Swinging Through the Season
Monyca G.
After an unforgettable 9-8 season, the Boys Varsity Golf team had sophomore Charlie Parcell make it to sectionals with his phenomenal scores in regionals and conference. At regionals, the boys proved their worth with a total score of 377. Parcell ended with an 88, sophomore Anthony Nabor with a 98, and senior Daniel Mabrito with a 93. “I knew I qualified once the opponent from Leyden missed his putt. My reaction was somewhat delayed because I didn’t officially know until my coaches started congratulating me,” Parcell said. On Sept. 30, at the conference meet, Parcell ended with an 89, Nabor with a 95, and Mabrito with a 98. “Our best 18-hole match was at conference, the team played their best golf yet. These three guys have yet to break 100, which shows me how far they have come as golfers,” head coach Mike Godlewski said.
Starting off well early in the season, on Sept. 11, the whole boys golf program took the W against Wheeling, under that lights at Golf Center, by two strokes, 122-124. “It meant so much to me because I got to play against one of my good friends, who I’ve played baseball with since we began high school, and my partner and I shot a 29 which was the top score there, which was really special,” senior Jack White said. The Maine-Niles shootout on August 19 was one of the boys’ first matches; with the three Maine schools and two Niles schools, the boys went 2-2 for that night.
The boys had been able to stay under 180 all year and on Oct. 1 they kept that streak by beating Elmwood Park by six strokes, with the ending score being 168- 174. “My best score of the season was a 40 at Chick Evans Golf Course against Elmwood Park. I’m surprised that was my best score this year considering it was 55 degrees and raining that day,” Parcell said.
In the unusual time in which we are living, COVID-19 has made athletics for all sports disparate from past years and has challenged the players and coaches in many different ways. Fortunately, the golf team still played many matches and had practices when able. “I still had a lot of fun and was able to help develop some of the younger kids throughout the season,” White said. Their season was cut short due to rescheduling, though. The “biggest struggle was that we had to wear masks all the time and the communication from players to players lacked that jovial fun talk. We also missed out on our bus rides to and from matches which took away from just connecting with the players,” Godlewski said.
This year, the boys team was led by seniors Daniel Mabrito and Jack White — the only seniors on the team this season. White was out due to an emergency appendectomy for the Wheeling, Deerfield, Highland Park, and conference meets. “To see where Mabrito and White ended up, as two amazing captains, two amazing young men –they exceeded my expectations for captains. They held themselves well and made sure the younger guys acceled as well,” Godlewski said.
During tough matches during a complicated season, , the boys felt supported and understood by their coaches. “I don’t think of Coach Godlewski and Coach Ellefson as just my coaches, they are my friends too. They always want me to succeed and play to my best ability; my coaches have taught me a lot, not only about golf but about life,” Mabrito said.
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