Blue Devils Aim for Par
An eager and enthusiastic Huntington golf team struggled through a winless season last fall. Coached by Mike Marinello and captained by Ryan Doyle, the squad was a mixture of first year and returning players.
The Blue Devils finished the campaign at 0-12. With an average score of 42.47 for nine holes, Doyle earned All-League honors. Jeremy Rhodes also played well, averaging 43.44 and winning five matches.
Doyle is a “very steady and consistent golfer. Ryan works at the Crescent Club during the year and has great understanding of the game,” Marinello said.
Huntington averaged 235.7 over a dozen meets, significantly above their opponent’s scoring average of 214.4. “I believe we can get that down into the low 220s,” the coach said
As he looks to strengthen the program and improve its competitiveness, Marinello knows the key to his players’ improvement is for them to get out on the course as much as possible and hit the ball. The coach said he’s looking to “develop younger players to keep scores consistently in the mid-to-low 40s. We still may not win there, but we will be in contention.”
Although the Blue Devils went winless, there were positive items to point to. “It was a very eager and enthusiastic team,” Marinello said. “The playing partners worked well together to improve their scores. The team always displayed proper course etiquette and sportsmanship.”
The top returnees for next fall’s squad project to be current eighth grader Charles Bast, freshman Max Fehrs, sophomore Garrett Arleo and junior Nick Shivers. Bast averaged 46.75 last fall after getting the call to join the varsity team. “All the players have varsity match experience but they need to continue to improve their game prior to the season to be competitive,” Marinello said.
Ideally, Marinello would like to see a JV golf program in Huntington. “We are one of only two teams who do not have one in the league and both schools struggled to stay competitive in a talent-loaded league,” he said.
Blue Devil Putts: Seven players earned their first varsity golf letter . . . Greg Nigro was the only four-year letter winner on the team this year . . . Marinello is a physical education teacher at Woodhull Intermediate School . . . “I will continue to stimulate interest in golf at Woodhull by leading a golf clinic in the spring,” he said . . . At one time or another Doyle, Rhodes and Shivers each shot a 39, respectively . . . Marinello said he wants to continue to improve the relationship between the Crescent Club and the Huntington golf program adding that “we have an outstanding situation at the Crescent Club and I would like to see that continue to grow.”
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