Woodland golfers place fifth at NVLs

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WATERTOWN — Despite one of the smallest golf squads in the Naugatuck Valley League, Woodland earned a middle-of-the-pack finish last Thursday at the NVL championships.

The Hawks placed fifth in a field of eight teams at the par-71 Watertown Golf Club. Woodland earned a team score of 399, behind champion Holy Cross (340), Torrington (360), St. Paul (368), and Sacred Heart (380).

A pair of Woodland golfers earned top-10 honors with their performances at the championship. Julian Perino and Josh Hassan, who led the team in scoring all season, both finished tied for 10th place with an 89. They were 12 strokes behind medalist Jon Ledda, the Torrington sophomore who fired a 6-over 77.

The other two golfers in Woodland’s foursome finished in the middle of the pack. Tom Conroy posted a 109 to finish 28th, and Chris Guerrette fired a 112 to tie for 30th in the field of 36 golfers.

Those four golfers, along with Alec Robinson, were the only five on Woodland’s tiny roster this spring. Perino and Guerrette will graduate this month, leaving only three returners for next year: Hassan, Conroy, and Robinson.

Woodland finished 15th in the Division III state championship Monday at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron with a team score of 390. The Hawks’ golfers were paired with golfers from Suffield, St. Joseph, and Granby.

Monday’s state competition ended the season for the Hawks, who have experienced ups and downs throughout the spring. They were forced to forfeit multiple matches because of a shortage of golfers, but Perino and Hassan teamed up to win the prestigious Jack Stigberg Memorial Tournament last month by combining for an even-par 70 at Farmingbury Hills in Wolcott.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated from the article that appears in the June 8 print edition of the Citizen’s News to include information from Division III state championship, which was played after press time.