TOPSHAM

The 2018 high school golf season looks promising for local golf teams as the sport continues to grow.

While Mt. Ararat looks to improve on last year’s strong run that placed the team fifth in the State Class A tournament, Brunswick, Freeport and Morse all have eyes on improving on the links this fall..

Longtime coaches Gerry Caron (Mt. Ararat) and Mal Strange (Brunswick) along with second-year coach Mike Lawson (Freeport) and first-year coach Mike Dutton (Morse) will guide the area teams.

Mt. Ararat

Caron knows he has a talented varsity golf team, and only his golfers can determine their destiny this fall.

“I don’t see why they won’t be stronger,” Caron said, entering his fourth year at Mt. Ararat. “The season looks promising based on the good scores so far this preseason.”

Graduating only one senior (Blair Kopp), the Eagles hope to find themselves competing at the top of the Kennebec Valley Conference once again. The Eagles finished 11-1 last season and won the conference title.

Returning is last year’s KVAC top golfer in Caleb Manuel, who shot an even-par 72 at Natanis Golf Course last fall to tie for the Class A medalist with Cheverus’ Conner Macdonald and Scarborough’s Anthony Burnham. The junior is coming off a successful summer after playing in local and national junior tournaments.

“He’s had an outstanding summer and will golf in the number one spot for us,” notes Caron, who also coached women’s golf at Bowdoin

College.

Following Manuel, seniors Cade Charron and Will Kavanaugh will play in the second and third slots on the team. Another senior is Ben Hickson, with freshman Ty Henke looking to grab the fourth or fifth spots.

Thirteen athletes have come out for golf this fall, and Caron mentions that sophomore Eli Schoenberg will be the No. 6 six golfer and that a “good group of freshman and sophomores” will rotate in the No. 7 seven and eight spots as the season progresses.

Mt. Ararat opens the season Friday at Highland Green Golf Club with a 3:30 p.m. match against Lewiston and will then face Brunswick on Monday (3:30 p.m.) at the Brunswick Golf Club.

Brunswick

After losing several golfers, including No. 1 Zach Grant to graduation, Coach Strange looks to his promising young core for success this fall to improve on last season’s 5-7 team record.

“We have some promising sophomores coming up,” Strange said, the Brunswick head coach since 2000. “We’re using these first couple of weeks to sort things out.”

Some things Strange is sure of is his top three golfers. Replacing Grant, who has gone to the Naval Academy, will be Sam Sharpe, who is coming off a summer knee injury, but Strange expects him to be ready. At the No. 2, Emma Parke will compete, and Jack Bates follows at the No. 3.

Twenty-four golfers have come out for the team this year, and with the help of assistant Dave Boucher, Strange has a lot of competition to round out the varsity roster. Sean Lyne, Hunter Lord and Ben Wilson all figure to play for the final positions.

The Dragons open their campaign by hosting Mt. Ararat on Monday, before entertaining Cony on Aug. 30 and traveling to Leavitt on Aug. 31.

Morse

The 2018 Shipbuilders is looking forward to the upcoming schedule that will boast 10 matches, all Class B schools, before competing in the KVAC playoffs.

First-year coach Dutton believes “change is positive” in reference to both the coaching change and revamped schedule.

“It’s going to be a more competitive schedule this year,” said Dutton. “We may have to travel farther, but playing with other Class B schools will hopefully give us a bump in confidence as the season goes on.”

Coach Dutton, who coached golf previously at North Yarmouth Academy, is excited about the numbers out for golf, noting his Shipbuilders are young overall and are inexperienced in high school golf play. He will look to his three returning seniors — Dom Marco, Kaleb Jackson and Angus Brown — for some of that experience.

The Shipbuilders take on Mt. View Friday at the Bath Golf Club at 3:30 p.m., and will then travel to Waldoboro to take on Medomak Valley on Monday before hosting Lincoln Academy Wednesday.

Freeport

After experiencing a lot of growth and progress last season, the Freeport golf program enjoyed a secondplace finish in the Western Maine Conference regional qualifier and its first-ever trip to the Class B state tournament at Natanis Golf Course, where the team placed sixth.

According to Lawson, finishing 7-3, combined with those experiences, has grown the excitement for Freeport’s golf program.

“The experience motivated many of the golfers to play a lot this summer,” Lawson said. “The team is excited to put in the work and see if we can make a visit back to the state tournament in October.”

Although the Falcons graduated last year’s top golfer — Ethan Sclar — they have a number of talented golfers eager to step up and play well.

Senior Sully Smith, junior Thomas Robinson and sophomore TJ Whelan all return for Lawson. Incoming freshmen Finn Sharp and Louis Walker will also compete for varsity spots.

Freeport opens the season on Tuesday when it travels to Toddy Brook Golf Course to take on North Yarmouth Academy. Following a trip to York on Sept. 4, the Falcons will host Wells at the Freeport Country Club on Sept. 6. All the matches begin at 3:30 p.m.