Monomoy Finishes Fourth, Nauset Seventh At Cape And Islands Golf Championship

MASHPEE – Monomoy junior Jackson Rocco recognized early on that he was in contention among the leaders at Friday’s Cape and Islands League golf championship at Willowbend.

“I started off really hot,” said Rocco, a Dennis resident. “When I was at the turn, people were telling me that I would probably be up there [on the leaderboard]. Throughout the whole thing, I knew I was probably going to be in the top three.”

Rocco’s intuition was right. He finished in second place with a 3-over-par 73, finishing just one stroke behind Barnstable’s Chad Tordone, who carded a 72 to claim the individual title. In addition to Rocco, Casey Huse and Christian Whittle shot matching 81s to help Monomoy finish fourth with a team score of 235.

Cape Cod Academy won the team title with a 228, Sandwich (231) was the runner-up, and Nantucket (232) rounded out the top three. Nauset (239) finished seventh behind Barnstable and St. John Paul II, who posted matching 236s.

Nauset was led by senior Sean Kiperman (75), junior Jack Martin carded a 76, and sophomore Max St. Aubin shot an 88.

“I previously played a round in Easton for states and I was fighting for pars there,” said Kipperman, a Brewster resident. “I only had two pars there, so I was going into this thinking it was going to be the same thing all over again. But I tried to dig down deep and get some birdies.”

Martin, the team’s No. 1 player, said this fall was a good learning year for him.

Nauset coach Brian Hicks agreed, noting that Martin took a huge step as a leader.

“He’s an unbelievable leader,” Hicks said of Martin. “You see it every day. His focus is on the team more than it’s on himself. When someone is not playing well, he wants them to play in his group so that he can help them out.

“I think his game has suffered at times because he is so concerned about others and being a good captain and a teammate.”

Martin was scheduled to play at the Division 2 state championship Tuesday after The Chronicle’s deadline.