Xaverian secures second consecutive Div. 1 state golf title

Christopher Morrow won his second straight Division 1 individual state championship by birdying the second playoff hole. The Xaverian junior beat teammate Michael McCormack and St. John’s Prep’s AJ Bodnar in a sudden-death format held in Wellesley on October 26.

The individual race remained tight through regulation play, with Morrow, McCormack, and Bodnar all finishing even on the day. In the playoff, McCormack and Bodnar finished one over par, while Morrow shot even to take the win. Longmeadow’s Wesley Paine placed fourth with a 72, and Hingham’s Michael Rogers finished fifth with a 73.

Morrow’s victory followed a similar path to his 2025 title, which he won on the first playoff hole. On the decisive shot this year, Morrow hit a drive and an approach that landed the ball a few feet from the cup. He then sank the putt to secure the individual crown.

“After my drive, I knew I just had to get it high and close,” Morrow said. “Then I had a good putt and that did it.”

The Xaverian team also repeated as state champions, finishing with a cumulative score of 298. St. John’s Prep finished second with 309, and Saint John’s of Shrewsbury took third place with 312. The eleven-stroke margin between the winner and runner-up was the largest in the field.

Coach Gerry Lambert noted that the team faced daily challenges alongside the pressure of being the favorite. “It was not a crazy thing to believe this team could win it, they may have been expected to,” Lambert said. “But being expected to get it done and then actually getting it done are two different things.”

McCormack, who won the Cape National and South Sectional titles earlier in the year, credited the team’s focus on one shot at a time. The group achieved every goal set at the start of the season, marking a complete campaign for the Hawks.