2002 Golf Team
The 2002 Golf Team was Glen Rock High School’s most successful golf team.
In the 1960s, Glen Rock High School’s golf teams enjoyed considerable success, particularly during the mid-1960s when, coached by Jack Leonard and led by Hall of Fame Inductee Bud Zachary, the school’s golf team was one of the top teams in New Jersey. As a junior, Bud won the All Schools, Individual State Championship (with a then record 72 score) and led the 1965 Team to a first place finish among all schools in Bergen County and an eighth place finish in the All Schools, Team State Championship. As a senior, Bud finished second at the All Schools, Individual State Championship and he and his fellow classmate Ken Solar led the 1966 Team to a repeat first place finish among all schools in Bergen County and a third place tie in the All Schools, Team State Championship. The accomplishments of that team are still the best post season results in school history.
However, in the early 1970s, as part of a cost cutting move, Glen Rock eliminated its golf team.
Then, in 1993, prompted by Hall of Fame Inductee Art Brady, the school resumed having a golf team with Art as the team’s Head Coach. The result was immediate and considerable success. In that very first season, led by Hall of Fame Inductee then-freshman Ken Macdonald, Glen Rock won the B-PSL Championship. In the following season, Ken was joined by then-freshman Scott Tkacz and, over the next three years, the two golfers led Glen Rock to significant success including three consecutive B-PSL Championships. In his junior year, Ken won the All Schools, Individual State Championship and, in his senior year, despite finishing second after a playoff in the All Schools, Individual State Championship, Ken was recognized as the premier golfer in New Jersey. In that year, Ken and Scott led Glen Rock’s 1996 Team to the Groups 1 & 2 and Parochial B, Bergen County Championship (finishing first and second respectively in the individual competition).
In the following years, Glen Rock continued to enjoy success, with Scott and then Tim Macdonald leading the school’s golf teams to repeat B-PSL Championships. In 2000, Tim was joined by freshmen Mike Beshaw, Alex Marquard and Dan Tyburski and Glen Rock finished its regular season with a 28-1 record (with its only loss to ultimate Group 3, North Jersey Champion Ramapo). In State competition, it won the Group 1, North Jersey Championship (324 to 344). Alex won the individual title, Dan finished second and Tim finished fifth. It then finished second in the Group 1, State Championship, only two strokes behind the winning team.
Tim graduated after the 2000 season and was replaced on the 2001 Team’s foursome by freshman Tom Crawford. Glen Rock finished that season with a 31-4 record and a repeat Group 1, North Jersey Championship, with the same winning score (324) and with Alex and Dan repeating as the winner and runner-up of the individual title and Tom finishing fifth. It then finished third in the Group 1, State Championship.
While Glen Rock had won two consecutive Group 1, North Jersey Championships, it had narrowly lost in both Group 1, State Championships. The four leaders of the 2001 Team returned in 2002 with a goal to win that championship.
With the members of the foursome taking turns shooting the team’s best score, the 2002 Golf Team finished its regular season with a 23-1 record. At the B-PSL Championship, they shot a combined 311, obliterating Glen Rock’s previous league record of 324 in that tournament. They finished #2 through #5, with Alex and Mike shooting 77, Dan shooting 78 and Tom shooting 79. Glen Rock then won its third consecutive Group 1, North Jersey Championship. Alex and Mike both shot a 79 and finished tied for third.
Glen Rock then won the Group 1, State Championship with a total score of 320. Mike finished second among all Group 1 golfers with a 77, Tom finished fourth with a 78 (Including a hole-in-one – the first in at least the prior two decades at this tournament), Dan finished fifth with an 80 and Alex finished with an 85. Glen Rock’s aggregate score of 320 placed them third among the 24 teams competing in the various state championships (and first among the seven other schools from Bergen County), thereby equaling the success of the 1966 Team at the Team State Championship.
At the subsequent Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Tournament, Glen Rock finished second, only one shot away from the first-place team. Their scores were: Alex 76; Tom 77; and Dan and Mike 85.
At the end of the season, The Record named each of the foursome — Mike, Tom, Alex and Dan — to the First Team, Group 1, All-North Jersey. In addition, it named Dan and Alex to the Second Team, All Groups, All-North Jersey and named Dan to the First Team, Alex to the Second Team and Mike to the Third Team, All-County. Finally, The Record named Coach Brady All-North Jersey Coach of the Year and ranked the team as the #2 team among all schools in North Jersey.
With the four leaders of the 2002 Golf Team having been underclassmen, Glen Rock’s 2003 Golf Team came close to duplicating the 2002 team’s success. Glen Rock finished its regular season with a 23-0 record. At the B-PSL Tournament, it swept the top 4 places and shot a combined 301, obliterating the record of 311 that it set in the previous year. Tom shot a 71, sophomore Tim Riker shot a 76, Dan shot a 76 and Alex shot a 78. However, in the Group 1, North Jersey Championship, Glen Rock failed to win its fourth consecutive victory, shooting a combined 335 and finishing second. The team then won the Group 1, State Championship with a score of 337, 18 holes ahead of the second-place team, but, unlike the 2002 team, it was not in competition for the overall best team score. Dan shot a 77 (tied for second in Group 1 and 14th overall), Tom shot an 84, Mike shot an 86 and Alex shot a 90.
At the subsequent Bergen County Tournament, Glen Rock won the Groups 1 & 2 Championship and nearly won the All Groups title, finishing tied for second overall and only four strokes behind the overall champion. Glen Rock’s combined score of 322 was the result of Tom 77, Dan 80, Mike 81 and Alex 84.
At the end of the season, The Record again named each of the foursome — Mike, Tom, Alex and Dan — to the First Team, Group 1, All-North Jersey. In addition, it named Dan to the First Team and Tom to the Second Team, All Groups, All-North Jersey. Finally, The Record again ranked Glen Rock as the #2 team among all schools in North Jersey.
After the 2003 season, Dan, Mike and Alex graduated and Coach Brady retired. However, thanks to the foundation created by Coach Brady, the program continued to enjoy significant success. For example, in the following year, with Jim Fink as the new Head Coach and led by returnees Tom Crawford and Tim Riker, the 2004 Golf Team repeated as B-PSL League Champions, won the Group 1, North Jersey Championship by a dominant score, won the Group 1, State Championship and won the Groups 1 & 2, Bergen County Championship.
The success of the foursome on the 2002 Team makes it the most successful team in school history.
Head Coach Art Brady
Mike Beshaw
Tommy Crawford
Greg Fleming
Jason Larkin
Alex Marquard
Drew Schaubhut
Sean Sokolowski
Dan Tyburski