Upstate prep schools win DIAA State Golf Championships
The long-running dominance of upstate prep schools in Delaware high school golf continued at the 2026 DIAA State Golf Championships, held May 26-27 at Baywood Greens in Long Neck.
However, Cape Region schools followed close behind.
Salesianum School in Wilmington won the team championship in a battle with Archmere Academy of nearby Claymont.
Joseph Kelly of Sallies won the Boys’ championship, followed by teammate Grant Burkhart in second and Quinn Marshall of Wilmington Friends School in third. Meredith Finger of Archmere won the Girls’ championship, with 2025 state girls’ champion and teammate Hannah Webb in second place.
One hundred golfers qualified for the first round based on their handicap indexes earned during the season’s matches.
Thirty Delaware high schools placed one or more golfers in the 2026 championships.
The team category required a minimum of four qualifiers with a maximum of six. Twelve schools had enough players to start the team championship’s first round, which required a minimum of four and no more than six teammates.
The top four scores for each team in the first round counted toward the eventual total. The second day’s round used a cutline of the players who finished among the top 60 and ties on the first day.
The team category then used the top three best scores from each squad in the second round to complete the seven-score total, without regard to which players contributed to the group score.
After the first round, played in a light drizzle and equally light winds, nine schools remained in the team championship.
Cape Region teams rounded out the top 5 after the second round after Sallies and Archmere, with similar small margins separating them as happened often during their Henlopen Conference regular season matches. Sussex Central took third, Sussex Academy came in fourth, and Cape Henlopen repeated its 5th place finish from the 2025 championship.
Individual Cape Region players also distinguished themselves.
Ellie Walls of Indian River won third place in the Girls’ championship among the four girls who made the cut. Jake Hollerback, the 2025 Boys’ individual champion, finished in fourth place.
Jack Tunnell (l) and Ryan McNett (r) finished best for Cape in the DIAA State Championships, with Tunnell in 11th and McNett in 16th
Other Cape Region golfers in the top 20 of the Boys’ category included Jack Tunnell of Cape Henlopen at 11th, Jordan Green of Sussex Academy in 12th, fellow Seahawk Nicholas DeEmedio in 14th, Ryan McNett of Cape Henlopen in 16th, and Joseph Neumann of Sussex Central in 18th.
Baywood Greens staff and management earned a round of applause during the award ceremony for the club’s hospitality. In addition to the 100 golfers, the course easily accommodated dozens of parents, friends, coaches, and others there to watch the action and cheer on their favorites – politely, of course.
Cart path restrictions and other conditions helped reduce the understandable but improper urges to help the players, despite DIAA rules limiting most assistance to the officially designated team coaches.
Viking head coach Bill Geppert noted the continued trend of improvements made by Cape this season. This was the third straight year the team qualified a full slate of six golfers into the team competition. It was also the first time in recent memory that five Cape golfers made the cut for the second round. The team’s season-long match average scores for 2026 also set an additional record low.
ShopRite LPGA Classic now underway
Avid Cape Region golfers and yours truly are once again making the short trip to Seaview Resort in Galloway, NJ for the ShopRite LPGA Classic powered by Wakefern Food.
The 54-hole contest is the closest regular professional golf tournament to the Cape Region, held this year from May 29-31.
The 54-hole stroke play tournament includes a field of 144 golfers, competing for a $2 million purse with a $300,000 first place prize.
For Cape Region fans, the event is a short ride up the Garden State Parkway from the Cape May-Lewes Ferry terminal on the Jersey side, with $20 one-day tickets available online at shopritelpgaclassic.com and on site. Televised coverage is on The Golf Channel.
Local club competition results
The Kings Creek CC 9-Hole LGA played an individual net Stableford game May 21.
Sandy Neverett won the first flight, with Marie Murray in second, Chris Piasecki in third, and Kim Kavchok in fourth.
Kathy Andrus won the second flight, followed by Margaret Moore in second, Dina McCullough in third, and Tish Brey in fourth.
Christine Coffin won the third flight, with Pamela Cranston in second, Tracy Gordon in third, and Yona Zucker in fourth.
Jen Walker won the fourth flight, followed by Annette Stellhorn in second, Terry Barrera in third, and Brenda Schilli in fourth.
The Kings Creek CC 18-Hole LGA played a Gross Putts + Gross + Net game May 21. This format uses gross score, number of putts, and low net results to find the winners.
Deborah Ward won first place, with Judy Wetzel in second, Anita Pettitt in third, and Donna Deely and Kim Parks tied for fourth.
The day’s competition also ranked players by net putts, gross, and net score. Cynthia Robinson won that section, with Wetzel taking second, Ward in third, and Parks in fourth.