BERNE - It was another great season on the links for the Berne-Knox-Westerlo golf team.

The Bulldogs finished the season with a 17-3 record and were second in the Western Athletic Conference. But the highlight of the season for BKW was winning the WAC tournament in pretty dramatic fashion.
"We went into it with a good year," said BKW Coach Don Dennis. "But there were five teams and any one of them could have won."

The tournament was held at the Fox Run course in Mayfield, which favored the host team, Dennis said. But the Bulldogs ended up winning by three strokes.
"The first five golfers were in and we were tied with Fonda," Dennis said. "But Josh Rebeor was still out. He came in with an 86 and that broke the tie and we won the championship. All the kids played well. It was a good way to wrap up the year."

BKW ended the season with a fourth-place finish at the Class C-D sectionals earlier this month.
"It wasn't our day," Dennis said. "We practiced hard and had a non-league meet at Ravena to get used to their course [the site for the sectional match]. We did not putt well."

Dennis was also hoping that junior David Sikule would qualify for the A-B-C-D state qualifier meet.
"He missed it by one shot," Dennis said. "It was a tough day for him. But he has the desire to be there."

The season could have been a little bit better.
"With any luck, we could have been 20-0," Dennis said. "We had a couple of tough breaks. But that's golf."

Talented team

Sikule was the Bulldogs' number-one player all season. He finished with a 38-2 match record and was the medalist at the WAC championship.

Sikule shot a 78 and was also named the most valuable player in the league.

Senior Jon Clark had a good year, mostly playing in the number-two spot.
"He's been with me for six years," Dennis said. "He is a captain and is always reliable. His low was a 42 and he shot an 89 at the WAC tournament."

Paolo Audino played in the number-three slot for most of the season, though it took him awhile to get going.
"He's going to be a three-sport star," Dennis said of the sophomore. "He got off to a slow start because he plays a lot of basketball and baseball. He came on at the end and his season low was a 38. He shot an 82 at the WAC tournament. He has great potential, especially if he plays a little more."

Sophomore Sean Flanigan has made great strides this past season, Dennis said.
"He improved his game," Dennis said. "He worked hard this summer. He's always at the course. If there's no snow on the ground, he's playing. He shot in the 40's and had an 82 at the WAC tournament."

Rebeor, a sophomore, got off to a slow start this season, Dennis said. But he came up with a big round at the WAC championships and just barely missed qualifying for sectionals.
"To make sectionals, you need to shoot five scores," Dennis said. "He missed the last one by one shot. He needed a 45 and shot a 46.
"In the last match at the WAC tournament, which is a 28-hole event," Dennis said, "He went 2-0 on two nine [holes]. He shot 43 twice and was the hero of the WAC."

Freshman Ethan Sharp played mostly on the modified-junior varsity team. But did play some on the varsity and played in between the three and six spots.
"He has a great future," Dennis said. "He has a lot of potential."

Sophomore Tim McIntyre is another golfer Dennis sees as having a bright future.
"He is steadily improving," Dennis said. "He filled in some for Jon Clark and did well."

Lance Durham provided some inspiration for the Bulldogs this season.

He won the Dick Gray Athlete of the Year Award in the WAC.
"He was in a wheelchair," Dennis said. "He had scoliosis. But he came back and made the baseball team this year. The whole season he was a great inspiration to all his teammates. He's gone through a lot."

Looking ahead

Though the Bulldogs accomplished a lot of things this year, Dennis sees an even better future for his team.

This is the first time since 2002 Dennis had enough sectional qualifiers to field a team at the C-D meet. Four golfers from a school need to qualify to be scored as a team.

Dennis had a feeder team that will provide him with experienced kids in the future.
"There were 12 to 15 kids on what we called our minor-league team," Dennis said, making a baseball reference. "We had kids in seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grades who were are not ready for varsity."

The minor-league team, coached by Jeff Teats, played a match against Voorheesville.
"We lost," Dennis said, "but it was a great experience for the kids."

The Bulldogs took in a clinic at Blackhead Mountain and also got extra practice time at the Helderberg True Value, which has a driving range behind it.

BKW held its matches at the Cobleskill Country Club and the minor-league team played its match at the Ironworks Golf Course in Duanesburg.
"We have a great team coming back next year," Dennis said. "They are a great bunch of kids."