Roundup: Golfers thrive despite windy conditions

It wasn’t the best day for a state golf tournament, with a blustery wind making for challenging conditions at times, but there were some impressive performances by a local team and some individuals.St. John’s Prep went into the Division 1 state tournament at Springfield Country Club as the defending champion, having defeated rival Xaverian in a tiebreaker last year, but the Hawks (299) exacted their revenge by topping the Eagles (301) by two strokes to win the state title.”Today they beat us by two shots,” St. John’s Prep coach Larry O’Neill said. “They’re a terrific team. We needed to be a little better today.”James Turner had an outstanding day for the Eagles, shooting a three-under par 69. Although O’Neill said he believes it was the best score ever for a St. John’s player in the state tournament, it wasn’t quite good enough. Jack Lang of Lexington shot a 68.The two were the only players to break par.The Prep’s Chris Francoeur and Mark Turner each shot a 77. Colin Natale shot a 78 and Griffin Chenard at 79. Tommy Cothern shot an 81.In the Division 3 state tournament at Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown, St. Mary’s Shawn MacBurnie finished in a tie for fourth place with a 76. The winning score was a 74.St. Mary’s coach Jay Fiste said MacBurnie, a senior, played his last nine holes at two-under.”It was very tough,” Fiste said of the conditions. “It was very windy.”MacBurnie, whom Fiste said plans to play in college, averaged 31 points this season.”He had a phenomenal season,” Fiste said. “He basically led us. He was our leading scorer in almost every match. He had a solid run. He’s been playing since the eighth grade.”Two other local golfers, Jay Lever of Saugus and Matt Garofalo of Bishop Fenwick, also competed in the Division 3 state tournament. Lever shot an 82 and Garofalo an 89. Weston won the team competition.VOLLEYBALLPeabody 3, No. Reading 1At Peabody, the Tanners prevailed in a four-set thriller, sandwiching a 23-25 loss between wins of 25-16 and 25-21 before taking an extended finale, 28-26.Courtney Bua (13 kills) and Julia Brown (11) paced the offensive attack, helped along by Hannah Kemp and Melissa Gray, who combined for 30 assists. Libero Madison Mahoney shined defensively with 12 digs.Peabody finishes the season at 17-1, a record Coach Lisa Keene was more than pleased with.”I wasn’t sure what to expect coming into this season after finishing undefeated last year but we were very successful. This might be the best defensive team I have seen in my time here.”Arlington Cath. 3, Lynnfield 0At Lynnfield, the Pioneers lost in straight sets (8-25, 20-25, 17-25) despite a strong game from Emma Mancini who finished with 13 kills and five digs.Foxboro 3, KIPP 0At Foxboro Regional, the Panthers had a tough outing, losing to an undefeated Foxboro team 25-9, 25-15, 25-8. Pleilerkaye Gaye was the player of the game with her strong presence at the net. Paige Belfield, in her first varsity match, did a nice job in the back row and Roanne Elsadig looked good at setter. Jalyssa Pena also played well.