By Bill Alden

After producing a superb regular campaign that saw it go 13-0 in dual match play and win two in-season tournaments, the Princeton High boys’ golf team was primed to defend its title at the Mercer County Tournament.

While continuing to play well, PHS fell just short of a title repeat as it took second with a score of 312, five strokes behind champion Lawrenceville in the event played on May 3 at the Mountain View Golf Course.

Tiger head coach Pat Noone credited his players giving their all as they went for the second straight crown.

“I thought we did really, really good; it was really tough conditions, it was cold and windy,” said Noone. “It was really tough and we battled and battled. The kid from Lawrenceville [individual champion Adrian Jordan] got hot on the last four holes —I think he went birdie, eagle, birdie, and par. That was the five stroke difference we lost by. We were the top public school again.”

Junior Walter Gumbinger was the top player for PHS at the MCT, carding a five-over 77 to tie for fourth individually.

“Walt had a great offseason, he really performed this spring,” said Noone. “He is going to have a great senior year. He is starting to get some looks from colleges. It is really cool.”

A trio of seniors — Brooks Cahill-Sanidas, Benji Tarter, and Peter Eaton — also performed well for the Tigers. Cahill-Sanidas tied for eighth with a 78 while Tarter had a 79 to tie for 11th and Eaton fired an 83 to tie for 24th.

“Brooks has been our No. 1 for the last two years, he got off to a rough start in counties on the first couple of holes,” said Noone. “He made a triple on the third hole, after that he really battled. Benji has gotten better each year. This year he performed really well in some big tournaments and matches and Peter as well. They both had an awesome four-year run, they were really successful.”

Days later, the Tigers experienced another near miss as they took second in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 sectional. PHS fired a score of 301, seven strokes behind Millburn at the Preakness Valley Golf Course in Wayne.

“After taking over the last four years, I have added a lot more tournaments, we won the Wall Invitational and the Sayreville Bomber Tee-Off Invitational this year,” said Noone. “We were pretty comfortable going to 18-hole tournaments. I think the guys were really excited and pumped. It is not many times that you see a team have five guys finish breaking 80 in a tournament and we did that. That is golf, it is tough. The guys were awesome, they played so well.”

Cahill-Sanidas ended his stellar PHS career on a high note, firing an even-par 70 to tie for second individually at the sectional.

“That was a great day for him, we did a lot of work on Monday to get his swing dialed in,” said Noone, noting that Cahill-Sanidas will be going on to play for the Kenyan College men’s golf program his fall. “That is the way you want him to go out. He is definitely going down as one of the best in PHS history.”

Another senior, Remmick Granozio, also had a great day, carding a five-over 75 to tie for ninth.

“Remmick really came along, he played his freshman year, missed his other two to focus on basketball,” said Noone.

“He wanted to come back and have some fun. He had a great career-ending state sectional tournament. He is a true three-sport athlete, he also played football this fall.”

Although Noone would have liked to see his squad come through with a postseason title, he is proud of what the Tigers accomplished this spring.

“It was an awesome season, winning two invitationals is big, especially winning Wall where there some really good teams,” said Noone. “To open the season with a win there was really impressive, it got the ball rolling. We did really good in the dual meets. Everybody played well, everybody had fun.”

Noone had a lot of fun working with his stellar group of seniors.

“It was a great four years with these guys, they were freshmen who come in my first year as head coach,” said Noone. “You are talking about a group that has won two sectional titles and two Tournament of Champion appearances, won the first MCT in 15 years, won the Wall Invitational, and won the Bomber Tee-Off Invitational. It is going to go down as one of the best four-year runs in PHS golf history.”

Looking ahead, Noone believes the Tigers can keep doing great things.

“We have got Walt coming back, we have a couple of freshmen that are coming in there,” said Noone. “There is going to be change next year. We are going to pass the torch and keep this moving the right way. We have a pretty good history over here.”