Submitted photo The Warren JFK boys golf team (from left-to-right: assistant coach Joey Canann, Andrew Lapolla, Preston Geracitano, Julian Bolino, Henry Phillips, Andrew Fredenburg and head coach James Lapolla) poses with their trophy and medals after winning their third straight Division III state championship on Tuesday at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury.

WARREN — All season long, Warren JFK has been the team of destiny.

Since the start of the season in August, JFK has dominated in tournaments throughout the fall, winning seven times.

With the entire core back for its senior season as two-time defending state champions, the Eagles had their sights set on ending their high school careers by making history.

Bouncing back from a disappointing runner-up finish at the district tournament last week, JFK completed the historic three-peat on Tuesday afternoon, winning its third consecutive Division III state championship at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury.

“It felt like the boys took that as the wake-up call that we needed. … I think it was exactly what they needed to come out here with this full-swing attitude,” head coach James Lapolla said of the team’s turnaround from districts to state.

“It’s one of the greatest feelings that I think will be engraved in not only the history books, but also engraved in every single one of these student-athletes’ minds. Just the stories they can tell their children for the future to come. It was such a fun experience and we had a blast.”

It was the sixth state title in program history, as the Eagles shot a 42-over 618 overall during the two-day tournament, beating out runner-up Pettisville by 23 shots.

“It means everything,” Julian Bolino said when the Eagles returned to JFK on Tuesday night to ring the Victory Bell in the school’s courtyard. “I think the goal started after our freshman year and we lost, we figured we could go back and try to win. After we won our sophomore year, we realized we can do this and it was just a recurring thing. We know we have the best team there. It’s just showing that we can play for it. And I think this year, we did that better than others. Last year we only won by two. This year we won by 23, so I think we finally established what kind of team we are in our division.”

During each of JFK’s three titles, someone different has stepped up to lead the way.

In 2023, Andrew Lapolla was the team’s top finisher in a one-stroke victory. Last year, Henry Phillips paced the team as Kennedy won the title by two strokes.

But this year, Bolino and Andrew Fredenburg led the way for the Eagles, as the team ran away from the rest of the field.

“It seemed like we definitely had a lot of players really come out full swing, really stepping up to the plate,” James Lapolla said. “Julian Bolino and Andrew Fredenburg played well this week. They started off great. They always kept their minds well within the game and they recovered from bad shots.”

Bolino (73-75) and Fredenburg (74-74) each tied for third individually to earn First-Team All-Ohio honors, shooting a 4-over 148 over the two rounds.

“I think (Phillips and Andrew Lapolla) being successful the last few years inspired us to work a little bit harder,” Fredenburg said. “I feel like I hit the ball a lot better the last two days. I think the whole year I’ve been working through a lot of swing changes. And in the last two days, a lot of it clicked, and I was able to hit some golf shots. I think moving forward, I still have a lot to improve on, but a lot of confidence was built.”

Phillips finished tied for 18th with a 14-over 158 (79-79) and Andrew Lapolla tied for 34th with a 20-over 164 (83-81), while Preston Geracitano rounded out the Eagles’ scoring in 70th with a 56-over 200 (106-94).

With the team’s No. 1 (Phillips) and No. 2 (Andrew Lapolla) players not playing their best, JFK needed what it got from Bolino and Fredenburg.

“I pulled the team together, actually, right after we won and said, ‘Look at this, everybody contributed to the last three victories we had,'” James Lapolla said. “So it was honestly just amazing how everybody in that 2026 class was able to contribute. Obviously with this team, it’s all a good team, but everyone on this team has had their shine-out moment. You can’t ask for anything better than that. So honestly, it brings me great joy that it all worked out the way it did.”

From finishing seventh at state as freshmen in 2022 to winning three state championships, Phillips, Bolino, Fredenburg and Andrew Lapolla will graduate as some of the most decorated athletes to grace the halls at JFK.

Only a handful of schools in state history have won three-straight state titles, and now the Eagles can add themselves to that distinguished list.

“We gotta say it’s one of the best teams in Kennedy history, right?” Bolino said. “We won three out of four times we played at state. We beat (former JFK golfer and current LIV golfer Jason) Kokrak’s record.”