Houlton, who took second behind undefeated Presque Isle, qualified for the state championship match at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro on Oct. 6.
Houlton shot a combined score of 345, while Presque Isle squeaked ahead with a 343. Juniors Porter Gervais and Dylan Flewelling led the Shires, both with scores of 84. Right behind them was freshman Ian Gervais with an 85, senior Max Rush (92) and junior Greg Foster (94).
Houlton’s top three golfers also qualified for the individual state tournament. Both girls on the team, Nicole “Nikki” Eastman and Ashley Cleary, qualified for individual states with identical scores of 104.
Matt Talbot led Presque Isle with a score of 80, followed by Steve Ford (86), Tyler St. Pierre (87), Nic Gallant (90) and John Umphrey (91).
Also qualifying in Class B were the Red Devils of Central High School (357) and the Lynx of Mattanawcook (360).
Houlton, who won states last year in Class C, took a satisfying second place in this year’s class B regional.
“The kids played well very well in the conditions they were given.” said coach Bruce Nason.
The dry fall weather has hardened the greens even more than usual, making them very tough to judge and extremely fast. Houlton players may have gotten a slight edge over some teams by practicing on the layout multiple times during the year.
“We did a couple practice rounds there this year,” explained lone senior Max Rush. “One we did with coach Nason, and another was with parents who volunteered to drive us down.”
Even with the practice rounds under their belts, Houlton’s players were affected by the harder than normal greens. Gervais and Flewelling, who played at JaTo during the Class C regionals last year, both added some strokes to their last year’s scores at Lincoln.
The Houlton coach and players feel confident that they can make a name for themselves in Class B, much like they have done in the past in Class C, during the state team championships at Natanis this weekend.
“We’re going to have to play our best golf of the year.” Nason said, coinciding with Gervais, who stated simply, “We’re going to go down, play, and see what happens.”
The state individual golf finals are Oct. 13, also at Natanis Golf Course in Vassalboro.
Houlton qualifies for Saturday’s state golf match
The Houlton High School varsity golf team took the familiar trip to the JaTo Highlands course in Lincoln last Thursday to play in the Class B regionals.
