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Sullivan steady as RHAM wins CIAC Division II golf title

carl adamec, journal inquirer, manchester, conn.
·5 min read

Jun. 7—HEBRON — Holden Sullivan wasn't quite sure what to expect when he joined the RHAM High boys golf team for his junior season.

His family moved back to Connecticut a year ago after his mother — former UConn basketball star Jennifer Rizzotti — took a job as team president of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. His teams at James Madison High in Vienna, Virginia were good, he said. But how would he fit in here?

The Raptors had four golfers back from a team that finished eighth in the Division II state championships a year ago. They would add Sullivan and freshman Conner Rabbitt to the mix and it would be up to first-year coach Spencer Molkenthin to make it work.

"You have to keep in mind that it's not about yourself," Sullivan said. "You're playing for everyone on your team. If you get frustrated, you put it behind you. Don't let your own negative emotions get in your head and have an effect on the team."

The formula could not have worked better.

RHAM had four players break 80 and place in the Top 11 Monday and won the Division II championship at Tallwood Country Club for the program's first state title. The Raptors' team total of 23-over-par 311 was 14 strokes better than second-place Ellington.

"Mark Law left me with the greatest group of young men I've encountered," Molkenthin said. "It was a true blessing to coach these young men the last two months.

"We're about being ourselves. Golf is a very serious sport. It's supposed to be, 'This is how you play. These are the rules.' We try to sit back and relax and play our game and don't let the pressure get to us. Have fun. You only get so many times to be able to play free golf, right? We have a lot of fun on bus rides and in practice. The competition is serious. It's a family out here."

Ellington junior Bradley Sawka won the individual crown with a 3-under-par 69, seven strokes ahead of Watertown's Mason LaCapra.

Rabbitt and junior Carson Waddell paced the Raptors by shooting 5-over 77 to tie with Ellington sophomore James O'Connor and Killingly's Cameron Seiffert for third. Sullivan's 78 gave him a share of seventh with Tolland sophomore Max Baldwin, Stonington's Brandon Tavares, and Watertown's Eric Forte. Hulland, a senior, had a 79 for 11th on his own.

RHAM was seeded second entering the event behind Killingly.

"We have a great group of guys that have meshed really well together," Rabbitt said. "It's great camaraderie.

"We like to have fun. We're competitive but we like to have fun. Sometimes it's hard when you're trying to shoot a number. But when you go out there and you're working to do the best you can, it's fun."

As Rizzotti's old college coach Geno Auriemma has said for more than three decades — Play hard. Play smart. Have fun.

RHAM's previous best was a second place in Division III behind Ellington in 2004.

"We spend a lot of time around each other, play a lot of practice rounds together," Sullivan said. "We got to know each other and made fun of each other a little bit, Being together helped us become one unit."

The Raptors shared the CCC East title with Tolland and finished third in the CCC championships Thursday behind East Catholic and Tolland.

Rabbitt led the way for RHAM in the conference tournament and shared honors with Waddell Monday as the freshman showed no nerves in his first state event.

""I play in a lot of other events so I'm pretty used to the pressure," Rabbitt said. "Off the tee I've been pretty good, but my putting has been iffy. It didn't really come all together today but I do think I played well."

Tolland finished fifth with a team total of 334 behind Baldwin and AJ Cady (83). Suffield was eighth (355) with Justin Lucido shooting an 81. Rockville was 11th (374) as Michael Naylor shot a team-best 89.

Sullivan and Rabbitt were named to the Division II All-State team. They were joined by Ellington's Sawka and O'Connor, Tolland's Baldwin, Killingly's Sieffert and Ethan Lackner, Branford's Justin Acquarulo and Keegan LaLonde, and Stonington's Tavares.

Division II results

(at Tallwood Country Club-Hebron, par-72)

TEAM SCORES: RHAM 311, Ellington 325, Killingly 328, Stonington 333, Tolland 334, Watertown 334, Branford 337, Suffield 355, Waterford 358, Bacon Academy 364, Rockville 374, Haddam-Killingworth 377, Sheehan 377, Jonathan Law 380, Granby 384, East Haven 396, Foran 405.

TOP 15 INDIVIDUALS: Bradley Sawka (Ellington) 69, Mason LaCapra (Watertown) 76, James O'Connor (Ellington) 77, Conner Rabbitt (RHAM) 77, Cameron Seiffert (Killingly) 77, Carson Waddell (RHAM) 77, Max Baldwin (Tolland) 78, Eric Forte (Watertown) 78, Holden Sullivan (RHAM) 78, Brandon Tavares (Stonington) 78, Jimmy Hulland (RHAM) 79, Russell Brown (Granby) 80, Keegan LaLonde (Branford) 80, Justin Lucido (Suffield) 81, Justin Acquarulo (Branford) 81, Ethan Lackner (Killingly) 81.

Area results

RHAM (311): Holden Sullivan 78, Conner Rabbitt 77, Carson Waddell 77, Jimmy Hulland 79, Preston Duprey 87.

Ellington (325): Bradley Sawka 69, James O'Connor 77, Nate Miller 89, James York 90, Trajan Trantolo 95.

Tolland (334): Max Baldwin 78, AJ Cady 83, Aidan Zahner 87, Sophia Cunningham 86, Keegan Hodgekinson 88.

Suffield (355): Justin Lucido 81, Aiden Grabowski 95, Leif Lindeland 92, Tim Galica 87, Sean Plourde 99.

Rockville (374): Owen Cascario 92, Michael Naylor 89, Jayson Rhoades 97, Lucas Bonadies 96, Ross Sutherland 116.

For coverage of all sports in the JI's 18-town coverage area, plus updates on the UConn women's basketball team and head coach Geno Auriemma, follow Carl Adamec on Twitter: @CarlAdamec, Facebook: Carl Adamec, and Instagram: @CarlAdamec.