Previewing high school state golf: Ponte Vedra Sharks will try to add to the record book
The Ponte Vedra High boys golf team is going for an eighth state championship and a sixt in a row in the Class 2A state tournament Nov. 15-16 at the Mission Inn Resort El Campeon Course.
Fourteen other teams from the First Coast would settle for one.
The Sharks are among seven boys teams who will be playing in state tournaments in three classifications beginning with the Class 3A state tournaments on Nov. 8-9, continuing on Nov. 11-12 with the Class 1A tournaments and then concluding with the Class 2A tournaments.
More high school golf coverage
Shark hunt: Brock Blais, Nancy Cox go low to lead Ponte Vedra golf teams to region titles
High school district golf roundup: Ponte Vedra boys, girls cruise to victory, Nease boys roll
Tough call: Nease boys golf team misses state tournament after key player disqualified for viewing video
Ponte Vedra has been dominant in District 3 and Region 1 play. Of the eight scores that were counted in each 18-hole tournament, the Sharks posted scores in the 60s twice (Brock Blais with a 69 in the region tournament and Camden Smith with a 69 in the district) and seven under par.
Ponte Vedra is the top seed in the state tournament with a team ranking of nearly 7-under. Broward American Heritage is next at 2.6-over.
The Ponte Vedra girls team is also the top seed in their state tournament and are among eight teams in state tournaments. Nancy Cox posted a 70 in the district tournament and a 67 in the region that is the lowest area score at either tournament, boys or girls.
All boys state tournaments will be at the El Campeon Course and the girls will play at Las Colinas.
Class 3A, Nov. 8-9
Area boys team: Fleming Island (Tyler Mawhinney, Colton Swartz, Dylan Frein, Ryan Houck).
Area individuals: Jackson Klauk (Nease), Jackson Runquist (Fletcher), Brody Stevenson (Bartram Trail).
Notable: The Golden Eagles are the only team in the 3A tournament and are the 13th seed. Nease's Jackson Klauk is the fourth seed among players who qualified individually, followed by fifth-seeded Jackson Runquist of Fletcher and seventh-seeded Brody Stevenson of Bartram Trail. Klauk and Stevenson have posted back-to-back scores of 70 in the district and region.
Area girls teams: Bartram Trail (Helena Rios, Fiona Clancy, Abrianna Carstens, Ashley Mikesell, Lizzie Thompson); Nease (Shanya Arasu, Gabby Sartori, Aliyah Sta Ana, Sophia Cavanagh, Nyla Myers); Fleming Island (Alzybeth Morgan, Kalia Polete, Chloe Blanc, Cambree Hodge, Kathryn McNeill).
Area individuals: None.
Notable: This looks to be a Central Florida shootout among Lake Mary, Lake Nona and St. Cloud, with Niceville as a spoiler. Bartram Trail, third in the region, is the eighth seed and at-large teams Nease are 13th and Fleming Island 15th.
Class 1A, Nov. 11-12
Area boys teams: Episcopal (Henry Robards, Cam Goldknopf, Aubrey Fellows, Connor Hess, Grant McKinney); Bolles (Andrew Morgan, Luke Balaskiewicz, Andrew Kunkle, Dylan Ma, Hudson Bell).
Area individual: Miles Russell (Providence).
Notable: Episcopal and Bolles have traded body blows, with the Eagles winning the region by six shots after Bolles won the district by eight. But in a class loaded with private and virtual schools, Bolles is the seventh seed and Episcopal eighth and everyone is chasing Lake Mary Prep anyway.
Area girls teams: Bolles (Madison Balaskiewicz, Violet Robbins, Anaiya Nahar, Grace Breffitt, Chloe McGrath); Episcopal (Sahana Chokshi, Olivia Messana, Sofia Davila, Ella Rhodin, Isabella Gatewood). Providence (Emma Wells, Alexa Fallis, Emily Burford, Jessee Thompson, Mia Kemph.
Area individuals: Addy Vogt (St. Johns Country Day), Danielle Dailey (St. Joseph).
Notable: Like the boys, this is a difficult class with top seeds Circle Christian, Lake Mary Prep and First Academy. Bolles won the district and region by a combined 53 shots but it didn't get them any higher than the 11th seed. There should be a good battle for low area player between Bulldog teammates Madison Balaskiewicz and Violet Robbins. Balaskieicz defeated Robbins by two shots to win the region individual title, a week after Robbins won the district by three.
Class 2A, Nov. 15-16
Area boys teams: Ponte Vedra (Brock Blais, Camden Smith, Carson Brewer, Stefan Ink, Rohan Singh); Bishop Kenny (Evan Raynor, Cody Tucker, Adam Enoch, Trey Seeker, Michael Saunders); Beachside (Nolan Harper, Barton Abstein, Jonah Nacional, Brock Wilson, Caiden Lee); Fernandina Beach (Tanner Millar, Decah McDaniel, Sean Benjamin, Noah Reynolds, Colby Albert).
Area individuals: Connor Williams (Lake City Columbia), Chase Carroll (Middleburg), Alex Lymus (Stanton), Carter Abitabilo (Tocoi Creek).
Notable: The Sharks still have to show up for two rounds and post a score, and American Heritage has battled the Sharks hard in past years. But any performances close to the way the Sharks played in the district (3-under as a team) and the region (8-under) will be hard to beat. A big golf clap to Beachside, which is playing in the first state competition in the school's young history -- it's been open only three months.
Area girls teams: Ponte Vedra (Nancy Cox, Lauren Barned, Alexandra Drum, Stella Moritz, Tory Barned); Columbia (Veona Osborne, Karlee Gainey, Alison O'Brien, Ashley Nelson, Megan Ruwe).
Area individuals: Alyssa Hardy (Stanton), Sadaly Campbell (Fernandina Beach), Ralienne Nacional (Beachside).
Notable: The Sharks won their district by 74 shots and the region by 36, and is the top seed over American Heritage by 28 shots. The depth has been the key: Ponte Vedra placed its five golfers among the top-seven in the district tournament and among the top-13 in the region.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ponte Vedra High boys, girls golf teams are top seeds in state tournaments
