PVHS boys golf defends state championship title, girls finish fifth

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The Ponte Vedra boys golf team won their second consecutive Class 2A state championship title in commanding fashion on Saturday, Nov. 3, at Mission Inn Resort & Club in Howey-In-The-Hills. 

The Sharks finished with a two-day total score 302-296—598 to beat runner-up American Heritage by seven strokes.

Ponte Vedra also won last year’s state championship, again beating American Heritage, but bettered its score by 15 strokes in this year’s tournament,

The Sharks had four finishers in the top 10, including Davis Lee who tied for second individually with a score of 76-71—147. The other top-10 finishers were Justin Ortiguera (77-73—150) and Will McGriff (74-76—150), who both tied for sixth, and Elliott Wright (75-76—151), who tied for eighth. 

Nease’s Logan Underwood finished fifth individually with a score of 77-72—149.

PVHS girls finish 5th at state championships 

The Ponte Vedra girls golf team finished in fifth place at the state championships last weekend with a score of 341-353—694, and American Heritage defended its title, shooting a two-round total of 598.

Reni Jancsik was the top finisher individually for the Lady Sharks, shooting 81-75—156 to tie for 11th place. 

The Lady Sharks finished third in the state championship last year and were hoping for a stronger finish this time around. 

“Overall finishing fifth (top five) in the state championship is certainly not a bad thing, but it wasn’t quite what the girls or I was hoping for,” Ponte Vedra coach Clint Finlay said. “We had a more complete state finals team this year and one of the traditional state finals ‘powerhouses’ was a bit weaker than in the past, so we were all looking at this state tournament as an opportunity to finish in the top two and ‘get on the podium,’ but unfortunately it just didn’t work out.”

Finlay said the main focus heading into next season will be replacing graduating senior captains Ashley and Megan Burke.

“Each has been a fixture on the team since freshman year, so filling their shoes won’t be easy,” Finlay said.

Ponte Vedra won the Class 2A district and regional titles this season, but preparing the team for the increasingly competitive play is also a priority heading into next season.

“The biggest takeaway from this year is that high school girls golf in our area is getting stronger,” Finlay said. “We were fortunate to win both the district and regional title in 2018, but the competition is unquestionably better. In order to stay on top and hopefully make another trip to the state finals again in 2019, the entire team understands that we need to be focused and ready to go from day one.”