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ITHACA - Five golfers from the Tri-Lakes competed over the past two days at the New York State Public High School Golf Championships at Cornell University.

Playing for the final time as a Tupper Lake Lumberjack, senior Zach Meade led the area contingent, turning in identical rounds of 83 Sunday and Monday to finish with a 36-hole total of 166, which was the second-lowest score carded by a Section X golfer.

Meade finished tied for 44th overall. He was joined at the state tourney by Tupper Lake teammate Scott Delair, who is also a senior. Delair fired rounds of 88 and 83 for a 171 total.

After winning the individual sectional crown in late May, Lake Placid eighth-grader Art Griffin turned in the top performance among Section VII golfers at Cornell in his first trip to the tournament. Griffin posted rounds of 83 and 88 to finish with a 171 total.

Juniors Pat McHugh and Michael Phelan represented the Saranac Lake Red Storm at the state competition. McHugh shot an 88 on Sunday and followed with an 87 for a 175 total.

Phelan struggled to a 96 in the opening round, but rebounded nicely Monday, carding an 83 for a 179 total.

Senior Yarik Merkulov, of Penfield High School, captured the individual state title with rounds of 72 and 70, for a winning 2-under par total of 142 on Cornell's layout designed by Robert Trent Jones. Michael Miller of Section I's Brewster High finished runner-up one shot off the pace, and Pittsford freshman Gavin Hall placed third with a 148 total.

Merkulov also helped lead the Section V golfers to the team title among the 11 sections from across the state. The field included 99 golfers, with Section V landing four players in the top eight and winning with a 1,078 total. Section IV was runner-up with a 1,100 total and Section VI of Western New York placed third with 1,116 strokes.

Section X placed 10th in the team competition with a 1,192 total, and Section VII rounded out the field with a 1,222 total.