Wrestling high school students out of bed in the morning could be considered a sport unto itself. And on a teachers’ workshop day? Forget about it.
Unless those kids are members of the St. Dom’s golf team.
Friday, on a day schoolmates were blessed with an extra day off before the weekend, the Saints’ golfers rolled up to Fox Ridge Golf Club in Auburn. At 6:45 a.m. In the dark.
“We teed off, it was pitch black,” St. Dom’s coach Kevin Cullen said. “We saw the sun rise when we got to the 12th tee. It was the kids, we gave them the option, and there was no question, they wanted to be out there that early.”
The Saints, along with Dirigo High School of Dixfield, will represent the Mountain Valley Conference at the Class C state golf team championships Saturday at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro on Saturday. Two-time state champs, in 2007 and 2008, the Saints lost out by four shots a year ago to Houlton.
“These guys, with one exception, aren’t the guys who won two state titles,” Cullen said. “Those kids are all gone now and this is a new group that wants to make its own mark. You can feel that as a coach. It would be their first.”
At the MVC team and individual qualifier, St. Dom’s posted a four-man score of 320, an average of 80 strokes per player. Cullen was pleased.
“I thought we played great shooting that 320,” Cullen said, “and I know Houlton went out and qualified with a 312. They beat us last year by four, and they didn’t graduate anyone, so I would have to say that they’re the favorites right now.”
Of course, there is always old Western Maine Conference nemesis NYA, and defending Class C medalist Tim Millett.
“This is going to be competitive, and that’s great,” Cullen said.
St. Dom’s also may get a chance to play alongside Houlton, something about which Cullen has mixed feelings.
“I think it would be great to play in the same groups as Houlton, just so we can see what the competition is doing all day,” Cullen said. “But I don’t want the kids to go in there with a match play mentality, either. Our goal is to go into the weekend, play the best golf we can, be conservative on the course, and hope the scores hold up against the competition.”
Eddies squeak in
After an up-and-down regular season, and without ever qualifying for the KVAC playoffs, the Edward Little Red Eddies are the only Class A team in the tri-county area to move on to the Class A state team championships at Natanis on Saturday.
“We really did have a strange season,” EL coach Richard Dahlquist said. “When we played Lewiston and Oxford Hills at home, I thought we should probably have beaten them, and we didn’t, and I was thinking, ‘I know we’re a better team than this.'”
The Eddies posted a score of 345 at the conference qualifier this week, good enough to earn the league’s sixth and final qualifying position.
“Our ticket has been punched,” Dahlquist said. “That’s the important part. All of the guys just played great at the qualifier.”
EL finished 22 strokes back of top-qualifier Messalonskee, and a scant four shots ahead of seventh-place Lewiston for the final position. The team’s average score for its four lowest scoring golfers was 86.25.
Now, Dahlquist said, comes the fun part.
“We’re going up there with absolutely no expectations,” Dahlquist said. “These kids have no idea what this level of golf will be like. We really have nothing to lose.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
