Braves' Perrone, Cougars rule District tourney
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

A wonderful year of golf in the Freehold Regional District concluded with an exciting District Tournament.

Five golfers were within two strokes of champion Rob Perrone of Manalapan in what was one of the most competitive tournaments in recent years.

Perrone, a junior, carded a 76 at the par-71 Eagle Oaks Country Club to win the individual title on May 29. Andrew Schonholtz was one stroke back with a 77, and he was the low scorer for the victorious Cougar team.

Colts Neck beat the field by a big 15-stroke margin with a score of 314. John Edwards and Dan Denlinger each carded a 78 and finished fourth and fifth, respectively, and Nick Polovino was ninth (81).

Manalapan, which always seems to come up with the goods in the District Tournament, was second (329) thanks to a one-three finish with Pat DiLeo placing third (78). Marlboro, the defending champion, was third (330) followed by Howell (339), Freehold Borough (350) and Freehold Township (375).

The victory took Perrone's game to a new level.

"This is the biggest win I've had," he said. "I've never won a high school tournament. The best I'd ever done before was sixth in the states last year."

Perrone had hurt his wrist the week before the District tourney and didn't swing a club for four days. He played 36 holes the day before the tournament and not only was the wrist feeling fine, but he was hitting the ball well. Two rounds in the 70s were good for his confidence.

"I felt I was playing well," he pointed out.

But there was one hurdle still to clear. Perrone had played three rounds at Eagle Oaks previously, where, he admitted, he "never played good." As if that weren't enough to test his mettle, he got off to a bogey-bogey start.

"I thought, it's going to be one of those days," he remarked. "Then, I got a bunch of pars. I was hitting my drives straight and staying out of the rough. It's hard to chip out of that rough.

"My ball-striking was good all day and I hit my irons well," he added. "I didn't make a lot of birdie putts, but made the putts for par."

As the pars began to add up, Perrone realized he was putting in a solid round. His group finished before everyone else, and as he began to inquire how everyone else was doing, he was told that his 76 sounded like a very good score. All he could do was sit and wait.

"I had a good idea that it was a good round, but there were still golfers who could beat my score," he said.

One was his friend Schonholtz, who finished one stroke back.

Rounding out the Top 10 were DiLeo, Edwards, Denlinger, Max Weiss, Marlboro (80), Keith Markowitz, Marlboro (81), Kyle Barrett, Howell (81), Polovino (81) and Nick Vescio, Freehold Township (82).

It was quite a year for District golf. It started in April when Stan Bryck's Mustangs swept the Monmouth County Championships, capturing the team title for the first time in school history and having the individual champ in Mike Desero.

In the Shore Conference A North Division, the Cougars and Mustangs battled it out with perennial state power Christian Brothers Academy all year. The three teams each split their matches with each other (all three won at home) and ended up with identical 13-3 records and a tri-championship. It was the second straight title for the Mustangs, while Colts Neck rose to the top in A North in its first year.

Closing the season with a win at the Freehold District Tournament was important to Colts Neck, which had been close to tourney title all year.

"The kids worked hard over the five-day Memorial Day weekend and sacrificed some free time to prepare for the tournament," said Cougar coach Bryan Parks. "They just wanted to go out winners after a successful season."

Freehold Regional District

Golf Tournament

May 29, 2007

at Eagle Oaks Country Club, par-71

Boys Team Standings

1Colts Neck 314

2Manalapan 329

3Marlboro 330

4Howell 339

5Freehold Borough 350

6Freehold Township 375

Individual

1Rob PerroneMAN 76

2Andrew SchonholtzCN77

3Pat DiLeoMAN78

4John EdwardCN78

5David DenlingerCN78

6Max WeissMAR80

7Keith MarkowitzMAR81

8Kyle BarrettHOW81

9Nick PolvinoCN 81

10Nick VescioFT81

Girls Team Standings

1Colts Neck 238

2Freehold Borough 244

3Marlboro 263

Individual

1Megan KellyHOW52

2Arianna HatchettCN 53

3Samantha SmallFB54

4Nicole DanziCN57

5Laura PorthFB59

6Emily RainesFT60

7Pauline SpinelliCN60

8Lindsay SilvestriMAR 61

9Alex MessengerMAR 61

10Samantha BrewerMAN 61