Mount Greylock golf overcomes medalist Anello to defeat Wahconah in first matchup

WILLIAMSTOWN — Kesler Anello had the individual battle won by the time he walked off the 18th green at Waubeeka Golf Links Tuesday afternoon. Mount Greylock, however, had done enough elsewhere on the course to win the battle that mattered most.

Anello held off Greylock standout Jacob Hillman by a single stroke to earn medalist honors with a solid low score of 34, but the Mounties placed three golfers among the four lowest scores of the match and came away with a 160-166 victory over Wahconah in an early-season meeting between two of Berkshire County’s top teams.

The programs could hardly have been separated last fall. Both finished the regular season at 13-1, with their lone losses coming against one another as they split the season series.

Tuesday brought another close matchup at the top of the lineup, where Anello and Hillman spent nine holes trading blows before the Wahconah senior found just enough separation late. His 34 was 1-under par on the back-nine holes.

“I was pretty nervous coming into it,” Anello said. “That birdie on 10 just got the emotions down a little bit.”

Anello opened his round by knocking his tee shot to roughly 5 feet on the tricky 10th hole and converted the birdie, immediately settling into a round that was largely carried by his iron play and putting.

Not every part of his game cooperated. Anello described his driver as “meh” and was considerably less complimentary of his chipping, but he continued to give himself enough scoring chances to stay alongside Hillman.

By the time the lead group reached No. 15, the county’s best were tied at 1-over.

That was when Anello made his move.

He birdied 15 while Hillman made par, then stuck his tee shot on the par-3 16th and converted another short birdie putt. In the span of two holes, a dead-even duel had turned into a two-shot Anello advantage.

Asked afterward where the round began to turn in his favor, Anello pointed directly to that stretch.

“Probably when I went birdie-birdie,” he said.

Anello had an opportunity to make it three straight birdies on 17 after leaving himself with a short chip, but the shot barely advanced toward the hole. Hillman capitalized, getting up and down for birdie while Anello settled for par and trimmed the margin back to one with a hole to play.

“I had like a 10-yard chip to go birdie-birdie-birdie, and then I shanked it,” Anello said.

That left the individual match hanging in the balance on 18. Hillman ripped his drive nearly to the green and followed it with another strong shot, leaving himself a birdie opportunity that could have pulled him even. Anello also put himself in position to finish the round without giving another stroke away.

Hillman’s birdie putt narrowly missed, and Anello finished off his par to sign for a 34, one shot better than Hillman’s 35.

Yet while the attention surrounding the lead group centered on who would walk away with medalist honors, the team match was being decided by the golfers following behind them.

That was where Greylock created its six-stroke advantage, as Kai Nafziger turned in a 37, only three shots behind Anello and two back of Hillman, giving the Mounties another score near the top of the leaderboard. Max Wied followed with a 42, and Odin Wojtkowski’s 46 completed Greylock’s four counting rounds.

Wahconah had the best individual score of the afternoon in Anello’s 34, but could not quite match that depth. Logan Aitken shot a 43, Joe Hoffman followed at 44 and Brayden Washburn carded a 45 to complete Wahconah’s 166.

But on a day when the medalist race came down to the final green, Greylock’s ability to surround its own star with low scores proved to be the difference that mattered most.

Tuesday served as a reminder of just how little has separated the programs dating back to last season. Wahconah will look to even the score on its own home course at Wahconah Country Club when the Mounties visit on Sept. 29.