VASSALBORO — A year ago the Winthrop High School golf team was fighting back tears just outside the clubhouse at Natanis Golf Club as it watched Saint Dominic Academy accept the state championship trophy.
If there were any tears shed Saturday by the Ramblers, they were ones of joy.
After falling to the Saints by a single stroke for the 2013 title Winthrop came though this time around at Natanis, posting a 215 team score to hold off St. Dom’s (324) and Houlton (326) to capture the first state championship of 2014. According to the Maine Principals Association, it is the first state title in golf for the Ramblers since 1995.
“It’s such a nice comeback after the disappointment of standing here last year with a bunch of guys crying because they could all think of that one stroke that they could have done better to do it,” Winthrop coach Lonnie Steeves said. “They all just made a commitment that we were going to get back there next year.
“… All year long they’ve quietly waited for today.”
Senior Taylor Morang led the way for the Ramblers with one of his finest performances of the season, carding a 4-under-par 68 in a round that featured seven birdies, eight pars and three bogeys.
Rounding out Winthrop’s top four were Adam Hachey (77), Anthony Owens (81) and Zach Robertson (89). Ben Caprara was the Ramblers’ fifth with a 94.
The key for any golfer looking to post a low round is fairways and greens, and on Saturday, Morang did just that. After carding his first bogey of the round on the par 4 eighth, he responded with a birdie on No. 9 to post a 3-under 33 on the front nine.
“I felt good when I started,” Morang said. “I didn’t know it was going to be 68 good, but it felt good.
“… I can’t even put in perspective what just happened. It means a lot considering we lost by one stroke last year. We weren’t going to leave that to chance.”
In eight of his last 10 holes Morang hit the fairway and then was on the green in regulation, routinely giving himself a look at birdie. On the Arrowhead course’s signature hole, the par 3 12th that features a 60-foot drop in elevation from tee to green, he hit a little draw that set himself up for a seven-foot birdie putt.
Morang added another birdie on the par 5 15th, sticking a 60-yard approach shot to within 12 feet and sinking the putt. After dropping a shot with a bogey on No. 16, he gave himself a look at eagle on the short, 385-yard par 5 17th, but Morang just burned the left edge of the cup on a right-to-left 20-footer.
He closed his round out with a bogey on No. 18, but it very nearly could have been much worse. Morang missed left with his tee shot and the ball settled in the rough just a few feet short of the water hazard. Initially it looked as if he was going to try for the green from the awkward lie inside of 100 yards, but instead elected to chip back onto the fairway.
The move proved to be a wise one, as he gave himself a good look at par with his approach shot before settling for a bogey after two-putting.
“The maturity of the choice was the highlight of that,” Steeves said.
Wisdom was clearly on the Ramblers’ side Saturday, particularly with Owens after the senior got off to a disastrous start.
“Last year I would have imploded,” Owens said. “I would have been like, ‘OK, I’m done. I can’t shoot lower than the four or five. My score is not going to count.'”
Starting on the par 4 eighth hole, Owens hit his tee shot into the woods on the right and was forced to take an unplayable.
“Then I proceeded to do everything wrong and make a nine,” Owens said. “That’s five over on the first hole.
“After that I’m just trying to calm down and I’m not really succeeding at it.”
Owens then made a bogey on the short par 4 to move to 6-over but said he took a moment to talk to Steeves afterward that helped calm him down. He added another bogey two holes later, but from that point forward played just 1-over par for the final 14 holes. Had he continued on the same path at which he started, the Ramblers likely would have been watching the Saints celebrate their fifth straight state title.
“That was enormous,” Steeves said. “That was a gritty, gritty round of golf for a kid.
“… It’s a pretty special group.”
• • •
Winthrop, of course, was not the only school to celebrate a state title Saturday.
In Class B it was Camden Hills repeating as champion, holding off Cape Elizabeth 313-327. Maine Central Institute (329), Old Town (338) and Erskine (342) finished third through fifth, respectively.
For the Eagles, it was a strong result given their finishes during the regular season, as they had lost to Gardiner twice during the regular season.
“We cut our qualifying score down from 367 to 342,” Erskine coach Mark Bailey said. “I’m pretty pleased with that.
“We certainly played our best golf today. I think a lot had to do with we didn’t have a lot of expectations coming into today and everybody played relaxed. They were able to play their best.”
Leading the way for the Eagles was Cameron Grass with an 82, followed by Robert Harmon (84), Trevor Browne (87) and Tyler Bailey (89).
“I played pretty well. I shot an 82, which was a solid round — better front that back,” Grass said. “We’ve been solid all around. A few up and downs, we went 9-2. The only people we lost to was Gardiner, which was kind of nice because we ended up shooting better than them today.”
The Tigers finished the day in eighth place (364) with Brian Dunn leading the way with an 88, followed by Brady Smith (88), Seth McFarland (93) and Logan Peacock (96). Oak Hill was 11th with Conor Drouin posting the low round for the Raiders with a 98.
Scarborough combined to shoot a 318 to take home the Class A state title, while Greely and Falmouth each finished at 320. The Rangers took second based on their fifth place golfer.
It was a solid showing for young Messalonskee squad, as Billy Rollins shot an 80 to help pace the Eagles to a ninth place finish. Dylan Burton (83), Nick Labun (88) and Reily Campbell (91) rounded out the top four for the Eagles.
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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