The top high school golfers in the state will vie for individual titles Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.
All players will start at 10 a.m. Classes A and B boys will play the Tomahawk course, while girls and Class C boys will play the Arrowhead course.
Among the expected contenders in Class A are Chris Billings of Cheverus, Drew Powell of Bangor, Joe Lesniak of Falmouth, Brett Braasch of Thornton Academy and Nick Mazurek of Oceanside.
Billings led SMAA qualifiers with a 73 at Natanis. Powell shot a 72 last week in the state team championship. Lesniak had a 78 last week to help Falmouth win the Class A title.
The best competition looks to be in Class B, where several golfers are capable of going low. Reese McFarlane of Cape Elizabeth won the Class B title last year as a sophomore and shot a 75 last week in the team championship as Cape finished second behind Camden Hills.
Luke Ruffing of Maranacook shot a 68 in qualifying and came back with a 71 in last Saturday’s team championship, both at Natanis. Daulton Wickenden of Camden Hills had a 72 last week, the same score he shot in qualifying for the individual tournament. Gavin Dugas of Maine Central Institute also carded a pair of 74s in qualifying and the team championship.
Taylor Morang of Winthrop opened eyes last week with his 2-under-par 70 in the Class C team championship as the Ramblers finished second, one shot behind St. Dominic. He shot 78 to qualify. Morang should contend for the Class C title with Mike Richard of St. Dom’s and Robbie Watson of Fort Fairfield.
The girls’ tournament could be wide open. Monica Austin of Yarmouth led southern Maine qualifiers with an 80 at Willowdale Golf Course in Scarborough. Her teammate, Grace King, qualified with an 86. Other golfers to look for are Bailey Plourde of Lincoln Academy, who qualified with an 82, Kelsie Dessert of Lawrence (83), and this summer’s Maine Junior champion, Jenna Hallett of Presque Isle, who had an 89.
Tom Chard can be contacted at 791-6419 or at:
tchard@pressherald.com
Twitter: TomChardPPH
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