Zach Pelzar, Weston repeat as Div. 3 state golf champions

STERLING – One stroke is all that prevented Weston senior Zach Pelzar from repeating as individual winner in the rain-soaked Div. 3 golf state championships at Sterling National Country Club on Monday, but it’s also the difference his Wildcats used to repeat as team champions.

Pelzar gutted out a four-over 75 through brutal weather conditions on an already target golf course, leading Weston to a 322 score that barely edged runner-up St. John Paul II (323) for a second straight state title. That included breaking out of a spiral a few holes into the back nine, rattling off as good of a performance as almost any in the tournament over the final six holes.

The only player he couldn’t recover past was the Lions’ Jack Carstensen, whose three-over 74 won the individual state title. But Pelzar was ecstatic about what the team got instead.

“The individual title I honestly couldn’t care less about right now, I’m just super happy for the guys,” he said. “Super pumped for everybody … that’s put in hard work to get us here.”

Weston head coach Mary O’Brien preached the mentality that for as poor of weather it was, everyone was playing through the same conditions.

The Wildcats embraced that with a balanced finish. William Balz’s 79 was the only other score under 80 on the day, while William Goldstein shot an 83 and Teddy Dreyer had an 85 to round out the title. Co-captain Andrew Goldstein shot a 91 in his first state championship appearance.

“I’m extremely proud of how my players held it together,” O’Brien said. “It feels great and I’m so proud for these kids.”

A one-point finish only further heightens the impact of Pelzar’s closing six holes, snapping out of a bogey, double-bogey, bogey stretch on holes 10, 11 and 12. The senior said he knew he needed something to just break that momentum, and he got it with his best putt of the day to save a bogey on 12.

He shot one-under from there.

“He’s able to refocus and bring it back together, he’s always been able to do that,” O’Brien said. “He sets the tone in that he’s a leader. He works with the underclassmen, if you could see him during some practices. … They really do care about one another and they want everyone to be successful.”

Carstensen was on a roll by that point, though he started the day off with a triple-bogey that very quickly could have blown up his day before it even began. He’s had a rough go in rainy conditions all fall, so it was the opener to a potentially brutal day.

Instead, he said a few prayers to settle down, and used the nine gloves, four towels and an umbrella he brought to simply just stay dry. He then made par on the second hole, sank a birdie on the next one, and made par again on the following six straight to get into a groove for something special.

“It’s so exciting,” he said. “To get off to the start I had today wasn’t ideal, but I knew I had 17 holes left and I just kept trying to make some pars, and knew something would fall eventually.”

Matt Curley shot an 82 for the Lions, while Timmy Adams has an 83. Hopedale finished third with 338, led by Colin Haynes’ 80.