St. Ed’s varsity boys golf team qualified for the regional tournament this week at Breakers West Country Club in West Palm Beach by finishing third in a hotly contested district meet last week at Hobe Sound Golf Club.
Trey Meadows shot a one-over-par 73 to pace his teammates in the seven-team, 18-hole event. Fahad Ahmed carded a 75 while Anthony Chiarenza and GP Battista tied for the final two spots at 82.
At a cumulative 312, the Pirates were only 10 strokes shy of champion Benjamin and 8 behind runner-up Pine School. Jupiter Christian was eliminated with 314.
Meadows and Ahmed were second and fifth respectively as individuals. Both were instrumental in leading the 2014 team into the regionals, so for them this is nothing new. What is new this year is Head Coach Scott Mohr.
“I’m thrilled about our team’s success in the district tournament,” Mohr said. “Trey and Fahad had remarkable scores, but all four players pushed us on to the next round. Our boys deserve to be playing with the region’s strongest schools because we have the talent and capability to compete at that level. I am excited for the boys and what their success can do for St. Edward’s School.”
That reaction is hardly surprising considering how strongly Mohr felt about his elevation to the head coaching position and how seriously he takes this game based on a jarring setback.
“I was certainly honored and surprised to become the head coach. I took over for a pillar of the school, Rick Hartley, and was quickly approached by Athletic Director Jeff Lamscha to fill his very large shoes in this one area. It was a huge honor and it’s been a lot of fun. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
This is Mohr’s third year at St. Ed’s. He teaches middle school history and has an extensive, albeit humbling, background.
“I played high school golf and really enjoyed it with a lot of my friends on the team. I thought I would have a great final season before moving on. Then one of my most challenging experiences in high school was getting cut from the golf team in the spring of my senior year.
“I was forever crushed by that, but it was also the most inspirational moment of my golf career. With a lot of practice and hard work I went on to play college golf less than six months later. It was really an awakening and made me take my golf more seriously.”
Mohr was cut to make way for younger players that the coach could groom. If nothing else, that personal disappointment should increase his empathy for adolescents striving to succeed in a difficult sport. He was tested immediately.
“We started 0-3, which was a little hard on the kids as well as the coach,” Mohr said. “But I’m very proud about how the kids rebounded and started playing better. They took some ownership out there and began to win some matches.”
Mohr has a manageable group of six on his varsity roster. Ahmed (37.1) and Meadows (38.7) led the team in nine-hole stroke averages during the regular season. Chiarenza (40.2) and Battista (41) were next, followed by Anirudh Mysore (42.9) and Ben Stork (44.9).
Ahmed and Stork are seniors. Meadows, Chiarenza and Mysore are sophomores. Battista is an 8th grader.
“This is one of my favorite years so far,” said Ahmed, a four-year varsity golfer. “We’ve got a pretty solid team. We started with a tough schedule, but we’ve been getting better day-by-day. I share my experiences with the younger guys and they are definitely receptive. By getting to regionals we gave ourselves a chance to move on even further than that.”
Meadows has been on the varsity since 7th grade and had a huge golf influence growing up.
“My dad is the club pro at Quail Valley, so I’ve been playing golf basically my entire life. About four years ago I started to take it more seriously. I want to play in college and then go pro. That’s the goal. I want to be on the tour. I have a good short game, my irons are good, but my driving is not too great. I want to have a future in golf. It’s just something that I want to accomplish.”
Chiarenza switched from football to golf at the behest of his friend. “Trey brought me out to the golf course one day about two years ago and I fell in love with the sport. I really struggled the first year but then I picked it up pretty quickly. I never really considered playing competitively, but then it got to the point where I thought it was a good idea.”
Northwestern University is the main goal for Stork. He sat out last year to concentrate on academics. He never really took golf all that seriously, but became more focused during high school and was on the varsity as a freshman and sophomore.
Mysore enjoys the camaraderie on the team. He says it helps that everyone shares the same passion for golf. Battista moved to Vero recently and, despite his youth, has a successful background playing in international golf tournaments.
“He has a lot of skill and we are really thankful to have him on the team,” Mohr said of Battista. “But our senior leadership is incredible – and not just in golf. Fahad and Ben are two of the brightest boys in our school. They are very mature and will have tremendous futures beyond the world of golf.
“It’s a privilege to be able to coach everyone on our team.”