Massachusetts HS golfer wins district title, is denied trophy because she's a girl

The dominant golfer in the Central Massachusetts Division 3 boys' golf tournament earlier this week was not a boy. So even though Emily Nash was four shots better than any boy in the field, she was denied the winner's trophy and a spot in next week's state tournament.

Nash, a junior at Lunenburg High School, shot a 75 from the men's tees Tuesday to run away with the event, but Nico Ciolino of the Advanced Math and Science Academy was awarded top honors after his 79. According to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Ciolino offered to give Nash the first-place trophy, but she declined it.

Under Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rules, girls playing on boys' teams during the fall season cannot make the individual state tournament. They can play in the team tournament, and Nash's score counted toward that total, but Lunenburg did not end up qualifying for state.

Tournament director Kevin Riordan told the Telegram & Gazette that Nash and her coach knew about the rule before play began, but Nash told the newspaper Wednesday that she thought the rule only prevented her from advancing to state.

"I wasn’t aware until after my round that if I won, I wouldn’t be able to get the title or the trophy," she said. "So I was definitely disappointed, but I understand that there are rules in place. I don’t think people expected for this to happen, so they didn’t really know how to react to it. None of us are mad at the MIAA or anything like that, but I was definitely a little bit disappointed.”

Nash finished fourth in the state girls' tournament last spring as a sophomore.