Sports
St. John’s Prep Golf Has Some Unfinished Business
Seniors Nick McLaughlin and Nick Pandelena lead the way as defending State Champs seek to regain the Catholic Conference crown from B.C. High.
Don’t expect the golf team to rest on its past success this fall. Despite returning the top six players from 2010’s Division 1 State and North Sectional championship squad, the Eagles begin this season focused and feeling a bit unfulfilled.
How can that be? The Eagles (13-3-0 overall) finished second in the Catholic Conference to B.C. High a year ago, motivation enough to be on top of their game.
“We want to reclaim the Catholic Conference title won by B.C. High last season, defend our Division I North title, and defend our State title,” said coach Larry O’Neill, now in his 22nd season and owner of a 313-25-7 career mark.
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The Prep opens the season Wednesday at home against non-league foe St. John’s of Shrewsbury, then gets its first of two shots at B.C. High – last year’s Division 1 State runner-up – on the road Sept. 14.
In senior captains Nick McLaughlin and Nick Pandelena, the Eagles boast perhaps the top tandem of players on any single roster in Massachusetts as they seek the program’s 13th State title.
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Pandelena, the reigning Division 1 North individual champion, is a powerful 6-foot-4 bomber who consistently wallops drives in excess of 300 yards and shot 73 in last year’s State Tournament at Longmeadow CC.
Precision is the key for McLaughlin, who finished second in the State Tournament with a 71. He prepped for this season with wins in the Massachusetts Golf Association’s Junior Tournament and the American Junior Golf Association’s CoarseMax/Philadelphia Junior Runner Tournament in Pennsylvania.
“McLaughlin and Pandelena are both highly recruited players who will be playing Division I college golf next year,” said O’Neill. A number of ACC schools have expressed interest in both players.
St. John's strong supporting cast includes returning seniors Tim Cunningham and Jake Danforth, along with junior Brandon Bingel and sophomore Matt Bullock. The latter two had 77s at the State Tournament, making the Eagles the only team to crack 300 with a 298 aggregate score.
O’Neill expects the Catholic Conference race will be a three-way chase involving the Prep, B.C. High and Xaverian. The Eagles’ challenging non-league schedule includes Wednesday's season opener against St. John’s of Shrewsbury, and home and away dates with Barnstable and Central Catholic of Lawrence. St. John’s closes the regular season on Oct. 19 and 20 with home and away matches against , one of the region’s top public school programs.
