Peddie team takes second, but Peddie individual takes first
By: Neil Hay
A day will come, maybe next year, maybe not, but one day the Peddie boys’ golf team will defeat Lawrenceville.
Once more the Peddie linksters came up short in a match with Lawrenceville. Last Thursday at the Peddie School golf course the Big Red shot a team total 308 to win the state Prep A championship. Lawrenceville’s total was just three strokes better than the Falcons’ 311. Seton Hall took third with a 317.
On the bright side, a Peddie player did win individual honors. Sophomore Max Bichsel improved on 2005’s third-place, 76 finish with a first-place 70. That number was five strokes better than Lawrenceville’s Chip Witherspoon, and six ahead of Max Nugent of Seton Hall Prep.
"Max has a lot of poise. He is a very good player, one of the top four or five high school players in the state," said Peddie Coach Bill Leece.
Leece agreed that, the bigger the meet, the better Bichsel plays.
"He is one of those kids who rises to the occasion. He thrives on the competition. He’s really a good guy too, a good teammate. He is concerned about the other players on the team and how the team does. That is unusual for a sophomore."
Warren Taylor had the next best score for Peddie, a 78. Connor Monaghan came in at 80, Preston Combs carded an 83, and Rob Warfield closed it out at 86.
Of the oh-so-close team finish behind the Big Red, Leece said, "A tough one again." Over the course of the spring, in compiling a 12-2 record, the Falcons lost both regular season matches to Lawrenceville. Including states, Peddie lost to Lawrenceville by a combined eight strokes. However, in the recent Mid-Atlantic Prep League tourney, the locals did place first, ahead of both Hill and Lawrenceville.
Looking at the season overall, Leece said, "I am very pleased with the season and with the kids. We were confident we’d win states, but Lawrenceville played well." Each of Lawrenceville’s golfers shot in the ’70s.
Peddie should be "really good" again in 2007, as only one senior George Alexander is headed for the clubhouse. The rest of the roster returns, with the freshmen Monaghan and Taylor expected to be even better. And with Bichsel at the top of the lineup again, the Falcons may be ready to knock off Lawrenceville.

