NEC golfers take center stage

The elite of local high school golfers took to the links Thursday in the Northeastern Conference Open at Tedesco Country Club.Click here for a photo gallery.Beverly High senior Ryan Lally topped the field, shooting a 76. Lally shot a 36 on the front nine and a 40 on the back nine. He birdied the sixth hole and parred 11 others. The Panthers won the NEC Large with an 8-1 record.Peabody’s Athan Goulos gave Lally a run for his money, finishing two strokes back with a 78.”He was driving the ball very well and keeping the ball in play,” Peabody High coach Rick Sapienza said. “I thought it was a very good performance by a freshman.”Swampscott’s Justin Massey, who usually plays No. 2 behind Alex Patkin, took third with a 79. Massey, a senior captain, was coming off an impressive season that saw him rack up seven wins, a tie and two losses.”I think he just played very consistently,” Swampscott coach Linda Portnoy said. “He didn’t blow out any holes ? He played a steady, even match.”Each team in the conference sends its top two players. Jake Rand and Robert Swanson, both from Winthrop, finished fourth and fifth with Rand checking in with an 80 and Swanson with an 81.Gloucester’s Tyler Conigliari also shot an 81, followed by Peabody’s Sean Craven and Danvers’ Pat Saunders, who finished at 83. Three players tied at 84 – Ben Mosse of Gloucester, Nick Pinciaro, Beverly, and Christian Russo, Danvers.Jordan Wright, Marblehead, and Alex Patkin, Swampscott, checked in at 85 and 86, respectively. Tom Cormier, Marblehead, also competed. Revere’s top finisher was Jonathan Chiarelli (92). Saugus was represented by Brian Boyagian and Nick Scenna, English by Pat Cullen and Joe Lannon, Salem by Cameron Darmodey and David Karam and Classical by Peter Rondeau and Pat Strong.The schools that qualified for the state tournament will be playing in qualifiers next Monday. Division 1 will be at Beverly Golf & Tennis. Division 2 will be at Hillview Country Club and Division 3 will play at Far Corners.