LeFante head of the class on All-District golf team

BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

Colts Neck’s Eric LeFante’s march into history and the rise of Howell High School were the highlights of the 2005 golf season in the Freehold Regional District

LeFante became the only golfer in Monmouth County Tournament history to win three straight championships when he triumphed at Hominy Hill back in April. Before the season was over, the Cougar added the NJSIAA Central/South Jersey sectional state title to his trophy case.

The new kid on the block this year was Howell. Coach Tim Hogan expected his team to leap to the ranks of contenders, but the Rebels did more than that. They were the class of the A North public school division from start to finish in bringing home the school’s first golf championship.

Manalapan had its say at the end of the season when the Braves won the Freehold Regional District championship for the second time in three years.

LeFante is the first to the tee on the News Transcript’s 2005 All-Freehold Regional District Golf Team. Rounding out the area’s best are Manalapan’s Quigley and Matt Kronisch, and Howell’s Matt Marchak and Paul Bryck.

The list of LeFante’s accomplishments seems endless. He is the only three-time Monmouth County champion. He won the Wall Invitational and Freehold Regional titles twice each, and this year added the NJSIAA Central/South Jersey state sectional title to his résumé, winning that by four strokes. He was fifth in State Group III and 15th at the Tournament of Champions after finishing second last year, and he finished fourth at the Shore Conference. He went out a winner, capturing his second straight District title by shooting a 74 at Eagle Oaks in Howell, in the last tournament of his high school career.

In capturing his record third straight county championship, LeFante carded an even-par 72 at Hominy Hill. He’s taking his talents to the University of Maryland.

Quigley and Kronisch went out in style. The seniors played their best golf at the District championship, leading the Braves to their second title in three years.

Quigley trailed LeFante by just a single stroke going into the 18th hole at the Freehold Regional tournament. A birdie by the indefatigable LeFante gave the Cougar his two-stroke triumph. Quigley tied for 11th at the county championships, while Kronisch was tied for 12th.

Marchak, the only senior in the starting lineup, was Howell’s top player, day in and day out. His consistency and leadership were vital to Howell’s division-championship run.

Bryck, still just a junior, has been Howell’s best tournament player over the years, and he proved it again this year. He was 26th in the county and finished eighth in the District. Of course, this spring, his dual-meet play was equally important as Howell picked up its first-ever division title. The challenge ahead for Howell is to make the championship stick. That will be the test for Bryck and the other returning starters next spring.

Special mention has to go to Colts Neck’s Vanessa Toscano. This year, the District held a girls tournament for the first time and she became its first-ever champion.

Those earning honorable mention for the 2005 season are: John Edwards and Chris Liguori, Colts Neck; Bryan Richards, Kyle Kurczeski and Nick Vescio, Freehold Township; Jim Makracek, Howell; and Brett Schultz and Mike DeSero, Marlboro.