STAC BOYS GOLF: WAVERLY RECORDS FIRST WIN OVER OWEGO; WOLVERINES’ WALTER FINISHES STRONG TO CLAIM MEDALIST HONOR (24 PHOTOS) (August 26, 2026)

By TIM TAYLOR
Valley Sports Report
OWEGO — Waverly’s Griff Walter closed out his round with a birdie and an eagle to lead the Wolverines to their first STAC boys golf victory over Owego, 234-239, at The Golf Club at Owego Wednesday.

Walter would post a 37 and claim the medalist honor after scoring a birdie on No. 17 and sinking the 20-foot eagle putt on the final hole of the par-35 back nine.

“That's something nice to see, really cool,” said third-year coach Marc Felt. “He definitely has the ability to make up for lost strokes throughout the round, so trying to get him to make sure he believes in himself and know that he can get strokes back on any given hole with how far he can hit it. A really good finish for him and I think we'll see a lot of that this year.”

This marks the fourth time in five meetings with the River Hawks that the junior has been Waverly’s top golfer.

He led the team with a 47 in a 232-256 road loss in September 2024, then shot 50 at The Club at Shepard Hills in a 242-245 setback in the teams’ second meeting.

Walter was the medalist at home in a 242-267 loss in September 2025, then shared co-medalist honors with the River Hawks’ Duke Snyder in the rematch, each carding 38 at Owego in a 214-216 defeat.

Victory would not elude the Wolverines this time, however, as 8th-grader Silas Bennett stepped up with a big round to help the Wolverines snap the four-match skid against Owego.

“Silas Bennett had a really good round, a 41, in his first match ever for Waverly as an 8th-grader,” Felt said. “He had a couple bad holes and that's it. A lot of pars though so a really good start for him, for him. “I’m excited to see what he can do this year, so. “

Felt was pleased with Waverly’s performance in its first time out this season.

“A really good start to the year, lower than we shot here last year, which is really cool to see,” he said. “A couple really low rounds. Griff and Silas obviously had good days. Really good younger guys doing well.

“A lot of first match jitters came out I think. Some nerves on the first few holes, but that's going to happen so, hopefully, we'll get better from here.”

Daniel Fischer also broke 50 for Waverly, posting a 49. Trevor Allen and Maddex Presher rounded out the team scoring, logging 52 and 55, respectively.

Daniel Brady added a non-scoring 56.

Meanwhile, the Owego team was a model of consistency with all six players separated by just two strokes.

Wyatt Prentiss and Ben Harvey paced the River Hawks with 47s while Landon Boccasini and Cameron Farrell contributed 48s. Beckett Titinato and Hudson Brigham both scored 49, only one of which counted in the team scoring.

The match marked the debut for new Owego coach Dylan Nardocci, who replaces longtime mentor Chris Evans.

Waverly will host Oneonta at Shepard Hills Thursday at 11 a.m.

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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly’s Griff Walter hits a 20-foot eagle putt. IN TOP PHOTO: Waverly’s Silas Bennett. … PHOTOS BY TIM TAYLOR.

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