The Section VII Championships wrapped up two days of competition on May 30, and Lake Placid’s Carver Bell and Saranac Lake’s Ryan McGinnis-Theis were among the nine golfers to claim spots on the team that will be heading to Mill Creek Golf Club in Churchville for the state public high school tournament taking place June 8 and 9.

Peru’s Nick Palmer will also be going after he captured the Section VII individual crown for the second straight year. Palmer fired the lowest rounds on both days to win by six strokes with a 146 total. He carded a 75 on May 30. Palmer’s teammate, Liam Clark finished in second place with a combined score of 152.

Bell, a sophomore, finished in third place. He’ll be heading to the state tournament for the third straight year after shooting the second-lowest round of the day on May 30 with a 76 for a two-day score of 156.

“It felt like a home course advantage,” Bell said. “I thought it was very good since I play this course a lot. I’ve just learned about what this course does, and I felt like I played pretty good.”

After shooting an 80 on May 29 and finishing the day tied for sixth, Bell said it was a grind to place third overall.

“It feels great, especially as a sophomore,” he said. “I feel like it’s a big achievement, and I’m just happy about how I placed.”

Bell said his goal at the state meet is to just have a solid round.

“(Around the) high 70s,” he said, “and try to place like top 50 at least or better. But we’ll see how it goes, though.”

Lake Placid’s Seb Cecunjanin turned in an 81 on the second day to place 11th overall. He finished with a combined score of 166.

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DAY ONE

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On May 29, the Saranac Lake golf team put together a solid performance at the opening day of the Section VII championships, securing a second-place team finish.

Saranac Lake’s top four players combined for a total of 336 strokes in the team competition to place second overall. Meanwhile, the Peru Nighthawks closed out the day as the overall Section VII champions after three of its players finished inside the top four. The Nighthawks combined for a score of 308.

Lake Placid finished in fourth place overall with a 358, while the Northeastern Clinton Cougars narrowly edged them out with a 353.

Sixty players and eight teams competed on May 29, with the top 22 golfers advancing to the final 18-hole round.

The May 29 cut was set at 89, and the Blue Bombers had two players make the cut, with Carver Bell leading Lake Placid, tied for sixth place with an 80.

Right behind was Lake Placid’s Cecunjanin and the Red Storm’s Peckham, who both carded an 85. Cecunjanin and Peckham were tied with Northeastern Clinton’s Seth Rabideau for 14th place.

Lake Placid’s Torin Fadden finished the day with a 93, while Oren Preston carded a 100, Nolan Clark shot a 106 and Braeden Foley turned in a 112. Keene’s lone golfer in the tournament, Sam Crowl, shot a 92.