Coming into the East Penn Conference Golf Tournament, Liberty thought it may have an advantage.

Despite losses to teams like Parkland and Emmaus in the regular season, squads that seem to have endless depth, the Hurricanes felt their top-five golfers were as good as any in the area.

That proved to be true as the Hurricanes won the EPC team tourney, placing three golfers in the top-ten on Monday, Sept. 25 at Woodstone Country Club. They finished with a 331, just two shots better than Bethlehem Catholic’s total of 333.

“We’re not real deep with eight, but we’re as good as anybody with our top-five,” said head coach Steve Bradley. “That’s to our advantage. They are good players. They take it seriously and they live at the golf course.”

While the ’Canes are normally led by Austin Stella, who did finish eighth in the tournament, it was Nolan Beagell who was their low many with a fifth place round of 79.

“I don’t even know that we did play our best,” Bradley said. “Our scores were up above what they should be. That’s nice knowing going into districts. Our number-five was low today. Nolan [Beagell] stepped up and brought us the victory.”

“Nolan [Beagell] came in low,” Stella said. “We were happy to see that. When our five play well,we’re pretty formidable. At districts, five go and four score and we’re definitely looking forward to going low.”

Stella shot 81 (averaged 77 for the season) for eighth place while Jordan Barker shot 81 for seventh place. Joey Altemose shot 90.

“We came in here with a chip on our shoulders,” Stella said. “Earlier in the year we lost to Emmaus at Brookside and I didn’t play that well. We came in here knowing the team title was up for grabs and we took advantage of it. I’m proud of our teammates.”

For Bradley, he certainly appreciates what Stella brings to his team, as they look to bring home more hardware after the District 11 tournament.

“We have great leadership with Stella,” Bradley said. “He takes care of contacts and teammates, what time practice is and where practice is. They look up to him and respect what he says and everything else falls in line.”

As for Becahi, Ian Masenheimer and Chad Sodl brought home top-ten finishes. Masenheimer shot a 78 while Sodl carded an 81.

For Masenheimer, his round was a career-best, as he used his home-course-advantage to his benefit.

“I thought I played great,” Masenheimer said, who averaged an 83 this season. “I expected to coming in. It’s my home course. A lot of putts didn’t go my way, but overall I’m pretty happy.”

Masenheimer started on hole six and shot 39-39 for the day. He began with a par but then had his only double-bogey. However, he followed it up with a birdie on the next hole.

“I wanted to place because I felt like I had a good chance with it being my home course,” Masenheimer said. “I have experience here. I kind of felt like an underdog because I wasn’t seeded very high, which was good for me. I’m comfortable there.”

Masenheimer’s top-five finish makes him exempt from the District 11 qualifier to be held Oct. 2. The senior, who is just in his second year of golf, is now looking forward to playing Lehigh Country Club, the sight of the District 11 tournament, and trying to go as far as he can.

“I picked up golf in my junior year,” said Masenheimer, who also played basketball, baseball and football. “I feel like golf is more of an even playing field. It doesn’t matter how big or tall you are, as long as you can beat someone. It’s become an addiction. I love it.”

Freedom was led by Max Mehta’s low round of 94. Justin Kinter shot a 95 while Kyle Petrone shot 100 and Andrew Knerr carded a 112. The Pates shot a total of 400, giving them a 10th place finish.