St. Anthony's Anthony Naples wins NSCHSAA individual golf title

Anthony Naples tapped in for a bogey. Not the end of the world. The junior from St. Anthony’s had built a bit of a cushion on the greens spread across Eisenhower Red.

Now there was one hole to go for him Monday in East Meadow, one hole to try to secure the NSCHSAA boys individual championship.

“You’ve got a two-shot lead,” Friars coach Chris Koepplin said from his golf cart as Naples headed for the par-4 18th. “Focus. You’re fine.”

Soon Naples stood over an uphill 6-foot putt for par. The ball slid 2 feet past the hole. But he sent it into the cup on the next try.

That ended a steady round of 2-over 74. Meet the league champ.

“It was a long day of hard work,” Naples said. “The course wasn’t playing real easy. I had the putter going most of the day.

" . . . .Just to get the individual [title] and represent [my school] is always nice.”

Teammate Dean Muratore, the 2021 runner-up, and Chaminade’s Mike McConie tied for second, one stroke back.

“I’m not too happy finishing second; I would’ve liked to win,” said McConie, a junior from Huntington who won NSCHSAA player of the year. “But it’s definitely not a bad finish.”

St. Anthony’s repeated as the team champ at 389. Chaminade finished second at 405. Koepplin, the league’s coach of the year, expressed special pride in his six seniors.

“They came here and the goal all season long was to repeat,” he said. “We knew we had a strong enough team if we played the way we were capable of. I’m very pleased that they all came together and played solid on the day when it mattered most.”

Naples, a qualifier for the CHSAA state championship tournament June 6 with Muratore, McConie and 14 others from the league, was the Friars’ most solid player. The Miller Place resident took the lead at No. 9. He birdied No. 11, and then No. 13 to go up by four.

In the end, he bogeyed just four holes. And he parred 12 holes, including No. 12 despite a difficult pin placement and No. 15 when he was about 50 feet away and two-putted.

“He was spectacular at saving par,” Koepplin said. “ . . . He’s always a great ball striker. He’s always great at grinding out good scores. But today he was really on his game.”

Kellenberg’s Slade also a champ

Catherine Slade had a memorable day in Lancaster. The Kellenberg sophomore won the CHSAA state girls golf championship by four shots over St. Anthony’s Grace London at Lancaster Country Club.

Slade, who shot a 19-over 93, London, St. Anthony’s Emma Giaquinto (fourth), Kellenberg’s Bridget LaRosa (fifth) and Sacred Heart’s Kaitlin Donopria (seventh) all qualified for the Federation competition June 5 and 6 at McGregor Links Country Club in Wilton.