Heritage’s Clanton dominates at state again
FSU 2022 commit fires 65 on final day to win boys title by 6
Luke Clanton caught fire on the back nine with five birdies en route to a 7-under-par 65 and won the Class 2A state championship for a second time in three years at Howey-in-the-Hills.
The American Heritage junior and FSU 2022 commit, who finished second last year, had a two-day total of 139 and finished six shots ahead of Ponte Vedra’s Scotty Kennon. The Patriots boys fought back from an eight-shot deficit after nine hole son the first day and battled back to tie and force a playoff with Ponte Vedra before falling on the first hole.
“I was disappointed that we didn’t win as a team,” said Clanton, who birdied two of the final four holes, including a 15-footer for birdie on the 18th hole to help his team reach the playoff.
“It’s kind of funny. I thought I played better the first day, than the second day, but today I had the mentality thatwe had to win as a team. I wanted to win more as a team than an individual.
“It’s kind of crazy that we lost in a playoff.”
Clanton also won in 2018. American Heritage shot a 597 behind Clanton, seventh-place finish er Jackson K us tin (151) and Sebastian Sacristan (153), who tied for 11th.
The Archbishop McCarthy (657) and North Broward Prep (658) boys teams finished fifth and sixth respectively. Brett White led the Mavericks with a 17th place finish at 154, while Sean Richards paced the Eagles with a 157 and finished 27th.
American Heritage, which last won a boys state title in 2016, finished runner-up to Ponte Vedra for the fourth straight year. Since 2012, either Ponte Vedra or American Heritage has won the state title.
The Patriots won in 2012, 2014 and 2016 and finished runner-up eight times.
Clanton’s win also completed a sweep for individual honors for the school after junior Kelly Shanahan sank a 40-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to take medalist honors with a two-day total of 140 and helped the Patriots girls team to a third state championship in four years and state-best ninth overall.
Shanahan started the day tied with Sabree Lefebvre after carding 71s and finished the day with a 69 and won on the first playoff hole.
“This means everything,” Shanahan said. “I worked my butt off for this the last five days. I came up early and did nothing but putt, play the course and put my all into it in getting ready and it all paid off.”
“It doesn’ t compare to anything I have ever done before,” Shanahan said. “It is thefirst time I have won a tournament of this size. This is incredible.”
The Patriots girls won their third title in the past four years. They lost by two strokes last year to Archbishop McCarthy. It was their state-leading ninth state championship, and Sheehan’s win also gave the Patriots the most individual wins by a school at six, breaking a tie with St. Andrew’s School.
The Patriots’ Katherine Schaefer carded a two-total of 151 to finish sixth as American Heritage shot 306 the second day to finish at 629 to win by 20 shots over McKeel High School.
Archbishop McCarthy’s Isabella Bailly shot a 157 to take 14th place and help the defending state champion Mavericks finish third at 656.
North Broward Prep was 16th overall. Cardinal Gibbons’ Kaylee Ehret shot a 156 to finish 12th overall.
In the Class 3A boys tournament, St. Thomas Aquinas shot 329-338 for a 667 total to finish in 12th place as Brett Moore tied for 48th with a two-day total of 162, while Ben Weins tied for 52nd with a 164. Mathew Marcelino tied for 56th with a 166.
In the girls 3A competition, Erin Marcelino was 42nd with a two-day total 164.
In the Class 1A competition, Oxbridge Academy’s boys had the best finish in school history as they placed fifth with a 630. Tyler Stachkun as shot a two-day total of 150 to place seventh, while Rafe Cochran shot a 154 and finished tied for 18th.
St. Andrews’ junior Amelie Alcantara was within striking distance of medalist honors after carding a 3-under, 69 on the first day. She followed that up with a 77 to finish 10th with a 146.
The Scots finished fifth this year with a 637.