Senior Caleb Harvey (third from right) shot a 2-over 38 to help lead Morse to the KVAC Class B Shootout win at Rockland Golf Club on Wednesday, Oct. 2. Courtesy of Simon Elias
After winning 10 matches but failing to qualify for last year’s state championship, the Morse golf team was determined to not let its 2024 season end the same way. The Shipbuilders are one step closer to their goal after winning Wednesday’s KVAC Class B Shootout.
Morse finished its nine-hole round at Rockland Golf Course with a team score of 165, two strokes ahead of defending KVAC champion Nokomis. Senior Caleb Harvey had the Shipbuilders’ lowest score with a 2-over 38.
“Last year, we thought we were close to qualifying (for the Class B state championship) as a team, and we didn’t get there,” Morse Coach Mike Dutton said. “We had two individuals qualify, Caleb and Johnny (Johnston). But this year, the depth proved to be good, because we just had that many more kids that put in a little more time in the offseason to want to be better.”
This is the seventh conference championship in program history, and the first outright under seven-year coach Dutton.
“This win is at the KVAC Shoutout is extremely rewarding,” senior Tuck Walker said, “because it tells me that the countless hours I’ve put in this game since freshman year (when Morse was winless) were worth it.”
Walker finished with a 4-over 40, senior Oscar Nelson shot a 5-over 41, and junior Johnston rounded out the scoring with a 10-over 46. Seniors Gage Suitter and Anders Savage shot 49 and 50, respectively.
Lincoln Academy’s Kellen Adickes was the low medalist of the day with 1-under 35. As a team, the Eagles shot 174, tying for third place with Leavitt, which was led by 2024 Maine Women’s Amateur champion Jade Haylock (3-over 39). Belfast finished fifth with a 175 while Lawrence (179) finished sixth.
The Shipbuilders started the season with a match play loss to Leavitt, before rattling off nine straight regular-season match play victories.
“It was really just stay the course,” Dutton said. “I’ve pushed a long time, and if I get through to these kids on some of these concepts, I think their maturity and the fact that they’re seniors allowed them to say, ‘Yeah, we’re not going to put too much stock in that, and we’re just going to move on. ‘”
Harvey said that playing against Oceanside earlier in the season helped prepare Morse for Wednesday’s shootout as it had a better understanding and notes on how to tackle the Rockland course.
“I knew I had to stay out of my head as much as possible after a couple mistakes, so I could get back on track to where I needed to be,” he said. “I did just that and I also felt the rest of my team backed me up on that by focusing on their game and playing to their capabilities.”
The Shipbuilders will still compete at the KVAC 18-hole qualifying event at Natanis Golf Course in Vasselboro on Oct. 8, but the pressure to finish in the top four out of 12 teams has been lifted. Morse’s team score, however, will have to break 390 to secure a spot in the state championships, also at Natanis.
“They’ve all practiced enough,” Dutton said. “Some are good at some shots and some at others, but if you just stay the shot and let the let the last great shot go, or let the last disappointing shot go and just focus in on my next shot, that’s the key anytime…It’s such a mental component at this time of the year.”