Hendricken’s Colin Sutyla, one of the state’s top high school golfers, will be continuing his academic and athletic endeavors at Division I Iona College in New Rochelle, New York, next year after signing a National Letter of Intent with the Gaels in the Hawks’ theater on Wednesday afternoon.

Sutyla has been a key contributor for the Hawks’ golf program since stepping on the course as a freshman. He earned First Team All-Division honors in his first season in green and gold, and he followed that with consecutive First Team All-State selections in his sophomore and junior seasons. Sutyla took fifth in the state championship as a sophomore, and he earned second this past spring after falling to four-time individual state champion Will Dickson of Moses Brown in a playoff. Sutyla’s second-place finish was a big reason why Hendricken claimed its first team title since 2001.

“Colin has been such an integral part of our program for the last three years,” Hendricken head coach Rick Angeli told the crowd in the Hawks’ theater. “We wish we could keep him for a couple more.”

Angeli also noted that Sutyla didn’t just bring a tremendous skill set to the course, but he also brought leadership and an unparalleled work ethic.

“He’s come with a work ethic that’s unmatched, and he just lets his game do the talking,” Angeli continued. “Having a leader like Colin is hard to find. We’ve been very lucky to have him.”

Now, Iona will be lucky to have him come next fall.

Because of the many successes that he’s encountered in his high school career, it comes as no surprise that Sutyla was heavily recruited. But, his ultimate choice ended up being Iona.

“I knew a lot of people from Hendricken, a lot of my teachers went to Iona, so that got me familiar with the school,” Sutyla said of picking Iona. “I reached out to the coach and found out what their program had to offer. I met with him and really liked the school and really liked the coach.”

Sutyla is excited about his opportunity to play at the next level, as he’s always had aspirations of playing Division I golf.

“Joe Tucker, a senior from last year, is at Central (Connecticut) playing now and I really looked up to him,” Sutyla said. “What he’s done this year has me really excited (to play college golf).”

First, though, Sutyla would love to lead the Hawks to a second consecutive team title this spring, with his secondary goal being to capture the individual crown after coming so close a season ago.

“The goal is to win the team first, and then individual,” Sutyla said of the upcoming season. “Last year was a tough loss, but it certainly made me better this summer.”