Nauset Wins 2026 Cape and Islands High School Golf Championship

MASHPEE – In between clinching yet another trip to a state final and making the journey out for the tournament, the Nauset boys golf team earned themselves some trophies to bring back to the Outer Cape.

They did it by absolutely cruising at the 2026 Cape and Islands High School Golf Championship held last Friday at Willowbend Country Club, taking both individual and team first-place honors.

Junior Oliver Smith shot a 71 to finish as the day’s overall leader, his score helping bolster Nauset’s winning team total of 237. Smith’s score was four shots better than the next highest in the field, made up of more than a dozen local teams.

“There's just a lot of good competition, so anytime you can walk away with the hardware, it's exciting and it's fun,” head coach Brian Hicks said. “It's great for these guys.”

Rounding out the Warriors was an 82 by junior Mac Heinz and an 84 by sophomore Hudson Cole. 

The performances Friday came only two days after Smith, Heinz and Cole — as well as senior Owen Everson, junior Ryan Dutra and freshman Jack Pavlu — placed second during the Division 2 South Sectional tournament Oct. 21 at Segregansett Country Club in Taunton, securing a spot in the state championship with a 332 (+44).

“It's awesome,” Smith said. “Those are my two best friends, and to win with them twice this year is awesome.”

Smith’s top finish at the regional competition was in fact his second individual win in a row — he also finished first (with a 3-over 75) at the state sectional out of a group of 100 players.

He’d been playing at the Cape and Islands High School Golf Championship since eighth grade and said he had “always wanted to win this tournament.”

“I've always wanted to be the one to have the trophy and to win it, it means a lot, and it's pretty cool,” Smith said, “And coming off my win Wednesday, it's awesome too.”

Conditions were difficult at Willowbend as players worked through the front nine of The Bay and back nine of The Bog courses. 

The day was beautiful and crisp, but the wind was fierce. Other scores may have given indication to the testy air — but not Smith’s.

“The wind at sectionals, the wind here today — You can see how it beat people up,” Hicks said. “The scores in there were just really, really high. It was really, really hard out there, and for him to come in with a 71 is a credit to the work he's put in. He’s just a hard-working kid.”

Nauset went on to place 11th at the Division 2 championship at Franklin Country Club on Monday with a 332 (+48). The postseason finish concluded another elite year on the golf course for the Warriors, who also reached the state finals last year.

But that season’s lineup at the championship was made almost entirely of seniors (Smith was the lone exception within the six-player group). The Warriors managed to nearly fully reload their talent this year with zero hiccups. 

In addition to the efforts at the postseason tournaments, they had earlier this month already brought back to the mainland the massive lighthouse trophy earned by winning the Vineyard Cup.

“It's a credit to these guys and the work that they put in,” Hicks said.

While there might have been no catching up to the Warriors at Willowbend, the other Lower Cape golf trios similarly did battle with their local counterparts at the tournament.

Joined at the event with fellow Monomoy seniors Hank Brown and Ethan Carey, Cam Reeves finished second overall among individuals with a 75. 

Earlier in the week, the Sharks had just missed out on advancing to the state final after shooting a 334 (+50) during the Division 3 South Sectional at Easton Country Club on Oct. 20.

The fourth-place finish put Monomoy only one spot outside of clinching a berth in the Division 3 championship.

And Cape Cod Tech meanwhile played into a busy group of teams scoring in the 260s at the local high school championship. Representing the Crusaders at Willowbend were junior Chris Morin, sophomore Carter LaFrance and freshman Daniel Gibbons.

In between winning a state vocational title and attending the Cape tournament, the Crusaders finished second overall at the Mayflower Athletic Conference championship (one stroke back) on Oct. 14, then placed 10th at the Division 2 South Sectional with a 357 (+69).