The Cape Henlopen High School golf team finished third in the Henlopen Conference Championship, held May 23 at Maple Dale Country Club in Dover.
The Vikings’ 343 total by its best four scorers was 20 strokes lower than last year and the team’s best conference score in many years.
Kingston Davis led Cape with his 84, earning a medal for 14th after tiebreaker rules decided the order of finish. Senior and team captain Ethan Mercer posted an 85 for his best conference result. Jacob Gabbard’s 86 and Tyler Healy’s 88 completed the team total.
Caesar Rodney’s Reagan Garnsey won the event with a fine one-under par 71. “It was good,” she said. “I played really well. I’m happy with how it all shook out. I’ve been working really hard this season. I’m happy to see it all come to fruition. Good timing, too. Next week is states and it should be fun. I’m looking forward to it. I love Baywood. I like the longer tournaments.”
Here are the teams’ order of finish and their scores: 1. Caesar Rodney (307); 2. Polytech (324), 3. Cape Henlopen (343); 4. Delmar (350); 5. Sussex Academy (354); 6. Dover (365); 7. Lake Forest (373); 8. Sussex Tech (375); 9. Smyrna (408); and 10. Sussex Central (458).
Harrod named Henlopen Conference Golf Coach of the Year
A visibly surprised Robert Harrod stood at the gathering area as the Henlopen Conference Championship concluded, surrounded by six cheering golfers as he learned he was voted Coach of the Year. The rest of the crowd joined in the applause, with smiles and congratulations being shouted all around.
“I’m at a loss for words for once in my life,” Harrod said. “Very stunned. Just pleased with the guys today, and to be recognized by my peers was just totally overwhelming. Really cool stuff out here today. We were building toward this and the states, and getting better and better.”
This is Harrod’s fifth season as Cape’s golf coach. The award is a nice accompaniment to his past recognition as the Cape Henlopen School District’s 2019 Teacher of the Year, and it is equally well deserved.
State championship
Three Sussex County high school golf teams with Cape Region connections will play in the DIAA High School Golf State Championship at Baywood Greens May 30-31.
Twelve schools statewide met the minimum four-player requirement for the tournament’s first-round action. At least three golfers must make the cut (top 60 and ties) for the second round to continue in the team competition.
Cape Henlopen (10-2) will put Kingston Davis, Ethan Mercer, Jacob Gabbard, Travers Johnson, Tyler Healy and Dalen Daminger on the tees at Baywood. The Vikings have not finished the states as a team since 2019, when they took ninth place.
This is the first year Delmarva Christian High School in Georgetown had a team of golfers qualify for the states. The 13-2 Royals going to Baywood include Lance McQuay, Avery Brown, Joel Perry, Justin Boyer, Daniel Genga and Gideon Woods.
Sussex Academy won the 2022 state championship for its first state title in any sport in the school’s history.
At the 2023 Henlopen Conference tournament May 23, Seahawks head coach Doug Grove said, “It was a successful season. We went 8-0 to finish the year, 10-5 overall, which was good considering the turnover that we had. The Cape match was really good golf, [on a] really good course, and [against] a good team, probably a highlight. Everyone is coming back for basically two more years. So, we’ll have the same faces, just a little bit older. We’ve got states next week, five guys there, so that should be good. Fun season.”
The Seahawks squad at Baywood includes Dominic Piperno, Austin Dostal, McKenna Danahy, Keenan Williams and Quentin Bowman.
Other notable Sussex County juniors will compete for individual honors.
Sarah Lydic of Indian River led all scholastic golfers in the field of 96 as of May 20, the last day for qualifying for the states. She won the DIAA individual championship in 2021 while playing for Sussex Academy. Her sister Hannah, now a star golfer for the University of Richmond, won last year’s inaugural girls’ championship. Sarah is a serious contender for the second such honor.
Other Sussex County golfers who qualified for the tournament include Delmar’s Caleb Ritchey and Phoenix Banks, Sussex Tech’s Luke Bunting, and Milford’s Evan Gregg and Noah Marcelle.
Local club competition results
The Mulligan’s Pointe Ladies 18-Hole group played a scramble game May 23.
Jackie Adams, Christine Bielenda, Kathy Marks and Mary Louise York won first place. Peggy Clausen, Valerie Grib, Susan Gatcomb and Bonnie Quesenberry came in second.
The Kings Creek Country Club Ladies 18-Hole group played a net Stableford competition May 18.
Gale DiBona, Katie Heintz, Kay Woollen and Joanne Yurik won first place. Judy Wetzel, Leslie McClintick, Jeannine Doane and Nathalie McGregor took second. Kelly Brown, Carol Simon, Jean Chlastawa and Angela Strano finished third.
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Fritz Schranck has been writing about the Cape Region's golf community since 1999. Snippets, stories and anecdotes from his columns are included in his new book, "Hole By Hole: Golf Stories from Delaware's Cape Region and Beyond," which is available at the Cape Gazette offices, Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, Biblion Books in Lewes, and local golf courses. His columns and book reviews are available at HoleByHole.com.
Contact Fritz by emailing fschranck@holebyhole.com.
