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VASSALBORO โ€” Cheverus golf coach Billy Goodman kept asking his players how their rounds were going. They kept responding with a different question.

โ€œSam (Sirois), he was leading. He kept asking how the team was doing,โ€ Goodman said. โ€œEvery one of my kids asked how the team was doing.โ€

Pretty well, as it turned out. Led by a 1-over 73 from medalist Mick Madden and a 75 from Sirois, Cheverus rolled to the Class A championship and its first state title since 2005 at Natanis Golf Course on Saturday. The Stags shot a 307, good for a 13-stroke victory over Falmouth. Messalonskee (324) finished third, led by Gavin Jacksonโ€™s 79, and Scarborough (325) and Gorham (327) rounded out the top five.

Cheverus was second last year, and graduated three players from its top six. The Stagsโ€™ rebuilt ladder flourished all season, though, en route to the SMAA title, and it was never better than Saturday. Sirois, a freshman, tied for second, Joe Mancini carded a 78, and Keane McGrath fired an 81. Mathew Paradis (82) and Garrett Thees (86) also had solid rounds, but their scoring wasnโ€™t needed.

โ€œTheyโ€™re very close-knit for kids that havenโ€™t been together a long time,โ€ Goodman said. โ€œThey wanted this team thing.โ€

Maddenโ€™s 73 gave him the individual title ahead of Sirois, Falmouthโ€™s Dante Iannetta and Greelyโ€™s Joe Hansen, each of whom shot 75. Scarboroughโ€™s Brett Kemper was fifth with a 76.

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Thornton Academyโ€™s Stella Foy took the girls title with a 90, beating out Lily Blanchard (91) of Hampden Academy, Lila Dailey (94) of Camden Hills and Lydia Jones (95) of Skowhegan.

Madden, who was second in Class A as a freshman and third as a junior, took his turn at the top as a senior, carding two birdies against three bogeys. He finished in style with a birdie on the 18th sticking a 52-degree wedge from 100 yards and rolling in a 7-foot putt.

โ€œThe course was set up really difficult, I thought. But I just tried to tell myself โ€˜Stay with it,'โ€ Madden said. โ€œThe team part was, in some ways, what I was really worried about. โ€ฆ I feel like we worked really hard all season.โ€

How much better did first place feel with the team doing the same?

โ€œTen times better,โ€ Madden said. โ€œThe bus ride now is going to be so much fun.โ€

Iannetta was in Maddenโ€™s group, and at one point pulled even with him after birdies on the 14th and 15th. A bogey on 16 and Maddenโ€™s birdie on 18 provided the difference.

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โ€œI hit the ball well all day; putting was definitely a problem,โ€ Iannetta said. โ€œWe kind of played together the whole way, it was really nice to have one of us get it.โ€

Iannettaโ€™s 75, along with a 78 from Clayton Casey, an 80 from Joe Graceffa and 87s from Dom Hau and Alex Novick kept Falmouth close. But Cheverus proved too much, thanks largely to Sirois, who led at 3 under through 10 holes.

Sam Sirois of Cheverus watches his drive on the fifth hole during the Class A golf state championship on Saturday in Vassalboro. Sirois shot 75 to finish tied for second and help the Stags win the team title. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image

โ€œI wasnโ€™t really nervous. I just played,โ€ Sirois said. โ€œIt was important for morale (to start hot). โ€ฆ I didnโ€™t really think too much about (my) position when I was out there.โ€

Gorhamโ€™s Eli Castles and Skowheganโ€™s Eddie Goff (77) tied for sixth. Casey, Mancini, Scarboroughโ€™s Nick Harmon and Bangorโ€™s Jacoby Harvey tied for eighth with 78s.

The girls title went to Thorntonโ€™s Foy, who didnโ€™t qualify for the tournament in her first year golfing as a freshman. As a senior, she recovered from back-to-back triple-bogeys on 14 and 15, her eighth and ninth holes of the day, and finished strong with four straight pars.

โ€œShooting 90, thatโ€™s not what I wanted to be. And I had a few really, really rough holes,โ€ she said. โ€œBut I definitely feel like I had some grit out there. โ€ฆ Iโ€™m happy with how I stuck through it.โ€

Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire...

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