Ryan Scollins and three of his Xaverian golf teammates spent Sunday afternoon at Easton Country Club prepping for the MIAA Division 1 South championship.
The senior from Wrentham left his practice round feeling confident and comfortable with the course after carding five birdies.
Back at Easton Monday morning, Scollins posted a bogey-free round of 3-under-par 68 to capture the individual title by two shots and help Xaverian (295) repeat as South champion over Wellesley (297) and Hingham (298).
“I’m really excited I won individuals but I’m also happy the team got the win,” said Scollins. “I liked the course yesterday and I felt like I could go low.”
Scollins became the second straight Xaverian golfer to take home the South title after Joey Lenane won in 2021 at Acushnet River Valley Golf Course.
With Lenane now playing as a freshman at North Carolina State, Scollins seized the No. 1 slot for Xaverian and led the Hawks to an 11-4 record with six rounds under par.
“He’s been awesome all year,” said coach Gerry Lambert. “He’s so steady and consistent. You can’t really tell how he’s playing because he’s a blank slate out there. It’s part of his secret and I’m really happy for him. He’s worked hard.”
Scollins birdied his second hole, the short 328-yard par-4, by sticking a wedge to five inches for an easy tap-in. He made a 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 11, a 370-yard par-4, and then rattled off 12 straight pars before closing with a birdie on the par-3 sixth.
Scollins said his iron play was the difference. He hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation. On the two misses, the ball ended up on the fringe.
“I didn’t have to chip today, which is always nice,” said Scollins. “I hit a lot of great approach shots. I never try to get too angry or excited but today’s a pretty big win, especially since I’m a senior.”
Xaverian received a 2-over-par 73 from Sean Resnick and a pair of 5-over 77′s from Thomas Constantine and Patrick Kiernan. That was enough to hold off a Wellesley team led by reigning Division 1 state individual champion Ryan Keyes (3-over 74).
Hingham’s Carson Erick went 1 under to finish runner-up and propel the Harbormen to third place.
Xaverian, Wellesley, and Hingham will represent the South in the Division 1 state final next Tuesday at the Renaissance Club in Haverhill.
“It’s all about focusing on next week now,” said Scollins. “We’re definitely going for a practice round there on Sunday.”
After winning the South last year, Xaverian finished third in Division 1 behind St. John’s Prep and Wellesley. Lambert hopes the Hawks have one more magical round left this time.
“You hope you have some momentum,” said Lambert. “But you also want to save your bullets. We have to make sure we save one more good round saved for next Tuesday.”
Division 1 North
On the practice green at The Meadow in Peabody, the vision for Winchester was clear: ‘We need four scores in the low 70s.’
Junior Carson Muse birdied two of the first three holes on his way to a 3-under-par 69, and sophomores John Scully and Julian Ragosa followed with a pair of 71s. Then the closer, junior Cole Cassidy, 5-over midway through his round, birdied two of his last three holes for a 76. The result was a sizzling 1-under 287 for the Red & Black and a stunning 11-stroke victory over runner-up BC High (296) for the sectional title, the program’s first in Division 1. Andover (297) was third.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would go 69, 71, 71 . . . never, never, never,” said Winchester coach Tom Walsh, who lauded his team’s focus. “[The kids] were just phenomenal, it was a tough golf course, incredibly tight in places, and it was raining on and off.
“I felt if we had four shoot 77 or better, we’d be in the hunt. But as scores were coming in, I said ‘guys, we’re going to win this.’”
Andover’s Noah Farland and BC’s duo of Danny Fearing and JJ Campbell also carded 71s to share runner-up honors with Scully and Ragosa.
Winchester will be making its first trip to the state final since winning Division 2 in 2019.
Division 3 South
Martha’s Vineyard won at Foxboro Country Club with a score of 328 in rainy conditions, narrowly edging out Sandwich and Cape Cod Academy, who both finished at 331.
Norwell’s Matt Dassatti was the medalist, shooting a 5-over-par 77.
The Vineyarders, who closed the regular season with a 13-1 record, were led by senior Liam Marek’s 8-over-par 80 and senior Nick BenDavid’s 9-over-par 81.
”It was tough sledding out there today . . . the scores were really high in difficult conditions,” said Martha’s Vineyard coach Doug DeBettencourt. “We had six seniors and their maturity had a lot to do with them being able to deal with the rain.”
The depth of the Vineyarders made the difference, as all six players finished in the 80s.
”Consistency and depth were the keys to our success in the regular season and now in the tournament” said DeBettencourt. “I was really pleased with them overall.”
Division 1 Central
At Heritage Country Club in Charlton, co-medalist Ronan Mooney fired a 2-under-par 69 in leading St. John’s Shrewsbury (291) to the team title, with teammates Matt Quinn (73), Nic Gebhardt (74), and Dom Garbarino (75) supplying valuable scores. Co-medalist Ilan Rashdan and Molly Smith (73) paced runner-up Westford (300), North Attleborough (304) was third, and Nashoba (307) fourth. Bishop Feehan’s Chad Correia was 1 under.
Craig Larson of the Globe staff and correspondent Khalin Khapoor contributed to this story.
DIVISION 1 CENTRAL
at Heritage Country Club
Team
1. St. John’s (Shrewsbury), 291; 2. Westford, 300; 3. North Attleborough, 304; 4. Nashoba, 307
Individual
69 — Ronan Mooney, St. John’s (Shrewsbury) (Par 71); Lian Rashdan, Westford
70 — Chad Correia, Bishop Feehan
72 — Nate Beland, St. Paul
73 — Molly Smith, Westford; Matt Quinn, St. John’s (Shrewsbury); Tyson Laviano, North Attleborough
74 — Nic Gebhardt, St. John’s (Shrewsbury); Jake Gaskin, North Attleborough
DIVISION 1 NORTH
at The Meadow
Team
1. Winchester, 287; 2. BC High, 296; 3. Andover, 297
Individual
69 — Carson Muse, Winchester (Par 72)
71 — Noah Farland, Andover; John Scully, Winchester; Danny Fearing, BC High; JJ Campbell, BC High; Julian Ragosa, Winchester
72 — Jake Morgan, Andover
73 — Drew Fecteau, Andover
74 — Terry Manning, St. John’s Prep; Tripp Hollister, St. John’s Prep; Ty Ford, Brookline
DIVISION 1 SOUTH
at Easton Country Club
Team
1. Xaverian, 295; 2. Wellesley, 297; 3. Hingham, 298
Individual
68 — Ryan Scollins, Xaverian (Par 71)
70 — Carson Erick, Hingham
72 — Jason O’Keefe, Natick; Drew Golden, Hingham
73 — Ben Madden, Wellesley; Sean Resnick, Xaverian
74 — Ryan Keyes, Wellesley; Owen Blakely, Wellesley; Justin Peters, Bridgewater-Raynham
DIVISION 3 SOUTH
at Foxboro Country Club
Team
1. Martha’s Vineyard, 328; 2. Sandwich, 331; 3. Cape Cod Academy, 331
Individual
77 — Matt Dassatti, Norwell (Par 72)
78 — Casey Huse, Monomoy
79 — Benjamin Catalano, Cape Cod Academy
80 — Tripp Germani, Cape Cod Academy; Liam Marek, Martha’s Vineyard
81 — Jack Cartensen, St. John Paul II; Nick BenDavid, Martha’s Vineyard; Luca Finton, Bourne; Mitchell Norkevicius, Sandwich
DIVISION 3 WEST
at Country Club of Wilbraham
Team
1. Lenox, 340; 2. Mt. Greylock, 354; 3. Franklin County Tech, 358; 3. Monty Tech, 358
Individual
78 — Brady Booska, Franklin County Tech (Par 72)
80 — Ryan Fernandez, Quaboag; Devan Patel, Lenox
82 — Thomas Knybel, Pathfinder; Thomas Art, Mt. Greylock
83 — Noah Kirby, Lenox
86 — Clifford Flynn, Lenox; Michael Cannon, Monty Tech
87 — Dan O’Connor, Westfield Tech