Mendham's Heraghty, Delbarton golf team triumphant at NJAC

MOUNT OLIVE – When the high school golf season began in early April, Mendham sophomore Ryle Heraghty was a virtual unknown. It's amazing what a few weeks can do, because Heraghty is now the reigning Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference champion.

Heraghty fired an even par 72 to win the gold medal at the NJAC Championships Tuesday afternoon at Flanders Valley Golf Course, just three weeks after shooting a 74 to claim second place at the NJSIAA North 1 and 2 Group III sectional.

"In the beginning of the year, I would not have believed this was possible," said Heraghty, who bested Chatham junior Matt Gentile and West Morris senior Blake DiPaola by a single shot to capture the conference crown. "But after doing so well in the sectionals, I gained some confidence and I started to believe in myself."

Heraghty didn't believehe hit the ball "particularly well" on Tuesday, but it was enough to hold off the rest of the field on a sunny, hot afternoon. He shot 36 on the front nine and 36 on the back.

Heraghty bested a field that included Morris County champion Nick Axelson of Roxbury, two-time reigning state sectional champ and 2014 Morris County champ Evan Quinn of Morristown and Will Voetsch of Delbarton, who just last week won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions title.

"I didn't make mistakes and that was the key," Heraghty said. "I had two bogeys, two birdies and a bunch of boring pars. ... I think I'll take it. I thought I had a chance to do well if I kept the ball in the fairway and give my putting a chance. I thought if I stayed patient, I had a chance. This is not a bad way to go out."

Gentile drew even with Heraghty with one hole to play, but bogeyed the final hole to fall one shot short. Gentile didn't feel overly confident about his chances, considering a poor practice round he played with his brother on Monday. However, Gentile started to like his chances when he strung together three straight birdies on No. 9, 10 and 11 to get back into the swing of things.

"I was recharged," Gentile said. "I knew that 72 was going to be able to win this and there I was, with a chance for 72. ... Honestly, I thought I still had a chance to win. The last hole is a par-5 and I'm expecting to birdie and I ended up missing a five-footer for bogey. It ended up costing me."

Gentile got second place in a match of cards with DiPaola.

"I made an eagle on 17, which got me to 73," said DiPaola, who won the Hurricane Junior Golf Tournament at Black Bear in Crystal Springs over the weekend, a three-day event. "I felt good about the way I was playing. This was a good way to finish it out."

Quinn suffered from two huge bogeys down the stretch and finished with a 74, fourth overall. Lucas Artigliere of Madison was fifth with a 74, losing to Quinn on a match of cards, with John Shay of Morristown-Beard sixth, Brett Lubba of Pequannock seventh and Colin Peters of Mendham eighth. The last three all finished with 75, but Shay got the tiebreaker in a match of cards over Lubba and Peters.

Alex Chin and Axelson finished tied with Voetsch for 10th with 77s.

Delbarton managed to overcome Voetsch's sub-par outing to sneak out the team title once again, defeating upstart Mendham by a single stroke, 312 to 313. Griffin Carroll led the way for the victorious Green Wave by firing a 76.

Morristown was third at 324, followed by West Morris and Chatham tied at 326.

"It was a long, hot day, but our boys kept their heads and they all put up good numbers," Delbarton head coach Sean Flanagan said. "I'm proud of the way they finished. It's always nice to end the season with a victory."

Team scores: Delbarton 312, Mendham 313, Morristown 324, West Morris and Chatham 326, Roxbury 314, Sparta 336, Pequannock and Morristown-Beard 344, Randolph 345, Vernon 346, Madison 348, Montville 350, Hackettstown 359, Pope John 362, Park Regional 373, Kinnelon 378, North Warren 383, Parsippany Hills 389, Wallkill Valley 390, Mountain Lakes 393, Morris Knolls 395, Morris Tech 397, Parsippany 398, Jefferson 405, High Point 419, Morris Hills 423, Butler 445, Kittatinny 455, Lenape Valley 456, Hopatcong and Morris Catholic 460.

Individuals: Ryle Heraghty, Mendham 36-36-72; Matt Gentile, Chatham 39-34-73; Blake DiPaola, West Morris 37-36-73; Evan Quinn, Morristown 38-36-74; Lucas Artigliere, Madison 40-34-74; John Shay, Morristown-Beard 35-40-75; Brett Lubba, Pequannock 38-37-75; Colin Peters, Mendham 39-36-75; Griffin Carroll, Delbarton 37-39-76; Alex Chin, Chatham 37-40-77; Nick Axelson, Roxbury 40-37-77; Will Voetsch, Delbarton 40-37-77; Cole Tavani, Delbarton 40-38-78; Tommy Apostolico, Sparta 42-37-79; Danny DeGraff, Mendham 38-41-79; Brian Quilty, Roxbury 38-42-80; Sevian Frangiapane, Hackettstown 39-41-80; Bob Mulcahy, Delbarton 39-42-81; Jack Mongey, Morristown 42-39-81.