Getting in the swing: Fox Lane tops John Jay in golf season opener

Clockwise from top left, Jack Yaggi of Fox Lane hits pitch shot towards the green. Hank Hearon watches his tee shot as he led Fox Lane to victory over John Jay. Kyle Hester of Fox Lane watches his wedge shot out of the trap. Connor Kelley of John Jay blasts out of the sand trap. Charlie Sanz of John Jay hits one out of the bunker onto the green. Jim MacLean Photos

By JIM MACLEAN

Golf is usually the last spring sport to get under way on the high school sports scene, as teams have to wait for the local courses to be ready after the long winter season, so both Fox Lane and John Jay were ready for action as the season finally got underway last week.

Fox Lane hosted John Jay on April 9, at the Bedford Golf & Tennis Club, and the Foxes made the most of the opportunity as their familiarity with the home course paid off for a convincing win over the Wolves. Fox Lane pulled away for a 213-228 victory to start the season at 1-0, while John Jay rebounded the next day with a win over powerhouse Mamaroneck on the road to start the year at 1-1.

The Foxes have five returning players in the varsity lineup with plenty of experience, and the Foxes were ready for the first match. Leading the way is senior captain Kyle Hester, a four-year varsity starter, and junior Jack Yaggi, a three-year varsity starter who finished 10th at the Section 1 tournament two years ago. Other varsity veterans in the starting lineup include junior Hank Hearon, senior Zack Wetchler and sophomore Calvin Metzger for the Foxes.

“The team is fairly young, but we’re hoping for Jack and Kyle to lead the way,” Fox Lane coach Fabian Videla said of his squad.

In the match against John jay, it was Hank Hearon with the big day for the Foxes as he shot a 37 for the top score in the match. Yaggi finished at 41as the top duo for Fox Lane at number one and two proved to be the difference.

James Strauss led the way for John Jay as he shot a 41, and Wally Ryder was second for the Wolves with a round of 44.

It didn’t take long for the Wolves to turn it around as the next day hosting one of the teams favored to battle for the team Section 1 title in Mamaroneck. John Jay was on its home course at the Waccabuc Country Club, and the Wolves pulled out the upset with a 217-219 victory over the Tigers.

Against Mamaroneck, it was senior John Becker leading the way with a big round as he shot a 37 for the top score of the match, and Ryder was close behind with a 39 for the Wolves.

“We had a tough day, and Hank Hearon had a really good day for them,” John Jay coach Art Blank said of the loss to Fox Lane. “It was good to see us come back and have a really good day at Mamaroneck. Becker had a rough day against Fox Lane, but he came back and had a great day against Mamaroneck. He’s a four-year varsity player and he is going to have a good year. James and Wally have started out really strong. If this group gets some consistency we have a chance to have a really strong year.”

In addition to Becker as the number one, John Jay has senior Connor Kelley at number two as another returning varsity player, and Abby Armour is another returning senior to give the Wolves a veteran core. Charlie Sanz and Ryder are a pair of juniors who are returning varsity veterans, along with Strauss as a sophomore. Senior Sean Maddock, along with Tyler Petry, Gavin Orrill, and freshman newcomer Henry Millhon round out the varsity roster for the Wolves.

John Jay was set to host Pawling on Monday at Waccabuc, to start a stretch of four matches in four days. After Pawling, John Jay is on the road against Carmel, then the Wolves host Somers and finish off the busy week at home against Yorktown on Thursday, April 24.

Fox Lane is off until after the spring break as the Foxes next match on the schedule was against Somers on Thursday, April 24, at home on the Bedford Golf & Tennis Club course.