On Friday, October 6, history was made. The Presque Isle Wildcat golf team took home the gold for the first time in school golf history.
The golf team consisted of 17 members, eight of whom traveled to the State match. This win was propelled by six seniors and one junior. Two of the seniors, captain Owen Mackinnon and Grant Stubbs placed within the top ten players of the state. The two stated how this isn’t what led them to victory, it was the team, not just their individual performances. “We’re all captains on the team, I’m just the one with the title,” Mackinnon ’24 said. “We all push each other to be great and lead the team to the best of our abilities.”
The Wildcats won with a final score of 323, beating second place Freeport by five strokes.
The four scores for the wildcats were as follows:
Gavin Dunleavy ’24, 84
Jack Boone ’24, 82
Owen Mackinnon with a 79
Grant Stubbs ’24, the low man for the ’Cats with a 78.
After winning the state championship, Grant Stubbs said, “I knew that if we didn’t win States, we were taking that bus home as losers, so us winning made that bus ride awesome.”
The seniors also talked about how this isn’t a one man team, every person was necessary for that win. “We all knew we had to play our best we ever had as a team to be able to win, and we did it,” Stubbs said. “We got what we’ve been working for for the last three years.”
Not only was this the school’s first golf state championship team, it was head coach Matthew Madore’s second year coaching the golf team. His philosophy isn’t golf as a one man sport, it’s a team sport. This shows through his players as Grant Stubbs described the team as one word: “Family.”
“Our motto going into last year was ‘Jobs not finished,’” Madore said. “My two words to describe this season are ‘jobs finished.’”
For the head coach, it wasn’t just about winning the championship, it was about how it changed them. “My life and our team’s life is now changed. We will forever be linked together.” Madore said. “I love all my guys, one through seventeen.”
Jim Carter • Oct 16, 2023 at 12:04 pm
Congratulations to all of the members of the PIHS Golf Team and its coaches. You proved once again that if you wish to excel in something you have to put in quality practice time. You certainly should be very proud it isn’t every year that a team can win a State Championship. Great article Lane.