ROCKLAND — Winning the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Class B Shootout became twice as nice for the Leavitt golf team on Wednesday afternoon.
The Hornets, who finished with a 164 team score, cruised to victory at the Rockland Golf Club. It’s the second straight KVAC B Shootout title for Leavitt, which also received an automatic bid to the Class B team state championships on Oct. 8 at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.
“The team has been working pretty hard,” Leavitt head coach Harry Haylock said. “It showed with a championship round today. Much different than last year. I’m sure most remember how cold and rainy it was (in 2021).”
Belfast finished in second with 179 points, while Marnacook finished third with 185.
Junior A.J. Davis (39) and senior Billy Visconti (39) each led the Hornets with the lowest individual scores of the afternoon. Aiden Lind shot a 42, while Jade Haylock and Alexis McCormick each shot 44s for Leavitt.
“It’s awesome (t0 win),” Jade Haylock said. “We worked really hard for this. It’s just great to see all that hard work pay off.”
The Hornets were especially excited in the clubhouse when hearing the score for Davis, who has shown improvement in his game over the season.
Belfast’s James Ritter putts during the KVAC B/C Shootout on Wednesday at Rockland Golf Club. Michael G. Seamans/Morning Sentinel
“I’m pretty excited,” Davis said. “It’s nice to finally see the work I put in kind of pay off. I could not miss (with the driver). I don’t think I missed a fairway today. It was awesome today.”
“It’s a pretty deep team. Anyone can shoot good scores,” Harry Haylock added. “As far as A.J. goes, it’s nice to see a success story. He was down in the dumps last year, not feeling very confident in his game. For me as a coach, it’s a proud moment to see him. He’s beaming with confidence, the way he strides on the course. It’s such a rewarding feeling, I’m so happy for him.”
Conditions were nearly perfect in Rockland, with sunny skies and a slight breeze playing the course.
“The course is beautiful,” Davis said. “They’ve done a great job here; this is awesome.”
Senior James Ritter had the low score for Belfast, finishing with a 40. K.J. Payson (45), Gary Gale (47) and Hagen Chase (47) followed for the Lions.
James Marr had the low score for Maranacook, shooting a 43. He was followed by Wyatt Folsom (44) and Ethan Chilton (48).
“We just knew we needed to play well to beat Leavitt and Belfast; we’ve seen their scores and knew we needed to play pretty well,” Folsom said. “(The 185) was our highest score this year, so it wasn’t ideal… We’re feeling really good this year, (Wednesday) was our first loss of the year. We have a really good team this year. No seniors (on the roster) either, which is really nice. We hope to shoot some pretty good scores at qualifiers and, hopefully, states.”
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