Mustang Golfers End Season at Regionals

By Dan McDonald

The George Mason High School golf team traveled to Virginia National golf course on September 29 to compete against five other teams in the Bull Run District Tournament. Their season of nine wins and one loss culminated in a second place finish for the second consecutive year, good enough to earn a spot in the Regional Tournament.

Two Mason team members won district medals, an honor akin to being named all-district in other sports, which is given to the six top finishers in the tournament. Senior Dan McDonald tied for third in the district with a score of 84, good enough for tops on the Mason team for the day. Paul Mene finished in a tie for the 6th and final medalist spot, forcing a playoff between the Mason junior and a golfer from Strasburg. Mene won the one-hole playoff handily, however, as his superb 5-iron from 200 yards came to rest about 25 feet from the hole. Sophomore Ben Lasso and Senior Andy Walsh rounded out the top four Mason scores with an 87 and 93, respectively.

Sophomore Andy Pribulka carded his best score in competition to date with a 99, while fellow sophomore Sean Follin finished with a 104. The total of 351 fell short of Strasburg by a mere 8 strokes, but granted the team a berth in the Regional Tournament a week later.

On October 5, the Mustangs teed off at Providence Golf Club in Richmond amidst a field of the best 8 teams and 24 individual golfers in the region. One day after his 17th birthday, McDonald shot a personal best score of 9-over par 80, just two strokes off being the first Mason golfer to advance individually to the state tournament. Rounding out Mason’s top four were sophomore Lasso with an 86, followed by Mene and Walsh, both shooting 93. Pribulka topped his District score with a 97, while Follin finished at 102. Randolph Henry High finished with the best total score in the region, while Mason’s total was just one stroke from finishing in seventh.

The team would like to thank the many relatives, as well as its other members, junior Nick Pitas and freshman Imran Jaffer, for lending support at both tournaments. The team’s regular season record and postseason success are testament to the work put in by their coach, Dan Wilkie, who has led the Mustangs to regional appearances in each of the past two years.