Alvirne's Noah LeClair would love to repeat his Division II individual state title won in 2021. (Courtesy photo)

The enthusiasm was obvious with Alvirne High School golf coach Sy Tebbetts.

His team is able to return this season touting a defending state indivdual state champion, 2021 Division II champ Noah LeClair, now a senior, as the area high school golf season begins today through the rest of this week for many teams.

“He looks great,” Tebbetts said. “Still humble but confident. A two-time captain. I’ve been humble to coach him. He makes a final run at the No. 1 spot in Division II.”

LeClair’s title, along with Nashua North’s Eva Gonzalez being one of the state’s top girls golfers, were the highlights of last year’s local golf season which saw only one team – Bishop Guertin – qualify for the state tournament. The Cards ended up finishing 10th.

There are some changes in the coaching ranks in Nashua, as longtime North coach Scott Anderson stepped down. Steve Lane, who teaches at North, switches over to take the Titan reins after guiding South for several seasons. The Panthers had a new coach right in their circles, as hockey coach Jordan Sarracco was once a teaching pro.

Meanwhile, Brian Allaire takes over at Campbell as AD Josh Knight gave up the gig.

Here’s a look at this year’s teams:

DIVISION I

Will any local compete with the likes of Bedford, which won the title by six shots over Exeter?

Maybe not, but they’ll have fun trying. Guertin lost five from that 2021 team to graduation, but have some returnees to watch, incluidng seniors Connor Bouvier , Javari Ellison, and Jake Caron; juniors Brady Dumont, Alex Dumont and Joe Dekarski.

“If we can get the new players to improve, we are hoping to qualify as a team for the state tournament,” Cards longtime coach Paul Rousseau said.

The Titans return one of the area’s best players, senior Gonzales, a four-year varsity standout. Other keys include senior Jack Sullivan, junior Jeffrey Madock, and sophomore Drew Goulet.

Giving North scoring depth are seniors Owen White, Ty Washam, and Cam Burgess.

“We’re looking to improve as the seson goes along to get into the top eight and qualify for the state tournament,” Lane said.

South will build around three key players, all seniors: Robby Lizzie, Joey Lizzie and Beau Dubois.

“The key to success for the team this year is tio maintain our focus and limit the big mistakes,” Sarracco said. “This team has a lot of talent and promis; as long as we are able to stay focused we will be competitive in every match.”

Merrimack has bettern numbers this year, according to head coach Ryan Farnsworth, with several returners: Wayne Alexander, Noah Bedard, Noah Kahn, Matt Licata, Brady Matte, Nolan Rousseau, Maxwell Townsend and Jackson Woods.

“We’re starting off great,” Farnsworth said. “This year we’re working towards continually improving.”

DIVISION II

It was a tough year locally for Division II teams as well overall, as none qualified for the team tourney won by Oyster River.

That could change this year.

“This year poses to be one of the most competitive seasons there has been in a while,” Hollis Brookline coach Shaun Hastings said. “There’s a lot of talented golfers on many teams and everyone is working to get to the last match of the season.”

Besides LeClair, Alvirne has baseball standout Alex Glaise who actually learned to play golf righty so he did not impact his lefty baseball swing. Other keys for the Broncos are sophomore twins Jack and Ryan Hurrell, plus another key is Dylan McCarthy.

“They can help us be strong contenders for the top team spot this year,” Tebbetts said.

Hollis Brookline, a couple years removed from their state title, a couple years ago, have seen back from last season. Seniors include Cavan Quinn, Reid Mitchell, Charlie Hale, Martin Bergeron, Lauren Mauch and Alex Razzaboni. The returning junior is Bradley Noble.

“These returnees have been playing a lot of golf in the off-season so we can hit the ground running this year,” Hastings said.

Milford has just one senior, leader and No. 1 Brady Hanson (39 average last year), but also plenty of young talent, including surprising freshman Jack Bastarache. Other keys: sophomores Hunter Kolesar and Will O’Connell, plus junior Landon Pierce.

“We’re looking forward to the season,” Spartans coach Bill Soubosky said. “Great expectations from my young players and Hanson should do well against the other (teams’) No. 1’s. Playoffs are our goal.”

Souhegan, meanwhile was led last year by Matt Canavan, who is now a senior as the Sabers try to get back into the thick of things as well.

DIVISION III

The Campbell Cougars had a great turnout – 26 – and, according to Allaire, the program “has grown significantly over the last few years.” In fact, Allaire refuses to make cuts as he wants the novices who come out to learn the sport.

Keys for the Campbell: Seniors Jackie Gamache, set for a great year, and the experienced Sean Coughlin. Junior twins Owen and Ivan Dodge are daily players “and it shows,” Allaire said.

Overall? “I expect Campbell to be a competitive team this year,” the coach said. “We have a few great courses in our backyard and ton of support from our community.”