WEST REDDING, Conn. – Junior
Aidan Davis finished with a 167 over two days to become the first All-Little East Conference First Team member in Keene State men's golf history as the Owls finished third as a team overall at the league championship held at The Redding Country Club Thursday and Friday, hosted by Western Connecticut State University.
Davis surpassed the previous best individual finishes of sixth place, done by both Caden Capaldo in the inaugural 2022 season and
Sean Bonneau in 2023 – both previous conference Rookies of the Year. The Hinsdale, N.H. native scored a birdie and six pars in his round of 85 today, and overall moved up 23 places from his finish at the LEC championship a season ago at the Keene Country Club.
As a team, the Owls improved by 14 strokes today after the whole field dealt with fast greens and a chilly day on Thursday. Bonneau improved by 12 strokes, shooting a team-best 80 that included 12 pars. He was even on each of the final five holes and wound up finishing 12th in the field, moving up eight places. Freshman
Taylor Miller bettered his score by nine strokes, carding an 81 that included birdies on No. 6 and No. 17 – holes he had a double and triple bogey on respectively yesterday. KSC's scoring contingent was rounded out by a 95 from Matt Bryant.
The Owls entered the day four shots back of second place Rhode Island College and one shot behind third-place Eastern Connecticut State University. Both the Owls and Warriors surpassed the Anchormen, with ECSU shooting a round-best 324 as a group including a hole-in-one for Jake Napolitan on the par three No. 13. The Warriors had seven other birdies in addition to the ace and got a 15-par, plus-three round from defending medalist Ethan McDaniel to defend his crown, but it was not enough to unseat defending champion University of Southern Maine, who finished with a 671 to win by seven. KSC finished 25 team strokes off the lead – an average of 6.25 per scorer – and 18 from second place. The Owls' 696 overall was nine strokes better than RIC as the Anchormen finished with a 354 on day two.
"A very difficult golf course bunched the teams together," said KSC head coach Jeff Timmer. "I am very proud of the fight we showed this weekend. The men stayed positive throughout the two rounds. We continue to make steps forward. Hopefully we can take another step forward next year at the LEC. Congrats to Aidan on first team All-Conference."
The Owls' inaugural season came in 2022-2023, and they have notched top three finishes at the LEC championship in two of their last three seasons including second in 2023. Each of their top three scorers are all slated to be back next season.
KSC continues their fall with both the men and women traveling to the NEIGA championship on Cape Cod at The Captains Golf Course October 18 and 19.
