GREAT BARRINGTON– When the St. Mary’s golf team came together to embark on the 2017 season, the Spartans knew they had the necessary experience and talent on their roster for a special year. Almost two months after coming together for the first time, the Spartans captured the Division 3 state title.
St. Mary’s took the Division 3 crown with a 292-300 win over Weston at Wyantenuck Country Club in Great Barrington Tuesday. The Spartans fell short last season as Weston won the state title.
“Our first goal was to win the (Catholic Central League), and we did that,” St. Mary’s coach Jay Fiste said. “Our second goal was to make the state tournament, and we did that. Our third goal was to perform well in states. Weston has been a thorn on our side and it’s a good victory. We hit all of our goals this year.”
In addition to gaining revenge over Weston, the Spartans can cherish the fact that their championship marks 11 years in a row that a St. Mary’s sports team has earned a state crown.
“We’re still hoping that football, basketball and baseball and the other teams jump in there with us,” Fiste said. “The school has great sports programs. We’re just happy to be a part of it. I knew we had a really good team this year, we just had to play strong to beat Weston and we did.”
Leading the way for the Spartans was No. 1 player Christian Emmerich. A junior, Emmerich won the individual state title with a score of 1-under par 69. Fiste credited Emmerich for a strong performance on Tuesday as well as a terrific season overall.
“He played phenomenal,” Fiste said. “He’s been playing like this all year long. It was great timing. He had been gunning for two opponents, one of them was the individual winner last season and another is a player in our conference. He was really gunning for that.”
Also performing well for the Spartans were eighth-grader Aidan Emmerich, who shot a 74 from the No. 2 spot, freshman Luke Smith, who shot 79 from the No. 3 spot and senior Chris Fioravanti, who shot a 70 from the No. 4 spot. Rounding things out for St. Mary’s were No. 5 Luke Sargent, a sophomore who shot 87, and No. 6 Aedan Leydon, a senior who shot 81.
Leydon captained the Spartans this fall alongside Christian Emmerich.
The Spartans made the three-hour drive to Great Barrington on Monday, in hopes of getting a practice round in before Tuesday’s match. Weather conditions prohibited the team from doing so, but the Spartans didn’t let that faze them.
“They were really excited,” Fiste said. “We came up yesterday hoping to get a practice in. we couldn’t because of the weather. We took a walk around the course and took mental notes. They paid attention to that and put it to the test.
“I’m very proud of how the guys were composed,” Fiste added. “They performed well and they really stepped it up when they had to. It wasn’t an easy course and it was windy and cold. They stepped it up and I’m really proud of them.”
Fiste took over the program at St. Mary’s in 2009, making this his ninth year at the helm. This was the second season in which St. Mary’s reached the state finals under Fiste’s tenure. With a core group of players returning next season, Fiste feels the Spartans have a strong chance to repeat their success in 2018.
“We have a good core of players returning,” Fiste said. “We also have a number of players returning who contributed this year who weren’t on the tournament team.”
