Seacoast High School Sports all star nominees 2021

Six high school boys golfers are in the running to be named best on the Seacoast.

The nominees have been chosen and one winner will be named at the Seacoast High School Sports Awards, a virtual event to be held this year on Tuesday, July 6.

The celebrity guest presenters for the 2021 show are scheduled to be announced on Sunday. Last year’s show featured Bill Belichick, Patrick Mahomes, Drew Brees, Steph Curry, Wayne Gretzky, Michael Phelps, Jackie Joyner Kersee, Keli Smith-Puzo, Gary Woodland, Rose Lavelle, Misty May-Treanor and Jordan Burroughs.

Athletes will be honored from fall, winter and spring sports again in 2021.

Honorees should register at sportsawards.usatoday.com/seacoast to reserve their complimentary athlete gift box, which is scheduled to arrive approximately one week prior to the show. Registrations are also used to send out awards for winners following the show. Visit the same website to sign up for updates to keep up with show information, honoree selections, presenter announcements and more.

The Seacoast High School Sports Awards, formerly known as Seacoast All Stars Sports Awards, is part of the USA TODAY High School Sports Awards, the largest high school sports recognition program in the country.

The nominees for high school boys golf include Exeter’s Connor Allard, Will Ducharme, Matt McConnell, and Liam Walsh, Dover’s Pete Solbo and Oyster River’s Josh Phillips.

Here’s a look at each of their accomplishments:

Connor Allard

Exeter High, sophomore

Allard was No. 2 in the Exeter lineup throughout his sophomore season, shooting an average score of 37.7. This trailed just Ducharme on Exeter’s state championship team.

He shot a 73 at the Division I state team championship and placed fourth in the individual championship.

“(Allard) was really a solid No. 2 for us,” Bailey said. “He really works hard on his game. I was always amazed how nothing got him down, he always fought back from a bad shot. He hits it a mile and can putt, and he’s good around the greens.”

More: Blue Hawks savor first team golf championship in 31 years

Allard shot under par on two different occasions this season. He posted his worst score of the season, a 42, in Exeter’s season-opening match.

“Other than that first match, he was pretty strong all year,” Bailey said.

Will Ducharme

Exeter High, junior

Ducharme helped the Blue Hawks to the Division I state championship, shooting a 71 in the championship match at the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods.

He then carded a 73 at the individual state championship at Concord Country Club, placing second.

“Every match, in Will’s mind, was a big match,” Exeter coach Bob Bailey said. “He just went out and performed.”

Ducharme’s scoring average this season was a team-low 37.4.

“He drives the ball well and hits his irons well,” Bailey said. “He’s also very good in the short game; he just has an all-around good game. I think Will has in his mind he could compete in college, and I think he can.”

Matt McConnell

Exeter High, senior

McConnell was a co-captain for the Blue Hawks this season in their run to the program’s first state championship in 23 years.

McConnell played out of the No. 3 position for Exeter and had an average score of 39.8. Bailey called him “Mr. Consistent.”

“We always knew he was the player we could always count on,” Bailey said. “He was that kind of player for us. I think we used Matt’s score in every match this year in the regular season.”

McConnell shot a season-low score of 38 at Keene Country Club.

“That was a pretty good score that day,” Bailey recalled. “We were battling thunderstorms, wind and rain, and he still managed to shoot a 38.”

McConnell shot a 79 in the Division I state championship, and also qualified for the individual championship.

Josh Phillips

Oyster River, sophomore

Phillips was a welcomed addition to the Bobcats this season, moving to the area last summer from Nashville.

Phillips was a medalist in five matches this season, shooting a 74 in the final round to win the Division II individual championship.

“He’s the real deal,” Oyster River coach Paul Banford said. “He works so hard. He came here, fit in nicely with the rest of the team, and pretty much became the leader. He wants to play Division I golf in college, and he’s headed that way.

Phillips trailed Kennett’s Ben Dougherty by four shots going into the back nine of the individual championship. Phillips made up six strokes and won by two.

More: Oyster River’s Phillips named to DII golf all-state first team; five locals on second team

“It was just a phenomenal effort and showed his mental toughens which you don’t see in young players,” Banford said. “I am proud to have him on my team. He is a phenomenal player. By the time he’s a senior, he’ll be in the top 50 in the country.”

Pete Solbo

Dover High, senior

Solbo’s best round of his senior season was a 2-under-par 34 at Rochester Country Club this season, and finished his third varsity season with a 39 scoring average. That average is seven shots better than his average from his sophomore campaign.

“He’s incredibly long off the tee,” said Dover head coach Matt Fennessy, who just completed his 16th year with the Green Wave. “He’s not a big guy, but he hits it a long way. He has the ability to make a lot of birdies which kinds of hides the holes that pop up from time to time.”

That scoring prowess showed itself at Cocheco Country Club this last season with Solbo firing birdies on the first five holes.

“That’s pretty impressive to do,” Fennessy said. “He has a great mentality and doesn’t seem to get flustered.”

Liam Walsh

Exeter High, senior

Bailey calls Walsh, Exeter’s co-captain, the unsung hero of the Division I state championship where Walsh shot a 78.

“He went out and shot the round of his life that day,” Bailey said. “He shot a 78 and that was the score that made the difference for us.”

Exeter had a team score of 301, while Bedford, the six-time defending Division I champion, finished runner-up with a score of 308.

“We wouldn’t have (won) without him shooting a 78,” Bailey said. “Even he admits that was probably the best round of his life considering all the circumstances.”