Jets on par with best in Nassau

Experience matters — especially for East Meadow’s golf team. 

Six seniors led the way for the Jets, as they finished with a 12-2 record and qualified for the Nassau County tournament for the first time in 23 years.

Seniors Tim Kearon and Tom Camastro are expected to earn All-County honors after impressive season. Kearon averaged a nine-hold score of 36, and Camastro put up a 37. 

“They are experienced, and they love the game,” said coach Tom Reynolds. “When we are not going out as a team, they are going out to practice.”

Kearon joined the program as an eighth-grader, while Camastro started as a freshman. Much has changed since then, not only in their individual games, but also for the program as a whole. 

When Reynolds took over in 2008, he transformed the program from a spring sport to a fall program. That switch led to the recruitment of baseball players who could now compete on the golf team during the fall. 

According to Kearon, the attitude of the program shifted quickly.

“These kids were actually serious about golf,” he said. “It wasn’t a joke anymore. We became a legitimate team with a good squad of guys.”

Senior Frank Borrelli was one of those baseball players who added golf to his repertoire. This year, Borrelli averaged a score of 39.

In a match against Locust Valley on Sept. 29 at the Piping Rock Country Club, Borrelli finished with an eagle, birdie, birdie and par to help seal the team’s 8-1  victory. Camastro shot a season’s best 34 that day. Kearon finished with a low of 34 during East Meadow’s opening 6-3 victory against Roslyn on Sept. 7 at Eisenhower Park, a day he said “set the tone” for the rest of the season. 

The Jets dominated most of their games, winning 72 of 86 individual matchups throughout the season against a slate of teams that also included Herricks, Hicksville, Mineola and Carle Place. 

East Meadow’s only team losses came to Cold Spring Harbor, which secured its fifth consecutive undefeated season in Conference VI. 

Most home games are played at Cedarbrook Country Club in Old Brookville, with some at Eisenhower and Bethpage State Park.

Reynolds added that his team’s success was driven by the players’ dedication and hard work. Even on rainy days, Reynolds said the players would still get on the golf course or at least in the driving range. 

“The main thing here is getting out to play,” Reynolds said. “The more you play the better you get.”

The Jets now take a winter break from competition and prepare for the county tournament in May at Bethpage.