Schools

Freshman Leads West Deptford Golf to Best-Ever Score at GC Tourney

Ritchie Stolz shot 75 and the Eagles scored a team 322 to finish second overall in the county Thursday.

It would’ve taken a team of Hollywood screenwriters to make ’s performance at the Gloucester County Open any more magical.

Led by a scrappy freshman who shrugged off the pressure to finish third in a playoff, with a clutch senior delivering another sub-80 round and another senior battling an injury, all combining for the team’s lowest-ever score in the tournament, the Eagles had it all Thursday.

“It was the ultimate ending to a magnificent season,” head coach John Cobb said.

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Ritchie Stolz, the only freshman on a team of seniors, provided the highlight-reel moments, playing nearly mistake-free golf on his way to a 75, his lowest tournament round of the season, and third place overall.

After missing the conference tournament, but getting voted to first-team All-Colonial, Stolz faced a situation Cobb had warned him about just a day earlier.

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“Just remember this: With success comes expectations,” Cobb told the freshman in practice Wednesday.

To say Stolz delivered on those expectations is an understatement.

“I can’t put it into words how pleased I am,” Cobb said. “He answered the call times a thousand.”

It was the third straight tournament Stolz showed marked improvement—after firing a 93 at the , Stolz cut that down to an 86 at sectionals—a round Cobb called “a major statement.”

If that was a major statement, Stolz’s 75 Thursday was a war whoop through a megaphone.

Three seniors weren’t far behind the fab frosh—Kevin Brockway continued his string of outstanding play, firing a 79 two days after finishing second in the conference with a 77.

“Kevin culminated a great career for us,” Cobb said.

And Matt Santarelli, who got dinged up coming back out from a weather delay when severe thunderstorms rolled through the course, scraped his way to an 84, which was matched by Ryan Henry.

“I thought (Santarelli) battled through well,” Cobb said.

But perhaps the most telling stat was the Eagles’ team score—a 322, an unheard-of 44 strokes better than at the beginning of last week.

“What happened this year is we peaked at the right time,” Cobb said. “This team has really done it.”

While the win over Haddonfield and the players’ performance at the conference tournament gave the team momentum, Cobb cited the team’s work ethic as another factor in the big finish.

And while the team loses the five seniors—Brockway, Santarelli, Henry, John Meagher and Zach Vorndran—who have made up its core, Cobb said there likely won’t be much of a letdown, thanks to the foundation they’ve built and the example being set, both by them and Stolz.

“Ritchie gives us high expectations,” Cobb said.

But for now, the team can savor its success.

“It’s been a dream season,” Cobb said.


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