Belen’s Rodriguez, American Heritage’s Schaefer win first state golf championships
Ever since he was eight years old, Carlos Rodriguez was confident his son, Lorenzo, would one day be a state champion.
Lorenzo, now a junior at Miami Belen Jesuit, nearly made it happen his sophomore season before he saw a huge lead disappear on the second day of the state tournament.
A year later and a year wiser, Rodriguez kept things steady and finished the job.
On Wednesday afternoon and a day after he shot a 70, Rodriguez shot a 75 and then triumphed in a one-hole playoff over Tampa Jesuit’s Drew Campbell to secure his first ever individual state title at the Class 2A meet at Mission Inn Resort and Club at Howey-in-the-Hills.
“It’s been a long way to get here,” Lorenzo Rodriguez said. “I just knew since I played this course plenty of times that if my head was in it and played my game I’d eventually take it home.”
Rodriguez became the first individual boys’ state champion from Miami-Dade County since Columbus’ James Vargas in 2001.
And he wasn’t the only first-time champion on Wednesday.
After years of coming close to winning it herself, Plantation American Heritage senior Katherine Schaefer finally finished at the top of the leaderboard by winning her first state championship. Schaefer shot a combined two-day score of 140 and shot an impressive 69 on the second day to lead the Patriots.
“I wasn’t on my phone the entire time, but as soon as I found out I won, I was like, ‘What?’ I couldn’t believe it,” Schaefer said. “This means so much to me because I was able to do it with my team and my family watching so it’s something I’m going to savor for a long time.”
American Heritage had its streak of three consecutive years winning state titles snapped, however, when it finished three shots behind Beachside’s two-day combined score of 600.
Schaefer, though, edged Beachside’s Nancy Cox by one stroke to come away with the gold medal.
On the boys’ side, Ponte Vedra won the state team title with Beachside taking runner-up honors. American Heritage’s boys, who were led by Aiden Arce and Sohan Patel, finished third as a team. Arce and Patel tied for sixth along with Archbishop McCarthy’s Ryan Lopez after each shot 150. McCarthy’s Brett Moore finished fifth, shooting 149.
Rodriguez led Belen, which placed 10th as a team, and capped a stellar year that included him shooting a district meet-record 10-under 63.
“Last year, he was seven under and had a very fast start and he gave it all away,” said Carlos Rodriguez, who is also Belen’s coach. “This year he was pretty steady and he broke the district record with a 10-under so he stayed focused and had a great regional as well and then to come out here and do it on this course shows he was pretty steady and under control all day.”
RESULTS
Note: x-won playoff.
Team results - Boys: 1. Ponte Vedra 610; 2. Beachside 617; 3. Plantation American Heritage 622; 4. Archbishop McCarthy and Tampa Jesuit 627; 10. Belen Jesuit 663; Girls: 1. Beachside 600; 2. Plantation American Heritage 603; 3. Ponte Vedra 636; 7. Archbishop McCarthy 664.
Individual results - Boys: 1. x-Lorenzo Rodriguez (Bel) 145; 2. Drew Campbell (JES) 145; 3. Graham Boone (Barron Collier) and Nolan Harper (Beachside) 146; 5. Brett Moore (AM) 149; 6. Aiden Arce (AH), Cameron Reed (PV), Ryan Lopez (AM), Sohan Patel (AH) 150; Girls: 1. Katherine Schaefer (AH) 140; 2. Nancy Cox (Beachside) 141; Others: 6. Gia Culler-Guerra (MS) 146; 12. Alessandra Tabora (AH) 151; 19. Nicole Wu (AH) 154.
This story was originally published November 8, 2023 at 10:56 PM.
