BY SAPNA PATHAK
The night before this year’s Class I boys golf tournament was not spent resting or making sure his team’s equipment was in order.
No, for Joel St. Laurent, it meant standing on the course at Manchester Country Club, perfecting his golfers’ strokes well into the evening.
St. Laurent led the boys of Bedford High golf into their first appearance at the tournament on Thursday, Oct. 4, at Beaver Meadow. The Bulldogs placed fifth in the match with a team score of 417.
“They were pretty laid-back about it,” said St. Laurent. “But I was really nervous for them. I was on the course late with them the night before just working on things until dark. It’s the first Bedford High team, so there were high expectations, but also, we gave ourselves a learning curve since we’re very young and this
whole experience was new for them.”
Bedford entered the tournament tied for 10th place in Class I with a 15-10 regular-season record. The match included the top 20 teams in Class I, with the top-10 teams allowed eight golfers and the top five scores accounting for the final team score.
Teams ranked 11th to 20th brought two golfers to compete for the chance to advance to the individual tournament. The top 24 golfers, including ties, moved on to the individual championship on Saturday, Oct. 6.
Freshman Jake Nutter, who helped the McKelvie Middle School team win the state title this past spring, led the Bulldogs with a 77. Zach Husband and Kevin White each shot 83; Andrew Weeks fired an 86; Travis Martin and Nutter’s teammate on McKelvie’s championship team, Joe Angelini, both shot 88. John Lawless carded a 91, and Matt Woodmansee finished with a 97.
“They adapted well, but they were a little worn down toward the middle of the season,” said St. Laurent.
“These are young men who’d have long bus rides after a full day of school. It was an adjustment for them, but they learned from it along the way.”
Bedford High houses freshman and sophomores this year, leaving St. Laurent, a long-time golf instructor at Manchester Country Club, with a core group of golfers who’ll return next season and a solid feeder system that used to benefit West High.
“This is a big event for these golfers,” said St. Laurent. “But many of them have been golfing for a long time now and have seen success in middle school. Being quite a young team could have hurt them, but it will also help us build a strong program in the future, having a group that can grow together.”