South Burlington, Vt.
Between a young roster, a switch of divisions and the knowledge that Vermont high school golf will adjust to autumn play in August, second-year Hartford High coach Mike Hathorn did everything he could this spring to take the pressure off his Hurricanes. Qualifying for the Vermont Principals Association state boys tournament for the first time since 2010 was wonderful, but the big stuff is still to come.
Hartford, with a roster likely to return whole this fall, placed fifth out of five scoring teams in Wednesday’s Division II state tournament at a very green and somewhat squishy Vermont National Country Club. Two other Upper Valley squads rife with young talent, Windsor and Rivendell, finished 3-4 out of five schools in the Division III tourney.
No one shot well enough to make the New England Championship later in the month at Bretwood Golf Course in Keene, N.H., but that’s of no matter. Wednesday was about the future, at least in Hathorn’s opinion.
“The course set-up was very fair; this can get windy and hard here, and I was happy that the wind laid down and they set it up with good pins and good tees,” Hathorn said. “The kids, never having seen the course, did a great job today.”
In fact, few from the area had laid eyes on Vermont National — the Jack Nicklaus design that opened for 18-hole play in 1999 — before arriving on Wednesday. Those who had hoped to get in a Tuesday practice round couldn’t; excessive rain forced the course to close for the day.
Thetford Academy senior Erik Lindahl, the school’s first participant at states in close to 20 years, didn’t let the newness of the course — or the moment — diminish the day.
“I honestly didn’t know where I was going for probably every hole except the par-3s,” admitted Lindahl, who tied for fifth individually in D-III with a 22-over-par 94.
Hathorn brought his freshman son, Brady, along with another frosh, Jared Vanderpot, and juniors Ben Healy and Kobe Labonte, the bare minimum to post a team score. With Kody Wessel out of the lineup for the day and Jack Heller away on his senior trip, Vanderpot got the call to fill in.
Brady Hathorn shot 90 to lead the Canes to a team 430, a full 10 strokes better last month’s qualifying tournament at Rutland Country Club, but well behind the rest of the D-II field.
“I hit all of my clubs very well; I need to work on putter over the offseason,” the younger Hathorn said. “It wasn’t much of a surprise; I haven’t been putting well lately, but since we have fall golf next year, I’ll be able to work on my putting stroke in the offseason.”
The elder Hathorn considered this final Vermont spring campaign preparation for the fall. The good thing about the switch is many of his Hurricanes — who brought Hartford back to states for the first time since a D-I visit in 2010 — will be joining golf clubs this summer, a sign of dedication that marked the program’s heyday back when he was a Hurricane golfer.
“All year long, I tried to keep it pressure-free on the kids,” Mike Hathorn said. “I told them this is our preseason. Even though we made it to states, the winning team (Rice) shot 330 today. We lost by 100 shots. At no point was I thinking we were in the hunt. I was treating this as, let’s get a bunch of tournaments under our belt, feel the pressure, so when we work all summer long, we’re working toward beating everything we did this spring.”
Rivendell and Windsor will move forward with a slightly different view. Hartford doesn’t allow students to play two sports in one season; the Raptors and Yellowjackets do. It’s a matter now of communicating with other fall sports coaches to make sure their golf programs continue their upward trend.
“They work hard; after matches, they’re talking about playing nine holes again with each other,” said Windsor coach Pat Allen, whose squad shot a team 436 to finish behind D-III champ Stowe (349) and runner-up Williamstown (390), led by Jacob Curtis’ 93. “They seem like they’re really grasping the concept of hard works pays off.”
Having won a state D-III crown as recently as three years ago, Rivendell coach Justin Bonnett wasn’t about to give up on spring. But he, too, was thinking down the road after his Raptors shot a team 441 behind a 94 from Jake Kamel.
“I really don’t know what the fall is going to bring as far as players,” Bonnett said. “I know I have three kids firmed up for the fall, but things change. I’ve told them to kind of recruit from within and find some kids so we can at least field a team.”
Time’s a-wastin’. The regular season is just two months away.
Divots: Lindahl played in a Thetford blue golf shirt adorned with the school’s logo and with his name stitched on the right sleeve. He received it and a hat as a surprise at TA’s sports awards ceremony on Monday night. “I’m satisfied with how it’s gone,” he said. “It’s been a good experience. I’m glad for what I did this year.” … Hartford players alternated as DJs in charge of music for each road trip this season, with Labonte responsible for Wednesday’s playlist. Asked what Labonte chose, coach Hathorn responded, “A lot of stuff where we had to say, ‘Next song, please.’ ” … Labonte shot 105, Healy recorded a 111 and Vanderpot finished at 124 for the Canes. … Ben Meagher (103), Grady Gilman (113) and Dylan Deschamp (127) accounted for Windsor’s other scores. Rivendell checked in with a 113 from Isaac Martel, a 115 from Tanner Siemons and a 119 from Kyle Gelenian. … Rutland (311) won a tight D-I title from North Country (316) and Essex (319). Rice was four better than Montpelier (334) in D-II, despite a best-of-the day 3-under 69 from the Solons’ Bryson Richards.
Greg Fennell can be reached at gfennell@vnews.com or 603-727-3226.