The Cranston West golf team has had a big season to this point and sent eight qualifying players to this week’s state championship at Cranston Country Club.

The Falcons boast one of the deepest rosters in the state with 27 players, getting contributions from the freshman class up to the seniors.

“We have a lot of kids, we brought in some athletes from other sports and they got better. They’ve been playing every day and they got good quick. It’s just been a good, positive year,” said coach Steve Hallas.

Alexandra Colardo has enjoyed a breakout year and won the junior varsity championship, earning her a spot in this week’s varsity championship. Megan Eastman also qualified along with Jagger Dion and Eric Whitlock.

Freshman Michael Farina will be making his state championship debut for the Falcons, while top players Shawn Cadieux, Jack Marques and Peter Vachon will be leading the lineup.

Hallas is excited to see how Cadieux fares, as he has been the team’s fastest riser this spring and was recently promoted to co-captain.

“He’s a student of the game. He’s going to do good things going forward and I’m banking on him having a big day (at the state championship). I think he can do it,” Hallas said.

Hallas will also be leaning on Vachon’s leadership, as the senior will be competing in his fourth state tournament.

“One thing that we do is that we play well at Cranston. If we can get four good rounds, then we will make the cut. Shawn and Jack can probably do it regularly, Pete Vachon, this is his fourth state championship and he’s steady. What he does well is that he keeps the game simple. Just play smart, stay away from the big numbers. It’s a grind and it’s hard not to keep the game simple at times. He does it well, and if he does it well at states, he can break 80,” Hallas said.

With so many players set to return next year and for multiple seasons moving forward, Hallas believes that this year’s success is only the beginning of something special at West.

“I’m just really, really proud of this group. They started to believe in themselves, they bought in and worked hard. The scores this year are probably the lowest we’ve ever had, no one saw this coming,” Hallas said. “Once people came along, once we got some leaders, people started following. I’m looking forward to the next few years with this group.”

The RIIL Golf State Championships concluded on Wednesday afternoon in Cranston, but the results were not available at press time.