On the bubble in the final round, Salvaggio finished strong with a second-round-best 37 and overall score of 114 for third place and a spot in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Championships at Mill Creek Golf Club in Churchville from June 6-8.

Starpoint sophomore Braeden Lee led the entire way to claim medalist honors, shooting an even-par 72 in the first round and 2-over in the final round for a 110 over 27 holes.

Salvaggio will be joined by three more Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association golfers in the state tournament next month, including senior teammate Evan Maloney, who tied with Fredonia senior Ryan Kelly after the two shot matching rounds of 76 and 41 for totals of 117, which was good for sixth place. Randolph senior Cody Slade caught fire in the final round, going 2-over and finishing with a 118 to secure the final position at the state tournament.

Salvaggio began his day on the 524-yard par-5 No. 13, shooting 2-over over through his first nine holes. He added another four shots on the second nine, but his second birdie of the day came on the 339-yard par-4 No. 10 and kept him right on the bubble.

Fredonia won the Section VI boys golf team championship Monday at Shelridge Country Club in Medina. Pictured, from left, are: Grant Abbey, Nico Fadale, Kaison Malkowski, Jordan Kelly, Ryan Kelly, RJ Koopman and Coach Ross Conti. Braiden Truby was absent. Submitted photo

Then, in his final nine holes, he had just one bogey with eight pars to earn the third-place finish.

Slade’s finish was more dramatic as he put himself behind early with five bogeys on his first six holes, but a birdie on the 318-yard par 4 at No. 15 gave him a stroke back and he fired three straight pars on Nos. 16-18. Bogeys on Nos. 1 and 2 were followed by another four pars in a row, but a double-bogey on No. 7 left little room for error in the final round.

Slade shot 1-under his first six holes in the final round, with a birdie on the 448-yard par-5 No. 6, giving him room to bogey the final three of the day and qualify for states.

Maloney and Kelly began the day together on No. 1, finishing the first round with the same score, but taking different paths to 4-over.

Kelly shot 1-over on the front 9 before having a rollercoaster finish that included four bogeys, a double bogey and three birdies.

Maloney instead struggled on the front 9, shooting three bogeys and a double bogey on No. 9. However, he finished the back 9 with a 35, scoring birdies on Nos. 13 and 15.

The pair finished the day together in the final round with Kelly shooting even through the first five holes and ending with three bogeys and a double at No. 9 to go 5-over. Maloney added one more bogey to his card, but managed a birdie on No. 4 to finish at 117 with Kelly.

Not only did Kelly earn a return trip to the state championships, but he also led Fredonia to its first Section VI golf title since 1966 and first since the section resumed team titles after a break from 1980-2021.

Fredonia claimed the team title with the low round of 325, clearing Starpoint at 336, Niagara-Wheatfield at 340 and Royalton-Hartland at 367.

Helping Fredonia claim the sectional title, but missing the states cut were senior Grant Abbey and freshman Jordan Kelly, who both tied for 13th on the day after a 27-hole total of 122.

Randolph junior Matthew Beaver finished one stroke short of the state alternate spot with a 121, matching teammate Slade with a 2-over final round to surge into the solo finish at 12th.