Fraser Blisters Waubeeka, Leads Lee to Western Mass Title

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Whether things were going according to plan or not, everything was going right for Lee High senior Thomas Fraser at Tuesday’s Western Massachusetts Division 3 Golf Championships.
 
Fraser carded an even-par round of 71 at Waubeeka Golf Links to finish six strokes ahead of the field and lead the Wildcats to a team championship with a two-stroke victory over runner-up Monson.
 
Fraser, who teed off on one, said he settled into his round with an eagle on the 453-yard, par 5 eighth hole.
 
That’s the one that went even better than he planned it.
 
“It was kind of an  ‘uh-oh’ and then it went in,” Fraser said of the 40-foot eagle putt. “It was going kind of fast.”
 
“It was definitely one of my best holes today,” he said. “I just hit a good drive off the tee, had a nice 7-iron in, and I was able to sink a long putt. It was probably 35 to 40 feet. Just around the corner, it was going pretty fast. It hit the cup hard and went in.”
 
For the second time in four days at a major high school tournament, Fraser capped a medalist performance with a birdie on his final hole of the day -- this time the 318-yard par-4 at Waubeeka.
 
He drove to the front edge of the green, just missed a long eagle putt and dropped in a 2-footer to finish his day at even par.
 
“I definitely got hold of that one, and I was happy,” Fraser said. “I knew it was within driving range. But I was hoping just to get close to the green, maybe 10 yards. But I was able to ride it up there onto the green and able to make a birdie.”
 
Fraser finished six strokes ahead of St. Mary’s High School’s Luke Willenborg. They and the third member of their threesome, Franklin Tech’s Mike McGoldrick, flew around the South Williamstown layout in 3 hours, 45 minutes, on a day when the course was shortened to 17 holes because of conditions on No. 5
 
“Playing with good opponents is definitely a huge part of golf,” Fraser said. “I love playing with Luke [Willenborg]. I played with him last year. We were able to get around quickly. It was nice.”
 
It also was nice to get strong performances from throughout Lee’s lineup to ensure that Fraser is joined by his teammates next week at the state championships at Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown.
 
“A couple of my teammates definitely played some of their best golf,” Fraser said.”They’re definitely happy to win this.”
 
Dylan Ely finished at 89, and Camden Redstone and Dylan Boomsma carded rounds of 93 and 96, respectively, to round out the scoring for Lee.
 
“I’m really happy with Dylan Ely coming in with an 89,” Lee coach Matt Carlino said. “Just a big round. And Dylan Boomsma with a 96 and Cam Redstone with a 93. Actually, that was our goal: Come in in the 90s, mid 90s for the team. And hopefully one of the kids could come in under 90, which Dylan [Ely] did.”
 
The second-highest finisher from Berkshire County after Fraser was Lenox’s Brendan Hayden, who finished sixth with an 85, helping the Millionaires place third in the six-team field, eight strokes behind Lee.
 
Ely cracked the top 10, tying for eighth overall in a group that included Lenox’s Max DiGrigoli
 
Lenox’s Max Shepherdson (91) and Ricky Armstrong (92) were 11th and 14th, respectively.
 
Lenox was the only team at the tournament to post six scores in double figures.
 
McCann Tech finished sixth with Ryan Baran (94) and Dylan Tatro (99) leading the way.
 
 
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Team scores and individuals Tuesday at the Western Massachusetts Division 3 Championships at Waubeeka Golf Links.
 
Team scores: 1. Lee 349; 2. Monson 351; 3. Lenox 357; 4. Ware 372; 5. Franklin Tech 375; 6. McCann Tech 396.
 
1 Thomas Fraser Lee Middle/high School E 71
2 Luke Willenborg St. Mary's High School +6 77
3 Mason Dumas Monson High School +9 80
4 Cam Kratovil Monson High School +10 81
5 John Soltys Ware Junior/senior High School +12 83
6 Brendan Hayden Lenox Memorial High School +14 85
7 Daniel Cavanaugh Smith Academy +15 86
T8 Max Digrigoli Lenox Memorial High School +18 89
T8 Mike Mcgoldrick Franklin County Technical +18 89
T8 Dylan Ely Lee Middle/high School +18 89
T11 Mike Patnode Franklin County Technical +20 91
T11 Nate Pelletier Franklin County Technical +20 91
T11 Max Shepherdson Lenox Memorial High School +20 91
T14 Ricky Armstrong Lenox Memorial High School +21 92
T14 Robert Gerulaitis Ware Junior/senior High School +21 92
T14 Connor Rogers Monson High School +21 92
T17 Camden Redstone Lee Middle/high School +22 93
T17 Cliff Flynn Lenox Memorial High School +22 93
19 Ryan Baran Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +23 94
T20 Dylan Boomsma Lee Middle/high School +25 96
T20 Ben Haddad Lenox Memorial High School +25 96
T22 Aidan Jennings Monson High School +27 98
T22 Andrew Bonnayer Ware Junior/senior High School +27 98
T24 Dalton Tatro Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +28 99
T24 Doug Mulligan Ware Junior/senior High School +28 99
26 Matt Jette Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +29 100
27 Adam Dingman Lee Middle/high School +30 101
T28 Cam Daniels Monson High School +32 103
T28 Chris Rose Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +32 103
T30 Ryan Artus Franklin County Technical +33 104
T30 Nash Morin Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +33 104
32 Dylynn Hardee Charles Mccann Vocational Technical +34 105
33 Jacob Shaw Franklin County Technical +37 108
34 Colin Durkin Lee Middle/high School +38 109
35 Anthony Zager Franklin County Technical +39 110
36 Zach Wysk Monson High School +41 112
37 Mason Harper Ware Junior/senior High School +46 117
38 David Romani Westfield Technical Academy +50 121
39 Ben Silverio Ware Junior/senior High School +51 122
 
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