-5 and playing as a team at North Finals. But it is what it is,” he says. “We let one go away with Wilmington, but we finished with a win over Stoneham and then played well at League Shoot Out.”
There, Melrose saw a team-best score earned by sophomore Colin Cote at the Middlesex League Shoot Out at Bear Hill Country Club, and it helped Melrose earn place second in the Freedom League. Cote shot 76, second best in both Freedom and Liberty divisions (tied with Arlington and Reading standouts). Other solid work was done by Melrose’s Justin Santoriello and Jack Burnham (79 for 10th place). “It was a beautiful day, and I was happy how we played,” notes McDermod.
Melrose also sent two of their top players, Jack Burnham and Colin Cote to represent the team at a rain-soaked Bradford Country Club last week. Melrose fell just shy of qualifying as a team.
Additionally, Melrose picked up their final match win of the season on Sept. 30 against Stoneham at Bellevue by a score of 41-31. It was a match that saw victories from Jack Burnham, Justin Santoriello, Colin Cote, Cole Mathews, Aiden Ryan and a tie from Cooper Kovacks. It marked one of the last high school matches for seniors Aiden Ryan, Jack Burnham, Tanner Kovacks, Ben Kavanaugh, Brendan Sestito and Damien Wittebol. “They are a great group of kids,” notes the coach. “Some have been with me since freshman or sophomore years and others transferred in.”
That means there are some open spots next season for budding golf athletes. And in the meantime, coach McDermod has a solid core returning include Colin Cote. McDermod notes of the golfer, “He’s only a sophomore and has a great future especially with this experience behind him.” He also expects big things from returning players Justin Santoriello, who will be a senior next year, along with Aiden Thompson, who McDermod notes grew tremendously over the season. “I think we will learn from this season. I stressed to my players how important it is not just to secure a win but to remember that every point counts.”
As always, he wants them to enter the off-season with the most important task of all: “Get out there and practice.”