Health & Fitness
Historic Performance by Blue Devil Golfers
It might take some time to determine if it is the best ever, but the Huntington High School golf team’s score of 186 against West Babylon last week is believed to be the lowest by a Blue Devil links squad in at least three decades.
Huntington’s golfers were simply splendid on the front nine of the Bergen Point golf course, which was laid out by famed architect William Mitchell and opened for play in 1971. The wide open design is said to offer “generous landing areas for tee shots,” and the Blue Devils took every advantage of it on a historic afternoon.
Jim Smoot pared every hole and shot a 36. Tom Waldron also shot a par 36, with a birdie and a bogey. Chris Bergman (a birdie and three bogeys), Tyler Gerbavsits (three birdies and five bogeys) and Justin Loturco (a birdie and three bogeys) all shot two-over par 38.
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The Blue Devils cruised past the Eagles, 9-0 to improve their record to 8-0. “The score is an indication of how deep this team is,” head coach Mike Marinello said. “Any of our starters is capable of shooting in the mid to upper 30s, but to have all play that well on one day is remarkable.”
Huntington won the state golf championship in 1980 under head coach Lou Boccia. Researchers are checking old yearbooks from that era and back issues of The Long Islander newspaper to help determine if any Blue Devil team ever had a score as low – or lower – than the 186 notched against West Babylon. No one can recall anything approaching it in at least the past 30 years. “If it’s not a record, it has got to be very close,” Marinello said.
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The team’s previous low this season was a 192, which is also outstanding for a high school golf squad. Loturco, Bergman and Gerbavsits are all undefeated this fall.
Huntington topped four opponents last week, including both West Islip and Bay Shore in the same day at the Huntington Crescent Club. Against West Islip, Loturco shot a three-over par 39 as the team posted an 8-1 victory. Against Bay Shore, Waldron had a four-over 40 as the Blue Devils won, 9-0. A day earlier, Smoot shot an even par 36 on the same course and Waldron and Bergman both had a two-over 38s in a 9-0 decision over Lindenhurst.
The Blue Devils have compiled a 42-4-2 individual match score so far this season. Four of Huntington’s final five matches are at home.
