Riverhead golfers make school history with best state finishes ever

Riverhead golf reached a new benchmark this spring, as Colby Baran and Madison Marshak produced the best finishes in school history at the state level. Baran, a senior, and Marshak, a sophomore, each carried Riverhead into the New York State championships for a second straight year, giving the Blue Waves one boys qualifier and one girls qualifier in a county that sent just 18 golfers overall, nine boys and nine girls.

Baran’s run at Mill Creek Golf Club in Churchville was the headline result. He shot 74 in the opening round and 75 in the final round at the NYSPHSAA boys state championship June 7-8, finishing 18th in a field of 99 golfers. That placed him ahead of every other Riverhead golfer in program history at states, and it also made him the first player from Riverhead to reach the individual state tournament three years in a row. Baran had already established himself as the standard-bearer for the boys program, and Riverhead Central School District said he had finished second in Suffolk County as a sophomore, third as a junior and eighth as a senior before heading to states.

His season was tied to a broader stretch of team success. Riverhead has won six straight league championships, with Baran leading the team for five of them, and the boys program has been league champion every year since 2019. The district also recognized Baran in April as one of Newsday’s top 10 Long Island high school boys golfers for 2026, a reflection of both his consistency and the way he helped steady a program that had graduated eight seniors from an undefeated league team.

Marshak delivered a similarly important breakthrough on the girls side. At the Suffolk County championship at Pine Hills Golf & Country Club in Manorville on May 18-19, she opened with an 84, then responded with a career-low, tournament-best 77 to finish second overall, three shots behind Elie Poremba of Southampton/Pierson. Marshak had finished 10th as an eighth-grader, was an alternate for states that year, and then placed seventh the following season, showing a rapid rise that Riverhead has now turned into back-to-back state appearances. The district also named Marshak among Newsday’s top 10 Long Island high school girls golfers for 2026.

Riverhead first sent girls to states in 2025, when Angelina Gust and Marshak made school history. One year later, Marshak returned, and Baran reached a standard no Riverhead boy had reached before. Together, their results gave Riverhead not just another strong season, but a clearer sign that the school’s golf program has moved into a new tier of consistency, depth and ambition.