MVC Golf Notebook: A Look Back at an Action-Packed Season, Players to Watch at Sectionals

We saw record-low scores, gutty performances and a myriad of parity.

In other words, it was simply another season on the courses across the Merrimack Valley Conference.

The league is known for pitting some of the state’s best linksmen against each other every match but this week, the MVC’s best will be thrown into a pressure cooker in the MIAA sectional tournaments set to begin Tuesday.

Central Catholic (11-3-1), Andover (10-2-2), Chelmsford (11-3), Billerica (13-7) and Tewksbury (7-6) qualified in their respective divisions as teams with a .500 or better record. Golfers could also qualify individually by scoring 4-over-par or better in at least 50% of their rounds.

Here is what we are looking for this week, with a glance back at some of the top moments from the 2025 MVC golf season.

Under Pressure

Look no further than Central Catholic’s Harry Garland as a threat to make some noise at sectionals when the Raiders hit the course this week. Central Catholic is the only MVC team to qualify for the state tournament as a team. It finished in 11th place in the ultra-competitive Division 1 field.

Garland, Central’s No. 1 golfer who is committed to play collegiately at Methodist University, was a force on the course this season. He posted a 9-4-1 record as a senior and wrapped up his third year competing in the top slot for the Raiders.

The pressure in that spot is real. For the last three years, Garland has eyed the best of the best on the tee box.

“I would say there’s some pressure,” Garland said. “Just trying to live up to my expectations more than anything. I have high expectations for myself, and sometimes they don’t happen, but I think there’s more pressure from yourself than there is from other people.”

The biggest thing he’s learned competing in that environment? Never give up on a match.

“If you’re down early in a match, never give away the match. Keep coming back, and you might win it down the stretch,” Garland said.

Perhaps an even larger lesson Garland has been tasked with learning is not to get discouraged when he gets beaten by good golf. Take last week’s match against Andover as an example.

Garland walked off the final green at Indian Ridge Country Club as the darkness began to reach a tipping point in Andover with a 3-under-par score to his name. Beside him was Andover’s Lucas Jenney, who carded a masterful 5-under 31 in what he tabbed as the best match of his life.

Welcome to the life of the No. 1 spot, where a 3-under 33 round in which Garland hit every green in regulation planted him in the loss column.

“It’s tough knowing you played so well and you still lost,” Garland said. “I’m controlling what I can control. If he makes a putt, I can’t do anything about that. One, it kind of stinks, but two, it’s also really cool to watch them play well while you’re playing well, too.”

Garland added that he has a great relationship with Jenney and that they are close friends.

“He’s unreal,” Garland said. “So knowing I have to play against these kids every day, it’s a lot.”

The pair of talented hitters landed figurative jabs at each other throughout the entirety of the match. But it was ultimately Jenney, who birdied the seventh, eighth and ninth holes, who won the match 1-up.

“Honestly, it was probably my best round at Indian Ridge all year,” said Jenney, a junior. “It went really well. Harry started off hot, and then after the third or fourth hole, we just started draining birdie putts every hole.”

Jenney netted a 7-6-1 overall record on the course this season and averaged a 35 in his first season playing in the No. 1 spot in the lineup. A year ago at sectionals, Jenney carded a 9-over 81 for a 15th-place finish, as Garland wasn’t far behind with an 11-over 83. The Golden Warriors are set to tee off on Wednesday at Hillview Golf Course.

“You don’t want to be aggressive,” Jenney said. “Mentally, it’s probably more of a battle. You’re going to miss some big putts and make some big scores most likely. So you got to keep your cool.”

Record-breaker

Perhaps no round was as jaw-dropping as Jacob Carlson’s wizardry at the Country Club of Billerica on Oct. 6. Turning in a 6-under 29, the Chelmsford High senior’s eye-popping score stood as the lowest score ever recorded in a high school match at the Billerica course.

Carlson dropped an eagle and drained four birdies in the magical round while driving the green on three par-4s.

After falling to Billerica’s Jake Cataldo earlier in the season— who posted a 10-5-1 record with an average score of 34.25 in 19 rounds — Carlson responded in a big way.

Playing the 15th hole, Carlson nailed a blind tee shot over the tees and on the green in what was one of his many highlights on the day. He said that shot provided him with an extra boost down the stretch and the realization that the round could turn into something special.

Carlson said he had extra motivation ahead of the match with Cataldo, but that his approach was just like any other match. Golf is fun.

“It’s competitive, but it’s also just fun,” Carlson said. “It’s high school golf, so we try and not let our emotions get too involved, but it’s very competitive.”

Carlson recently committed to play college golf at Eastern Connecticut State and is a two-time MVC Player of the Year. In Chelmsford’s first season as a member of MVC 1, Carlson was just as dominant.

“I think when we moved up, a lot of people weren’t expecting us to compete as much as we did,” Carlson said. “Because we had to play the better teams twice a year instead of once. And going 11-3, I feel like we proved a lot of people wrong. I’m proud of the team.”

When the Lions hit the course for sectionals on Tuesday, look for Carlson to be atop the pack. He mustered a 6-over 78 at last year’s event. He said that he tries not to alter his approach too much, but that a stroke play format certainly forces him to be more cautious compared to a regular season match play bout.

“For match play, I can make an eight on a par four and lose the hole and move on,” Carlson said. “But stroke play, it’s a lot different. If you make an eight, you got to find a way to get those shots back.”

“I love it”

Charlie Wilkie didn’t mince words when discussing his expectations ahead of the sectional tournament on Tuesday at Bradford Country Club.

“I’m not there to win it,” Wilkie said. “I’m just there to have a good time and represent Dracut and see what happens.”

Wilkie is a Division 1 lacrosse commit (Merrimack) and just so happens to be one of the better golfers in the MVC. While Dracut handed in a 5-9 record this season, Wilkie individually qualified for the sectional tournament due to his strong play at the No. 1 spot this fall. Wilkie officially punched his ticket in a Sept. 24 match against Billerica, where he fired an even-par 35 to win his match.

Wilkie, an avid golfer in the summer months, played on the golf team as a freshman before taking a year off as a sophomore to focus on lacrosse. He has since rejoined the program as a junior and has loved every second of it.

“I love it,” Wilkie said. “It’s fun to just get out there and play golf with your buddies. And it’s something you’ll do for the rest of your life.”

Wilkie, who isn’t shy to admit that golf isn’t his main sport, held his own against some blue-chip players on the course this season.

“The competition is absolutely insane, especially in the MVC,” Wilkie said. “A lot of these kids, golf is their main sport. Golf is what they do.”

But even while Wilkie will be leaving his clubs behind at Merrimack next fall, he’s gained valuable experience at learning how to navigate the onerous mental fatigue of playing a sport with such a high competitive nature.

“I feel like golf is a pretty big mental game,” Wilkie said. “If anything, a lot of people say like, ‘Oh, you’re just golfing in the fall. You’re not doing a real sport.’ It honestly helps you mentally for other sports. You got to remain calm.”

Wilkie, who said the hardest course he played at this year was North Andover Country Club, praised head coach Eric Karpinski for his enjoyment with the sport the last two seasons.

“We lucked out big time,” Wilkie said of his coach. “He really cares about golf and the kids and everyone improving. And obviously, a lot of the time it’s not the most fun thing to go to the range and hit balls all day, but he makes sure we’re all set. He’s a really good coach, and we lucked out.”

Redmen catch fire

Tewksbury’s sectional dreams were certainly in question in the homestretch of the season. With victories in their last three matches and in four of their last five, however, the Redmen will be competing on Wednesday at Far Corner Golf Course.

Senior Ricky Pacheco is a big reason why as he picked up a valuable flat in Tewksbury’s memorable win over North Andover to claim their first victory over the Scarlet Knights in the MVC era. Pacheco also picked up wins in the team’s final two matches against Lowell and Methuen. He was the match co-medalist (36) against Methuen.

Playing against North Andover’s Ben Woodford, Pacheco battled back to tie the match late in the round to help Tewksbury earn the huge win. Pacheco occupied the No. 2 spot all season and yielded a 6-5-2 record.

“Before we went into the match, we were looking at their record. They tied Central, and they almost beat Chelmsford like we did. We knew we had a chance to beat them and make sectionals. We all definitely played pretty good,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco has been in the program for all four years of his career. Wednesday will mark his third time competing in the sectional tournament. Tewksbury didn’t qualify as a team last fall, but Pacheco carded a 23-over 93 as an individual participant.

“Just not giving up on a hole, especially if you have a bad tee shot,” Pacheco said of his mentality in the stroke play tournament. “You can always take your medicine and take a punch out and get a bogey. I think you just got to stay in the hole.”

He said he is aiming for an 18-hole score of 80 and has already played a practice round at Far Corner. Tewksbury realigned to Division 3 this fall from Division 2 and will feature five other golfers on Wednesday, including Tyler Crawford (40.08), Evan Muir  (39.77), Drew Broderick (41.15), Michael Macauda (41.92) and Tyler Bourgea (42.85).