St. Joseph golf wins battle of North Jersey powers at Arcola Invitational

PARAMUS – St. Joseph has become a serious contender for multiple titles heading into the make-or-break month of May.

The Green Knights won Monday’s Arcola Invitational golf tournament, the final 18-hole tune-up heading into league, county, sectional and state championships.

“It’s a great momentum boost and we’re heating up at the right time,” St. Joseph sophomore Michael Asselta said.

Asselta won the individual title at Arcola Country Club – arguably the toughest course North Jersey high schoolers will face this season – to strengthen his already compelling case for North Jersey Boys Golfer of the Year.

Asselta shot 3-over-par 75 to finish one shot ahead of Ridgewood sophomore Braden Bhalla. The Green Knights carded a shoot-five, count-four score of 325 to finish three shots ahead of Ramapo.

Northern Highlands delivered the biggest surprise by finishing third with 334. Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic, neither fielding its top lineup, tied for fourth with 336, while Ridgewood shot 337 and was sixth among the dozen Bergen County teams.

St. Joseph: North Jersey’s finest

St. Joseph had nary a senior in the lineup and this marks its second 18-hole title of the season and Asselta’s third individual crown. The Green Knights are favorites to win the overall title at Friday’s Big North Championship at Rockleigh.

Asselta had an eagle, two birdies, five bogeys and a double-bogey for his 75. He eagled the par-5 eighth hole in the shotgun event by sinking a 10-footer. He birdied his second-to-last-hole, the par-4 17 ^th , by sinking a 6-footer.

“It’s a really hard course, so I would say a 75 is a pretty good score,” Asselta said. “I was a little bit up and down, but overall, I hit it solid. Putting, it’s hard out there. The greens are firm and fast, but overall I putted it pretty good. I drove it really well, and I think that’s kind of what won it today.”

Green Knights junior captain Liam Moloney finished in a six-way tie for third with 77. Freshman CJ Antifonario shot 81 to finish in a three-way tie for 10 ^th , and sophomore Darren Coyle carded 92.

“It really gives us a confidence boost. Everybody’s game has been getting better each and every day,” Moloney said, adding, “It’s really just coming together at the right time.”

Ramapo: Public powerhouse

Ramapo, reigning State Group 3 champion, is fully capable of starting May by upending St. Joseph and the other non-publics and winning Friday’s Big North Conference overall title.

Junior Harry Cohen, last year’s North Jersey Boys Golfer of the Year, and Peter Keith each shot 77 to finish in that six-way tie for third. Jackson Chudnoff shot 86 and Jordan Weiss 88.

“I think we played OK. I think we’re capable of playing a little bit better golf,” Green Raiders coach Brian Gogerty said. “That course also showed its teeth today. That was a difficult course from start to finish for everybody in the field.”

Northern Highlands: Surprise, surprise

Northern Highlands’ third-place finish, ahead of Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic, was led by the Klarreich brothers. Ryan Klarreich, a junior, shot 80 to finish ninth, while his freshman sibling, Owen, had 81 to tie for 10 ^th . Cooper Brodie shot 83 and Chase Collum 90.

“I thought the kids battled. We had a rough couple of days last week, bounced back, and put up a couple of nice scores,” Highlanders coach Dave Cord said. He added, “I thought we were right in it and had a chance to win it at the end.”

Bhalla: Individual contender

Bhalla has continued to improve, after last season turning heads by qualifying for the state championship. He had three birdies, five bogeys and a double-bogey. On the par-5 eighth and ninth holes, he just missed eagles after missing putts.

“I felt like I played well,” said Bhalla, who could make a run at Friday’s Big North overall crown. “I made a couple of mistakes, but I was able to bounce back from them.”

Arcola Invitational

At Arcola CC, Paramus

Par: 72; Yardage: 6,390

Team scores

St. Joseph 325

Ramapo 328

Northern Highlands 334

Bergen Catholic 336

Don Bosco 336

Ridgewood 337

Tenafly 346

Old Tappan 353

River Dell 359

Glen Rock 365

Ramsey 393

Mahwah 413

Individuals

Michael Asselta, St. Joseph 75

Braden Bhalla, Ridgewood 76

Ryder Hodgson, Bergen Catholic 77

Harry Cohen, Ramapo 77

Peter Keith, Ramapo 77

Aarush Malmandi, Don Bosco 77

Liam Moloney, St. Joseph 77

Hoewon Park, Tenafly 77

Ryan Klarreich, Northern Highlands 80

Johnny Keyes, Bergen Catholic 81

Owen Klarreich, Northern Highlands 81

CJ Antifonario, St. Joseph 81

Stephen Viray, Don Bosco 82

Cooper Brodie, Northern Highlands 83

Alex Na, River Dell 83

Finn Doherty, Ridgewood 83

James Ko, Old Tappan 83

Owen Moynihan, Mahwah 83

Michael Buckley, Old Tappan 84

Jayden Na, River Dell 85

Brendan Burkhardt, Glen Rock 85

Jackson Chudnoff, Ramapo 86

Eric Kim, Tenafly 86

Matt Wall, Ridgewood 87

Jordan Weiss, Ramapo 88

Gavin Sullivan, Don Bosco 88

Will Calocino, Bergen Catholic 89

Nikhil Sahu, Bergen Catholic 89

Dom Cannao, Don Bosco 89

Aidan Pifko-Walsh, Don Bosco 89

Jun Chun, Old Tappan 89

Dylan Sawyer, Pascack Hills 89

Dylan Ayer, Ramsey 90

Chase Collum, Northern Highlands 90

SeongJune Bae, Northern Highlands 91

Parker Rollins, Ridgewood 91

Noah Rubach, Tenafly 91

Jake Good, River Dell 92

Sebastian Skibo, Ridgewood 92

Darren Coyle, St. Joseph 92

Will Casper, Glen Rock 92

Drew Davis, Tenafly 92

Ryan Ledlow, Ramsey 94

Cooper Peck, Fair Lawn 94

Declan Manning, Glen Rock 94

Quinn Reardon, Glen Rock 94

John Fenton, St. Joseph 95

Chris Vrtis, Bergen Catholic 96

Jack Sposa, Ramapo 96

Braden O'Shea, Midland Park 96

Zach Miller, Old Tappan 97

Matthew Na, Old Tappan 97

Austin Groves, Pascack Hills 97

Michael Ledlow, Ramsey 99

Dan Madonia, River Dell 99

Preston Tsui, River Dell 99

Nico Alfano, Mahwah 99

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: St. Joseph golf wins battle of North Jersey powers at Arcola Invitational