Fore on the tee! Which boys, girls golf champions are Northeast Florida's best of 21st century?

Fore on the tee! Which boys, girls golf champions are Northeast Florida's best of 21st century?Story byThe Florida Times-UnionGarry Smits, Jacksonville Florida Times-UnionFri, November 21, 2025 at 10:02 AM UTC·16 min read

Dan Sikes came from Jackson High School and the University of Florida to become a PGA Tour winner in the 1960s and 1970s.

Mark McCumber came from Riverside High to win 10 PGA Tour events from 1979 to 1994, highlighted by the 1988 Players Championship.

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The decades of the 1980s and 1990s brought David Duval (Episcopal) and Len Mattiace (Nease) to the upper levels of professional golf, with Duval winning the 1999 Players and the 2001 British Open.

Who's got next?

Based on sheer numbers, the products of First Coast high school golf teams from 2000 to 2024 may yet eclipse those accomplishments. Although the top players from the early years of that quarter-century are now in their early 40s and their pro golf dreams have diminished (Nease and UNF graduate Vince Covello is still grinding, however), numerous others still have years left, and others still remain on the top high school teams in the area.

Bartram Trail's Julian Suri (eight) and Bolles' Amelia Lewis (left) were two of the top First Coast high school golfers during the first 25 years of the 21st century. They appear in a 2008 photo illustration when they were the Florida Times-Union Players of the Year.

It's a 25-year period that may be looked back on generations from now as churning out great teams and great players, who went on to achieve great things in professional golf.

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Here is the Times-Union's top 10 boys and girls high school golf teams of the quarter-century:

First Coast Boys golf: A quarter century of champions

2008 Bartram Trail and Nease

Postseason lineups: Bartram Trail — Julian Suri, Max McKay, Thomas Stewart, Jay Lastrapes, Joe Stewart. Nease — Tyler McCumber, Kevin Phelan, M.J. Maguire, Brian Phelan, Trey Douglas.

How could you break a tie between these two teams?

We didn’t try. So they’re co-medalists in the best First Coast boys golf team from 2000-2024.

Bartram Trail's 2008 golf team won the Class 2A state title in a playoff against Nease. From the left are coach Pete Peaver, Julian Suri, Max McKay, Thomas Stewart, Jay Lastrapes and Joseph Stewart.

Bartram Trail defeated Nease in the Class 2A state tournament on the first playoff hole (aggregate score, four low players of each team) at the Providence Golf Club in Davenport; Nease beat Bartram Trail by three shots in Region 2-2A; and Bartram Trail beat Nease by 11 shots in District 4-2A.

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Before the postseason, Nease beat Bartram Trail in the St. Johns County tournament.

The Bears won the state title by the slimmest of margins and No. 1 player Suri won the individual state title for the second year in a row, the only First Coast player in history to go back-to-back. Bartram Trail and the Panthers split the first two postseason tournaments, and there was a three-shot difference between the two teams in the final 54 holes of the postseason (Bears 25 over, Panthers 22 over).

Suri’s teammate McKay tied for third in the state, and McCumber and Kevin Phelan of Nease tied for sixth. Maguire tied for 10th, giving the First Coast half of the top 10. Suri was under par at every step in the postseason and shot a cumulative 8-under.

Julian Suri of Bartram Trail is the only two-time FHSAA state individual champion in First Coast history.

Thomas Stewart birdied the first playoff hole to deliver the title to the Bears. He also got up-and-down from the side of the 18th green for bogey, after hitting his tee shot in the water, to clinch a tie in regulation.

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McCumber, who played college golf at Florida, earned his PGA Tour card before injuries derailed his career at present. Suri (Duke) and Kevin Phelan (North Florida) became fully exempt players on the DP World Tour, with Suri rising as high as 62nd in the world. He won on the Korn Ferry Tour this season and will return there with full status in 2026.

Maquire also played at UNF, while Thomas Stewart joined McCumber at Florida. Brian Phelan and Trey Douglas attended Jacksonville University, while McKay went to Liberty, where he once held the 54-hole scoring record. Eight of the 10 players in that playoff got NCAA Division I scholarship offers.

The combined talent on these two teams was staggering, and their epic clash in the state tournament remains the high-water mark of high school golf on the First Coast.

2022 Ponte Vedra

Postseason lineup: Brock Blais, Carson Brewer, Camden Smith, Stefan Ink, Rohan Singh.

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Picking the best Ponte Vedra team is like trying to pick the best painting in the Louvre. But the Sharks got one of their three individual state champions in Blais, who beat Chase Carroll of Middleburg in a five-hole playoff at the Mission Inn Resort El Campeon Course. Blais won the region, with Brewer and Smith tying for second and Smith won the district, with Blais and Singh tying for third.

The Sharks won the Class 2A state tournament by five shots, won Region 1-2A by 20 shots and won District 4-2A by 16 shots.

Brock Blais won the 2022 Class 2A indvidiual state title, leading Ponte Vedra to the team title.

And the college coaches came running to recruit this starting five. After signing with Texas-San Antonio, Blais has transferred to South Carolina.  Smith signed with Georgia and transferred to Arkansas, Brewer is at Florida State, Ink signed with North Florida and Singh signed with Mercer.

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2000 Nease

Postseason lineup: Vince Covello, Adam Wallace, Brad Nelson, Tyler Brown, Preston Brown.

The Panthers won the 2A state title by six shots at the Fairwinds Golf Course in Fort Pierce and captured the District 2-2A by 13, at a time when there was only one playoff step to the state tournament.

Tyler Brown (left) and Monique Gesualdi (right) led the Nease boys and girls golf teams to numerous championships between 2000-2003.

It was a potent lineup with Covello and Nelson going on to play at North Florida, Tyler Brown at Florida, Wallace at Florida State and Preston Brown at UCF.

Covello, who won the state individual title by two shots over Nick Thompson, eventually earned his PGA Tour card and still has status 25 years later. Wallace went on to win the individual state title the following year.

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2007 Nease

Postseason lineup: Tyler McCumber, Kevin Phelan, Ed Waller, M.J. Maguire, Mike Smith.

Nease won every step by double-digits, capturing the Class 2A state tournament by 23 shots at the Golf Club at Bridgewater in Lakeland, winning Region 2-2A by 15 shots, and winning District 4-2A by 15 shots.

The Panthers had four players among the top 12 in the state tournament, led by Waller’s tie for second. Waller was also the individual region champion, and Maguire won the district. In addition to McCumber playing at Florida and Phelan and Maguire at UNF, Smith started at James Madison and Waller, who won 13 high school events, landed at Stetson.

Tyler McCumber led Nease to the 2007 Class 2A state championship and to second in the state tournament in 2008 to Bartram Trail. McCumber played college golf at Florida and is on the PGA Tour.

2013 Ponte Vedra

Postseason lineup: Taylor Funk, Logan Membrino, Matthew Plunkett, Thomas Burnett, Hanks Massey.

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This was the team that started Ponte Vedra’s domination of state golf for the next decade and made Pete Molinari the only First Coast coach to win state titles with two teams. The Sharks won the Class 2A state title by two shots at the Mission Inn El Campeon Course, won Region 2-2A by six and won District 6-2A by 12 shots.

Funk won the individual state championship and tied for first in the region and Plunkett won the district. Funk went on to star at Texas, Plunkett played golf at Army West Point and Membrino at Elon.

2011 Bolles

Postseason lineup: A.J. Crouch, John Jonas, Jordan Batchelor, Jack Comstock, Osborn Theam.

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The Bulldogs were dealt twin blows the year before when they finished second in the state tournament by nine shots to Cardinal Newman and Crouch lost to Collin Englehardt of Trinity Prep in a playoff for the individual title.

But Bolles came back to win the team title by four shots over Plantation American Heritage at the Deer Island Country Club in Tavares, after winning a rugged Region 2-1A by 12 shots over Providence and District 6-1A by 13 shots over the Stallions.

A.J. Crouch has gone from Bolles, where he led the Bulldogs to the 2011 Class 1A state championship, to the Korn Ferry Tour.

Crouch and Jonas were the co-medalists in the region, then tied for third in the state tournament, while Batchelor and Comstock tied for fifth in the region and 14th in the state tournament.

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The starters also made their mark in college golf: Crouch went to Florida, Jonas to LSU, then to the College of Charleston, where he was the CAA individual tournament champion. Jonas also won the 2015 Florida Open as an amateur. Batchelor and Comstock to North Florida and Theam to LaGrange, an NCAA Division III powerhouse in Georgia.

2023 Fleming Island

Postseason lineup: Tyler Mawhinney, Jaylan Abbas, Emmet Kuhlenkamp, Ryan Houck, Carson Moore.

The Golden Eagles won the Class 3A state tournament by 23 shots at El Campeon after finishing third in the region and getting an at-large spot.

The tie-breaker between this team and Fleming Island’s 2024 2A state championship is Mawhinney capturing the individual state title by three shots and Abbas tying for fourth and Kuhlenkamp tying for sixth. The nucleus of Mawhinney, Kuhlenkamp and Houck won in 2024 by 38 shots.

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The Golden Eagles also bounced back from their finish in Region 1-2A, nine shots behind Nease and one behind Creekside, a week after they won District 3-3A by 33 shots over the Panthers and 34 over the Knights.

Abbas is playing golf at Florida Southern and Kuhlenkamp at West Florida. Mawhinney has signed with Vanderbilt.

2020 Ponte Vedra

Postseason lineup: Danny Erickson, Scotty Kennon, Will McGriff, Jack Barned, Connor Holcroft.

This edition of the Sharks had the closest call in winning a state tournament, going to a playoff with Plantation American Heritage in Class 2A at El Campeon. Barned, who shot 81 in the first round and finished tied for 30th at 15-over, nevertheless made a 20-foot birdie putt to deliver the championship.

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Kennon tied for second individually; Erickson was solo third and McGriff tied for seventh. Before that week, Ponte Vedra was dominant, winning District 4-2A by 52 shots and Region 1-2A by 10.

Kennon went to play college golf at Wake Forest, McGriff at Florida, Erickson at North Florida, Barned at Bowdoin and Holcroft at Mercer.

2017 Ponte Vedra

Postseason lineup: Stewart Slayden, Davis Lee, Andrew Farraye, Justin Ortiguera, Elliott Wright

The 2017 Sharks became the first public school team in 48 years to have teammates win the state individual title and finish solo second. Slayden won at El Campeon despite a second-round 77 (2-over 146) and Lee finished one shot behind. Farraye tied for seventh and Ponte Vedra beat American Heritage by 15 shots.

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It was one of the Sharks' most balanced teams. Lee won the District 6-2A individual title (the Sharks beat Nease by 12 for the team title) and Ortiguera won the Region 2-2A (Ponte Vedra topped Bishop Kenny by 15 shots). It was also a strong crop for college golf: Lee went to North Florida, Slayden to Notre Dame and Farraye to Purdue.

First Coast girls golf: Beachside wins only team title

Here are the top 10 girls team champions from Northeast Florida between 2000 and 2024:

2023 Beachside

Postseason lineup: Sofia Rivera, Fiona Clancy, Ralienne Nacional, Maddie Rathjen, Alexia Iordonov.

The Barracudas will always have two distinctions: they won the first state championship in school history, at the Mission Inn Resort Las Colinas Course, and it remains the only state title for a St. Johns County girls golf team in FHSAA history. The only other First Coast school that won a girls state title was Parker in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1970.

The Beachside girls golf team won the 2023 Class 2A state championship at the Mission Inn Resort Las Colinas Course. It was the first state team title in school history.

Beachside started its playoff run with an 85-shot victory in the District 3-2A tournament and won Region 1-2A by 15 shots. Riviera won the district, tied for sixth in the region and finished third in the 2A state tournament.

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Riviera won the 2025 Class 2A individual state title and has verbally committed to Indiana. Rathjen is playing college golf at Florida Atlantic and Clancy at Cal-Bakersfield.

2008 Bolles

Postseason lineup: Amelia Lewis, Irene Jung, Mia Zanghetti, Sandra Riegler, Colleen Murphy.

This was the top team for Bolles in the first decade of the 2000s, and it was loaded: Lewis was the Times-Union girls Player of the Year three times and Jung and Zanghetti would earn the honor in subsequent years.

The Bulldogs tied for fifth in the state tournament at the Club at Eaglebrooke in Lakeland, with Lewis leading individually with a tie for 10th. Bolles was dominant on its way to the state tournament, winning District 6-1A by 45 shots and Region 2-1A by 34 shots. Lewis was the medalist in both tournaments.

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Lewis signed with the Florida Gators but played one semester before turning pro and earning her LPGA and Ladies European Tour cards. Jung eventually landed at Duke and Zanghetti at William & Mary.

2007 Nease

Postseason lineup: Catherine O’Donnell, Brigid Hourihan, Sarah Knapp, Samantha Snyder, Kim Knox.

The Panthers had their closest brush in winning a state championship with a second-place finish at Eaglebrooke, 13 shots behind Lake Mary.

Three players finished among the top-13, led by Knapp in a tie for 10th. Nease beat Lake Mary in Region 2-2A by two shots, with O’Donnell a co-medalist. O’Donnell won the District 4-2A individual title, which Nease won by 46 shots.

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O’Donnell played college golf at North Carolina and later on the Epson Tour. Knapp played at Dartmouth and Knox at Armstrong (Ga.) State. Snyder landed at Stetson, where she played soccer for four years.

2022 Ponte Vedra

Postseason lineup: Nancy Cox, Lauren Barned, Alexandra Drum, Stella Moritz, Tory Barned.

The Sharks dominated District 3-2A, winning by 74 shots, and Region 1-2A, winning by 36, then finished second in the state tournament at Las Colinas by seven shots to Broward American Heritage.

Nancy Cox of Ponte Vedra was the medalist in the 2022 district and regional tournaments, and finished fifth in the state tournament.

Cox was the medalist in both events, with a 67 in the region. She battled back from a first-round 78 in the state tournament (she had one bad hole) and posted a 69 to close and finished fifth.

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Cox is now playing at Florida Atlantic and Drum at Embry-Riddle. Moritz and Lauren Barned played this year for the Sharks team that tied for fifth in the 2025 Class 3A state tournament.

2000 Nease

Postseason lineup: Monique Gesualdi, Nancy Strickland, Tyler Johnson, Kristen Boehler, Kim Vohwinkel.

An 88-shot victory in District 2-2A was the high point of the season for the Panthers, who were fielding a young team that would stay together for three years. The Panthers finished fourth in the state tournament at the Sandridge Club in Vero Beach, with Gesualdi fourth and Johnson 12th.

Johnson landed at Florida State and Gesualdi at Furman, then a powerhouse in women’s golf.

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2006 Bolles

Postseason lineup: Amelia Lewis, Rachel Blum, Susan Restrepo, Sandra Riegler, Colleen Murphy.

Bolles had a lineup of three sophomores (Lewis, Riegler and Murphy) and two seniors (Blum and Restrepo). The Bulldogs were tested at the first two steps by Episcopal and beat the Eagles in District 6-1A by 13 shots and Region 2-2A by nine shots. Lewis won the region with a 72 and was second in the district with the same score.

Rachel Blum of Bolles not only helped the Bulldogs to district and regional titles in golf but played basketball as well.

Bolles finished fourth in the 1A state tournament at the Links at Pointe West in Vero Beach, with Lewis tying for fifth.

The two seniors went to the Ivy League: Blum to Princeton and Restrepo to Brown.

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2018 Providence

Postseason lineup: Celeste Valinho, Kaitlyn Schroeder, Annabelle Mozingo, Kylie Turner, Emma Wells.

It was always going to be a long shot against First Academy and the Stallions finished second by 38 shots at Las Colinas. But Providence beat Bolles by 10 in the region and topped Episcopal by 44 in the district. Valinho shot 68 to win the region and tied for ninth in the state tournament, while Schroeder tied for 11th.

Kaitlyn Schroeder (left) and Celeste Valinho (right) led Providence to district and region girls golf titles in 2018.

The entire starting five has played college golf. Valinho signed with Virginia, Schroeder with Alabama (and has since transferred to North Florida), Turner with Flagler, Mozingo with UNC-Asheville and Wells is at Daytona State College.

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2021 Fernandina Beach

Postseason lineup: Anika Richards, Madelyn Campbell, Daisy Adams, Sadaly Campbell, Ella Childs.

The Pirates breezed in the first two postseason tournaments, winning District 3-2A by 45 shots and Region 2-2A by 26, with Anika Richards capturing medalist in both tournaments. Richards then finished solo fourth in the state tournament at Las Colinas and Madelyn Campbell tied for 15th.

Richards went on to play golf at Samford, Madelyn Campbell at Florida Southeastern, and two years later, Sadaly Campbell won the Class 2A individual title and joined Richards in being a Times-Union Player of the Year.

2019 Bolles

Postseason lineup: Chloe Schiavone, Tori Mouton, Madison Balaskiewicz, Tiffany Lewis, Emma Joost.

The Bulldogs were on cruise control until they got to the state tournament at Las Colinas. Schiavone shot 66 and Mouton 74 to finish one-two in the District 4-2A tournament, leading a nine-shot victory; and they went one-three in the Region 1-1A tournament, Schiavone posting a 72 and Mouton a 77 to win by 23 shots.

Tori Mouton of Bolles added an individual region title to her district championship last week on Tuesday at the St. Johns Golf and Country Club.

Bolles finished eighth in the state tournament, but no one was beating Lake Mary Prep that year, behind Karoline Tuttle (who played at Florida and later at Georgia) and Victoria Zheng (Illinois).

But that Bulldogs team eventually made its mark in college golf. Schiavone played at Notre Dame, then transferred as a graduate to Virginia. Mouton went to North Carolina A&T and Balskiewicz to Daytona State College.

2003 Nease

Postseason lineup: Monique Gesualdi, Brittany Nelson, Kristen Boehler, Kim Vohwinkel, Megan Nicol

The Panthers finished third in the 1A state tournament at PGA Village in Port St. Lucie after winning District 5-1A by 32 shots. Gesualdi tied for sixth in the state tournament and Nelson, who went to Florida (and later married Gator All-American Billy Horschel) finished second in the district. The following year, Nelson was the Times-Union player of the year.

Billy and Brittany Horschel were the 2025 recipients of the Deane Beman Award for their charitable works on the First Coast.

First Coast boys state individual champions 2000-2024

• 2000: Vince Covello, Nease (2A)

• 2001: Adam Wallace, Nease (1A)

• 2003: Toby Ragland, Bartram Trail (2A)

• 2007: Julian Suri, Bartram Trail (2A)

• 2008: Julian Suri, Bartram Trail (2A)

• 2013: Taylor Funk, Ponte Vedra (2A)

• 2016: Brandon Mancheno, Mandarin (3A)

• 2016: Cody Carroll, Middleburg (2A)

• 2017: Stewart Slayden, Ponte Vedra (2A)

• 2019: Jason Duff, Menendez, (2A)

• 2022: Brock Blais, Ponte Vedra, (2A)

• 2023: Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island, (3A)

First Coast boys state team champions 2000-2024

(Coach in parentheses)

• 2000: Nease 2A (Bud Beech)

• 2001: Nease 1A (Bud Beech)

• 2007: Nease 2A (Pete Molinaro)

• 2008: Bartram Trail 2A (Pete Peaver)

• 2011: Bolles 1A (Rick Root)

• 2013: Ponte Vedra 2A (Pete Molinaro)

• 2015: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2017: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2018: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2019: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2020: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2021: Ponte Vedra 3A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2022: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2023: Ponte Vedra 2A (Mickey Leapley)

• 2023: Fleming Island 3A (Bruce Cloud)

• 2024: Fleming Island 2A (Bruce Cloud)

First Coast girls state individual champions

• 2013: Nicolette Donovan, Ponte Vedra (2A)

• 2024: Sadaly Campbell, Fernandina Beach (2A)

First Coast girls state team champions 2000-2024

• 2023: Beachside 2A (McKenzie Parks)

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Fore! The best high school golf champions in Northeast Florida for 21st century

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