HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – Mission Inn Resort & Club hosted the Florida High School Athletic Association Boys and Girls State Championships. Class 2A competed over 36 holes of stroke play to determine the champion. However, due to Hurricane Nicole, the competitions for Class 1A and 3A were shortened to 18 holes of stroke play.
1A Boys & Girls
The FAU Boys team took home the State Championship title posting an overall team total of 294 (6-over par) through 18 holes. FAU secured the title by ten strokes over Episcopal while Cardinal Mooney took third place finishing with an 18 hole team total of 307. Jack Quinn of FAU brought home the individual title after shooting the low round of 70. Four boys tied for second place with a 71 only one stroke behind Quinn; Henry Robards of Episcopal, Josiah Wang of Windermere Prep, Nicholas Prieto of Florida Christian, and Nicholas Bencomo of Cardinal Mooney.
The First Academy Girls team captured the State Championship title posting an overall team total of 286 (2-under par). Circle Christian secured second place only three strokes behind First Academy, while FAU and Lake Mary Prep tied for third place carding an overall team total of 291. Mi Li of First Academy fired a 66 to capture the individual title by two strokes over Amelie Phung of FAU who carded a 68. Four girls tied for third carding rounds of 70: Nancy Dai of Lake Mary Prep, Yetong (Alicia) Qian of Windermere Prep, and Youyang Li of First Academy.
2A Boys & Girls
The Ponte Vedra Boys team captured the State Championship title posting a 36-hole team total of 600. American Heritage of Broward finished in second place with a team total of 605 just five strokes behind Ponte Vedra, while Beachside secured the third place finish carding a total of 621. Brock Blais and Chase Carroll tied for first place on the individual leaderboard posting 36-hole totals of 143. Blais held one of the low first rounds with a 69 and followed it up with a 74, while Carroll posted a 72-71. Notable rounds also include Sohan Patel of American Heritage in third place with a 73-72, and Lorenzo Rodriguez of Belen Jesuit in fourth place with a 69-77.
The American Heritage of Broward Girls team carded a team total of 615 and won the State Championship title by seven strokes over Ponte Vedra. Seabreeze secured a third place finish with a team total of 657. Alexandra Gazzoli of Matanzas grabbed the individual title by one stroke posting scores of 68-72. Katherine Schaefer of American Heritage of Broward was not far behind and secured a solo second place finish with scores of 71-70. Amelia Cobb of Seabreeze and McKenzee Sullivan of Saint Petersburg tied for third place both posting rounds of 72-72 for a 36-hole 144 total. Nancy Cox of Ponte Vedra also had a notable tournament. After shooting a 78 in the first round, Cox carded the low second round of 69 and finished in fifth place.
3A Boys & Girls
It was a windy day with scattered rain showers ahead of Hurricane Nicole. The Jupiter Boys team endured and eventually captured the State Championship victory carding an overall team total of 297 (9-over par). Columbus secured second place carding a team total of 301, and Windermere finished in third place with a team total of 303. It was tight at the top of the individual leaderboard, but Aksel Moe of Riverview triumphed with a low round of 70 and capturing the individual title by one stroke. There were three boys tied for second carding rounds of 71: Aaron Leave of Olympia, Emmanuel Lim of Park Vista, and Jackson Klauk of Nease. Other notable rounds include, Alex Heard of Boca Raton posted a score of 72, and Brayden Jenard of Jupiter posted a score of 73.
The Lake Mary Girls team secured the State Championship posting a team total of 303 and captured the State Championship title by 11 strokes over Niceville. Lake Nona and Plant tied for third place carding team totals of 319. Haley Davis of Forest collected the individual victory with a low round of 68. Four girls finished tied for second posting rounds of 72 just four strokes behind Davis; Braydn Smith of Buchholz, Elan Zhang of Dr. Phillips, Gracie Grant of Niceville, and Lauryn Finley of Lake Mary. In addition, Sammy Paradise of Plant was not far behind and posted a notable round of 73.
