A day auspicious for scoring, Luc Balaskiewicz went lower than anyone in the six-year history of the Jax Beach Invitational College Tournament.
The Bolles senior made 10 birdies and closed with six scores of 3 or less on the match’s front nine. Jacksonville Beach Golf Club for a 9-under 62 that led the Bulldogs to the team title in the combined boys’ and girls’ scores format.
Bolles won the tournament for the second time in three years by 10 strokes over Beachside at 14-over-par 582. The Bulldogs boys finished second to Ponte Vedra and the girls won by nine strokes over Beachside.
“It shows the depth of both programs,” Bolles boys coach Trey Leonardi said. “It helps to put a 62 up there. This will help the team score a lot. But it also shows how much each team wants to play hard for the other team.
Bolles girls coach Debbie Drabinski said the win was strong motivation heading into next month’s playoffs.
“It helps both teams,” she said.
Neil Kuthiala posted a 71 to back Balaskiewicz. The Bolles girls were led by Grace Offrefitt with a 70, Chloe McGrath posting a 71 and Anaiya Nahar 73.
Luke Balaskiewicz continues his corner game
Balaskiewicz, who verbally committed to the University of North Florida, began his round at No. 10 and began his pattern throughout the round: long, precise drives off the tee, followed by wedges and pitch shots on par-4s and relatively easy birdies on par-5s.
“I was able to hit a lot of corners today,” he said. “It took a lot of pressure off the putter.”
He also birdied No. 15, almost made an eagle chip at No. 18 and made putts of 8 feet or less on eight of his 10 birdies.
Balaskiewicz made bogey on a weird shot at No. 1. He made a 30-yard throw into the green, but the ball hit the flagstick and bounced onto the green. He failed to get up and down from there, missing a 6-footer for par.
He birdied five straight holes and aced the par-3 ninth hole to finish his round with scores of 2-3-3-3-3-3.
In addition to setting the tournament record, Balaskiewicz came within one stroke of the Jacksonville Beach course record of 61.
He has a habit of sinking to his lowest point. Balaskiewicz shot a course record 61 two years ago at the University of Georgia Golf Course during a Notah Begay National Junior regional qualifier.
“I don’t know if I played better that day than I played today,” he said. “But I gave myself a lot of chances.”
The sharks give an opinion
Ponte Vedra finished third in the combined standings, but the Sharks men’s team stood out with an eight-shot victory over Bolles. Cooper Franklin shot 66 and Easton Oliva posted a 67 as the Sharks played the same starting five as won the school’s ninth state championship and seventh in a row last season.
Coach Mickey Leapley has revamped its roster with a busy schedule that includes three 18-hole tournaments and one 36-hole event before the FHSAA playoffs begin in late October.
And the Sharks were still without No. 1 player Jack Chung, who was on college visits this weekend.
“I think it shows me that I’m going to have a lot of options on the table,” Leapley said. “The better these guys play, the harder my (postseason roster) decisions will be.”
Sahana Chokshi and Addy Vogt share the medal
Sahana Chokshi of Episcopal and Addy Vogt of St. Johns Country Day tied for medalist in the women’s 4-under-67 competition. Stella Moritz of Ponte Vedra was next with a 68.
Chokshi, a sophomore, had a bogey-free day that started with eight straight pars and a two-putt birdie at No. 18.
She turned around and birdied Nos. 1 and 2 on 10-foot putts. His day ended with a 25-foot birdie at No. 8.
Vogt, who made a verbal commitment to Rollins, started at No. 10, made birdies at Nos. 15 and 18, then turned around and birdied four of her first six holes on the front nine.
Moritz was 1-over at the turn, but caught fire on the back nine with four birdies, ending with a tap-in at No. 18 after a solid chip.
The score was low
A combination of mild conditions and little wind from the ocean led to a glut of poor scores in the tournament.
Bolles’ overall score and the Ponte Vedra boys and Bolles girls set tournament records for team score.
Bolles broke the previous combined score record by 15 shots, the Sharks broke the boys record by 12 and the Bulldogs broke the girls record by eight.
There were eight scores in the 60s for boys and three for girls, and 13 scores in the 60s for boys and eight for girls.
Jax Beach Varsity Invitational final results
At the Jacksonville Beach Golf Club
Combined boys and girls scores
1. Bolles 582, 2. Waterfront 592, 3. Ponte Vedra 607, 4. Creekside 621, 5. Providence 648.
Boys team results
1. Ponte Vedra (280): Cooper Franklin 66, Easton Oliva 67, Cameron Reed 71, Joey Hage 76, Sean Grzebin 77.
2. Bolles (288): Luke Balaskiewicz 62, Neil Kuthiala 71, Brendan Walrath 75, Enzo Bau 80, Andrew Sharkey 80.
T3. Beach side (289): Jaspreet Kondal 68 years old, Jonah Nacional 71 years old, Barton Abstein 74 years old, Jack Randolph 76 years old, Samuel Ha 77 years old.
T3. Creekside (289): Charlie Hipp 68, Bryson Hughes 69, Ty Martin 75 Brady Dougan 77, Coleman Jordan 91.
4. Fletcher (290): Cole Slater 68, Mason Seaton 70, Mathis Toal 76, Jake Mergo 76, Grant Schneider 94.
5. Providence (305): Keelan Jackson 69, Alex Stewart 72, Gavin Ring 73, Jack Cole 77, Ben Strongosky 88.
6. St. Johns National Day (322): Beckham Cummings 77, Noa Bridges 81, Fletcher Cummings 81, Anderson Vogt 83, Drew Miller 99.
Girls team results
1. Bolles (294): Grace Cadeaut 70 years old, Chloe McGrath 71 years old, Anaiya Nahar 73 years old, Riley Powell 80 years old, Claire Hastings 90 years old.
2. Girls by the Sea (303): Sofia Rivera 70 years old, Fiona Clancy 72 years old, Alexia Iordanov 78 years old, Mila Hulbert 83 years old, Kitana Naidu 85 years old.
3. Nease (317): Aliyah Sta Ana 75, Sophia Cavanagh 78, Gabby Sartori 78, Lexy Siebert 86, Chloe Frank 89.
4. Episcopal (323): Sahana Chokshi 67, Olivia Messana 77, Simrin Chokshi 77, Zoe Gibson 102, Crissie Clayman 102.
5. Daughters of Ponte Vedra (327): Stella Moritz 68 years old, Nina Santiago 76 years old, Shradda Nabiar 84 years old, Ella Belknap 99 years old, Hayley Belknap 106 years old.
6. Creekside (332): Camilia Burgos 77, Lila Weaver 83, Sarah Beth Walters 83, Maddie Pratchois 89, Kaila Fisher 94.
7. Stanton (340): Alyssa Hardy 76 years old, Lily Chiang 80 years old, Niharika Naravarjula 85 years old, Moli Roelke 99 years old, Olivia Woods 99 years old.
8. Providence (343): Honor Donaldson 77, Brooke Thomas 79, Emily Buford 88, Katy Potts 99, Wynn McCann 99.
9. Bishop Kenny (370): Kathleen Crawley 87 years old, Katie Biagni 88 years old, Sophia Rich 96 years old, Candace Aldridge 99 years old.
Individuals
Boys: Ben Reed (Paxon) 71 years old, Joe Reed (Paxon) 78 years old, Connor Tran (Providence) 79 years old.
Girls: Addy Vogt (SJCD) 67, Danielle Dailey (St. Joseph) 74, Sadaly Campbell (Fernandina Beach) 78, Ava Zaharie (Fletcher) 84, Abby Williams (Fletcher) 96.
This story has been updated to add new information.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bolles wins Jax Beach varsity golf behind 62 ahead of senior Luke Balaskiewicz
