Hakala takes fourth title as Mascenic’s golf dominance continues
Published: 10-21-2024 12:02 PM
Modified: 10-21-2024 12:30 PM |
Mascenic’s Josiah Hakala capped off his golf career with some fireworks last week, completing an unprecedented four-year championship sweep while leading the Vikings to their second straight Division IV team title.
On Saturday at Concord’s Beaver Meadow Golf Club, Hakala became the first golfer in NHIAA history to win four straight individual titles, breaking his own championship course record by shooting 10 under par.
“It feels awesome to go four for four,” Hakala said. “It was a goal of mine before I started high school and it was awesome to accomplish that.”
Only two other golfers in state history have won even three titles in a row - Douglas Hounsell of Laconia (1949-51) and Chelso Barrett of Keene (2010-12). The only other golfer to win three individual titles was Sam Natti of Lisbon, who won three out of four in 1997, 1998 and 2000.
“Josiah has always been very mature for his age; we had been thinking about the four in a row for a long time,” said Mascenic head coach - and Josiah’s father - Jeff Hakala. “We started working toward it when he was in sixth grade. I think that’s one of things that has set Josiah apart - his work ethic. He plays well over 150 rounds a season and it’s a very rare day that he’s not on the course practicing. Since July, he hasn’t taken a full week off from practicing.”
Hakala set himself up for an individual championship with a stellar day at the team competition at Keene Country Club on Thursday, shooting a 4-under-par 68; he was the only golfer to shoot under par. His teammates had quite a day as well. Junior Brody Shaw placed second (75, +3), and sophomore Colin Koukkari tied for 12th (85, +13), season-best finishes for both. Junior Rowan Vautour shot his average and finished 22nd (89, +17), with TJ Edgar (33rd) and Parker Ketola (39th) rounding out the back-to-back championship squad.
“I’m super proud of the whole team,” Jeff Hakala said. “We didn’t talk about back-to-back at all during the season - last year’s championship was last year. We were super-focused on improving this season and checking off our team goals for this year.”
The Conant Orioles were in the mix at the DIV championships as well, finishing sixth of eight teams. Junior Braeden Dion led Conant with a 12th-place finish; Chance Desrosier (30th), Kaiden Charron (30th), Josiah Niemela (49th), Tristan Herr (50th) and Dylan Dubois (63rd) all played well.
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Mascenic’s Hakala, Shaw and Koukkari, along with Conant’s Dion, headed off to Saturday’s individual championship, where Hakala was once again dominant. Senior Stephen Simard and freshman Oscar Taylor represented the ConVal High School golf team at the Division III state tournament Thursday, with Simard shooting 98 and Taylor shooting 101.
As focused as ever, Hakala said he approached the final like any other round.
“I’ve been playing a long time now, and just taking it one shot at a time and letting the results take care of themselves,” he said. “I know I’ve put the work in to play well under pressure, so really leaning on that is huge for me, and I felt like I executed that really well.”
The Vikings have now won four out of the last five Division IV championships and five straight individual titles, adding in Joseph Lisio’s win in 2020. They’ve still got a solid foundation for the future, but Hakala will soon be off to greener fairways.
“Mascenic golf has meant the world to me,” Hakala said. “I don’t think it’s really set in that it’s over. The memories and friendships I’ve made with my time playing are irreplaceable. I’m super proud to have represented the Vikings, and I can’t thank my dad enough for being such a great coach to me and all my teammates.”
Unsurprisingly, Hakala plans to become a professional golfer in the future, having already won at the highest levels of junior competition at the NHIAA level and nationwide. He said he’s still weighing whether to play collegiate golf or attempt to go straight to the pros. Regardless of where his path takes him, he’ll never forget his time at Mascenic, where he etched perhaps the greatest career at a school with a rich golf history.
“I am super proud with the way I played and represented the Vikings and one thing’s for sure - I am and forever will be a Viking,” he said.