RIVER VALE – Mikey Folignani and Midland Park are primed and ready to defend their NJSIAA sectional and state golf titles.
The Panthers easily repeated as the North Jersey Interscholastic Conference Division 2 champion on Monday at Valley Brook Golf Course.
Folignani broke through for his first individual NJIC title. The senior’s 4-over-par 72 gave him a four-shot edge over Saddle River Day senior Jake Zage, runner-up via match of cards, and Dwight-Englewood freshman Dillon Gallagher.
Midland Park won Division 2 with a four-player 307 that was 28 shots better than Saddle River Day and 29 ahead of Dwight-Englewood.
“I’m very pleased with [307],” Midland Park coach Dick Bennett said. “And I’m really pleased that Mikey had a really good round, because he’s been a strong player for us for four years and it’s nice to see him win a championship.”
Glen Rock repeated as Division 1 titlist with 338, Leonia was runner-up with 415 and Eastern Christian third with 419. Leonia senior Piper Kim, playing the next-forward tees from the boys, won her second division title in three years after shooting 78.
Midland Park dominates
Midland Park looked like a team worthy of repeating as Group 1 sectional and state champ while on a course that played to a 68 rather than 70 because rain forced the par-5 13th hole to be shortened to a par-3.
Folignani played his last 12 holes at 1-under, after playing his first six holes at 5-over. He had two birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey on a tract that was an estimated 5,451 yards for boys and 4,819 for girls.
“It’s a confidence booster, definitely,” said Folignani, runner-up as a sophomore and fourth last season. “I’ve been playing well in the weeks coming up to this, and finally putting it all together and getting a win here, it really helps the confidence.”
Panthers senior Joe Furlong was fourth with 77, junior Matt Diani fifth with 78, and senior Kyle Sansone tied for sixth with 80. They will be joined by sophomore Sean Furlong at Monday’s North 1 sectional at Newton.
“We’re really looking forward to the sectionals,” Bennett said. “We hope we can go up there and play really well and qualify for the states. We’re also looking forward to the counties, but sectionals is big.”
Glen Rock rolls in Division 1
Glen Rock’s quartet all finished in the top five in Division 1. Junior Leo Taras was runner-up with 82, and sophomore Jack Randazzo was third with 84. Tying for fourth with 86 were sophomore Ryan LeBlanc and junior Dylan Miller-Jones.
“We’re going to use this tournament going forward with states and the [county],” said Glen Rock coach Dan Morgan, whose team also is in North Group 1. “It’s another 18-hole tournament to prepare us for those.”
Leonia’s Kim a two-time champ
Kim won the Division 1 individual title with 10-over-78, after winning it as a sophomore with 9-over-79. She drove it well, and she drove the 277-yard par-4 11th and two-putted for a birdie.
“My drives were solid, and my putting was better than expected,” said Kim, adding, “It feels nice to end senior year with a win.”
9th Annual NJIC Golf Championship
At Valley Brook GC, River Vale
Par: 68
Yardage: Boys: 5,451; Girls: 4,819
Division 1
Team scores
Glen Rock 338
Leonia 415
Eastern Christian 419
Ridgefield 435
Hasbrouck Heights 442
Hawthorne 477
Butler 480
North Arlington 495
Individuals
Piper Kim, Leonia 78
Leo Taras, Glen Rock 82
Jack Randazzo, Glen Rock 84
Ryan LeBlanc, Glen Rock 86
Dylan Miller-Jones, Glen Rock 86
Eliam Lee, Ridgefield 91
Antonio Grecco, Hasbrouck Heights 92
Evan Hopeck, Eastern Christian 93
Sabrina Jeon, Leonia 94
Chase DeJong, Eastern Christian 99
Sam Faber, Eastern Christian 102
Sean Wall, Butler 106
Christian Lee, Ridgefield 107
Meadow Ciccarella, Hawthorne 109
Bekah Gaehring, Hawthorne 112
Tom Yazdi, Butler 113
Andrew Oettinger, Hasbrouck Heights 114
Michael Awad, North Arlington 115
Joe Fererri, Hasbrouck Heights 117
Isabella Bonapace, Leonia 117
Sarah Jeon, Ridgefield 118
John Wagner, Hasbrouck Heights 119
John Kirk, Ridgefield 119
Samantha DiPopolo, North Arlington 122
Bobby Wu, Eastern Christian 125
Mia Nocero, Leonia 126
Mike Irvolino, Hawthorne 127
Jonathan Estfanous, North Arlington 128
Brian Reilly, Hawthorne 129
Tim Russo, Butler 130
Joseph Thompson, North Arlington 130
Chris Jewett, Butler 131
Division 2
Team scores
Midland Park 307
Saddle River Day 335
Dwight-Englewood 336
Palisades Park 390
Park Ridge/Emerson 396
Waldwick 418
New Milford 433
Cresskill 461
Individuals
Mikey Folignani, Midland Park 72
Jake Zage, Saddle River Day 76
Dillon Gallagher, Dwight-Englewood 76
Joe Furlong, Midland Park 77
Matt Diani, Midland Park 78
Kyle Sansone, Midland Park 80
Dylan Besserer, Saddle River Day 80
Jeremy Radfar, Saddle River Day 80
William Rich, Dwight-Englewood 84
Zack Mark, Park Ridge/Emerson 85
Eric Hahn, Dwight-Englewood 87
Sean Johnson, New Milford 87
David Cho, Palisades Park 88
Kyle Park, Palisades Park 88
Emma Lee, Dwight-Englewood 89
Max Cohen, Waldwick 91
Shri Sai, Cresskill 96
Yunnah Kang, Palisades Park 98
Zach Papataros, Park Ridge/Emerson 98
Jack Acello, Saddle River Day 99
George Kalasieh, Waldwick 103
Jack Terjanian, Park Ridge/Emerson 104
Kate Rostkowski, New Milford 105
Ryan Feldman, Waldwick 108
Rocco Romanelli, Park Ridge/Emerson 109
Rajvi Patel, New Milford 113
Nick Ibrahim, Cresskill 114
Ashley Park, Palisades Park 116
Chris Youngclaus, Waldwick 116
Max Wilson, Cresskill 125
Rohan Chotimall, Cresskill 126
Nick Rajner, New Milford 128
