BY SAPNA PATHAK
On the first day of the season, Donald Van Uden relayed a message to his team. After watching his West golfers post a 32-4 record, the second-best regular-season finish in program history, Van Uden repeated the message.
“Only one day counts, and that’s Oct. 4,” said Van Uden, referring to the date of this year’s NHIAA Class L boys golf tournament. “There were a lot of good teams going into this year’s tournament, and the competition was just very tight. My core group has been together with me four years now, so it’ll be sad to not have another chance at a title. But they’ve come so far, it’s nice to look back on.”
The Blue Knights entered the team tournament ranked No. 1 in the Class L standings. Van Uden’s squad placed fourth overall, shooting 395 in the championship match at Canterbury Woods.
The match included the top 20 teams in Class L, with the top-10 teams allowed eight golfers and the top five scores accounting for the final team score. Teams ranked 11th through 20th brought two golfers to compete for the chance to advance to the individual tournament. The top 24 golfers, including ties, moved to the individual championship on Saturday, Oct. 6.
In front of West was Pinkerton Academy, in third place with a score of 394, and last year’s champion, Concord, in second place with a score of 393. This year’s title went to Bishop Guertin of Nashua, which shot 388.
Bedford senior Kyle Badger led the Blue Knights with a 73, followed by Bedford’s Ken Nutter with a 78.
Hooksett native Matt Breault finished the day with an 80 while Nutter’s brother, Kyle, shot an 81.
Junior Scott Underhill came up with an 83, senior Garrett Lofstrom added an 85, Devin Greaney shot an 86 and junior Nick Bennett carded a 96.
“This team was extremely talented, only the team in 1994 had a better record,” said Van Uden. “So they have the second-best record in 34 years I’ve been coaching and have nothing to be ashamed of.”
With the opening of Bedford High School this year, Van Uden looks to next year as perhaps the final season for West High’s golf program. Looking ahead to the fall of 2009, the Blue Knights mentor said the lack of young players feeding into his program from Bedford’s McKelvie Middle School will largely impact future rosters.
“Not one person from Manchester tried out for this year’s team,” said Van Uden. “So I doubt very much that we will have any tryout next year. It will be very difficult to field a competitive team in two years, or even a team at all. Right now, we should just enjoy our success from this season.”