By Susan Jenior

Staff Writer

The OHSAA allowed for an earlier start to the golf season this season, allowing coaches and golfers to tap into the talent they have been honing throughout the summer.

Portage County is a wealth of talent in golf, with three state qualifiers returning from the 2023 season and numerous teams finding themselves deep with skill to play successful seasons.

Returning this season are state qualifiers Liam Curtis of Kent Roosevelt, Gracyn Vidovic of Aurora and Taylor Blazek of Southeast.

They are the leaders of programs that have solid plans for success as the high-school golf continues through the state tournaments in October.

Many programs, including Kent Roosevelt, Southeast and Streetsboro, have successful, thriving youth programs that are helping to contribute to their continued winning seasons. From those programs, golfers James Morgan of Southeast and Ashlyn Leavery of Kent Roosevelt, who have both played in numerous tournaments throughout the summer, will be impact players as the season progresses.

It should be an exciting season as Portage County teams compete in six different conferences and look toward postseason tournament action.

AURORA GREENMEN

COACH: Gus Mehallis and Craig Murray.

HOME COURSE: Club Walden, Barrington Golf Club, Aurora.

CONFERENCE: Suburban League.

LAST YEAR: “We finished third in our conference in 2023,” said Mehallis.

DEPTH: “Aurora has nine players competing for varsity this year. Senior Gannon Brady returning this year is solid and a newcomer, Kyle Lancaster (senior), son of Todd Lancaster, Kent State standout, is starting off really strong. He shot 77 at Pine Hills, our first conference tournament, and shot 74 at Grey Hawk in Elyria Catholic invitational.”

EXPECTATIONS: “My expectations this year is to make a good run at first place in our conference, second at worst,” said Mehallis.

FIELD FALCONS

COACH: Patrick Neer, 2nd year.

HOME COURSE: Sunny Hill Golf Course, Brimfield.

CONFERENCE: Metro Athletic Conference.

(More team preview information will be published at a later date)

GARFIELD G-MEN

COACH: Jake Britton, 1st year.

HOME COURSE: Sugarbush Golf Course, Garrettsville.

CONFERENCE: Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference.

LAST YEAR: 7-10 Overall, 6-6 Conference.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: Dillon Paul, sr.; Caleb Sheer, jr.; Hunter Anderson, jr.; Lukas Workman, jr..

DEPTH: “Gare Warnick has been improving quite well during the first few weeks,” said Britton.

EXPECTATIONS: “I expect  us to have a .500 winning record this year, and I would expect Hunter Anderson to make it through the sectional tournament into the district tournament,” said Britton.

KENT ROOSEVELT ROUGH RIDERS

COACH: Ben Curtis, 3rd year.

HOME COURSE: Windmill Lakes Golf Club, Ravenna.

CONFERENCE: Suburban League.

LAST YEAR: 3rd in Suburban League American Division, Liam Curtis Second Team All-Ohio, 7th place at the state tournament, First Team All-District and Player of the Year in the Suburban League.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: Liam Curtis, sr.; Jack Puhalla, sr.; Jack Flynn, jr.; Deacon Smith, jr.; Owen Puhalla, soph.

DEPTH: “Incoming freshman Jaxon Turner will have a huge impact on the team,” said coach Curtis. “Deacon Smith really has improved and will also contribute more this season.”

EXPECTATIONS: “Compete for Suburban League championship and qualify for districts,” said Curtis. “The main goal is to improve every day, match, week, month and be playing our best golf at the end of the season.

19th HOLE: Field High School graduate Jay Wilson is the new varsity assistant and JV coach.

MOGADORE WILDCATS

COACH: Chris Mossa, 19th year.

HOME COURSE: Paradise Lake Country Club, Suffield.

CONFERENCE: Portage Trail Conference.

LAST YEAR: 14-5 overall, 6-4 PTC.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: Jude Thiry, jr.; Tyler Pendergast, jr.; Max Shannon, soph.

DEPTH: Jackson Lanham, soph.; Noah Hopkins, soph.; Gavin Gardner, soph.; Landon Shaffer, soph.; Mason Storey, soph.; Brock Thiry, fresh.; Max Simone, fresh.

EXPECTATIONS: “Jude Thiry, Tyler Pendergast and Max Shannon return from a successful 2023 season,” said Mossa. “The team just missed qualifying for the Division III state tournament by placing fourth at the district. These returning players look to repeat last year’s success and improve in 2024.”

19th HOLE: Mogadore currently has several players competing in the collegiate ranks: Ben Lansinger at Malone, Cory Gasaway at Walsh and Dillon Pendergast at Cleveland State.

RAVENNA RAVENS

COACH: Terry Kekic, 17th year.

HOME COURSE: Windmill Lakes Golf Club, Ravenna.

CONFERENCE: Metro Athletic Conference.

(More team preview information will be published at a later date)

ROOTSTOWN ROVERS

COACH: Keith Waesch, 28th year, 431-129 overall record.

HOME COURSE: Sunny Hill Golf Club, Brimfield.

CONFERENCE: Portage Trail Conference.

LAST YEAR: 2-8 in the PTC (5th place); Luke Flowers was on the All-PTC Honorable Mention team.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: Luke Flowers, Anthony Cambareri, Trentan Sines and Ryan Wolf. “Luke averaged 44.8 strokes per nine holes last fall,” said Waesch. “He has the ability to shoot rounds in the upper 30s, with his ball-striking ability and length off the tee. Anthony Trentan and Ryan have a year of varsity golf under their belts. I’m expecting them to trim a few strokes off their scoring averages from last season.”

DEPTH: Seniors Aidan Dixon and Logan Uphold have played well this summer, offered Waesch.

“Uphold is out for golf for the first time in his high-school career. Juniors Caleb Stevens and Jake Wenzlawsh, along with sophomores Anthony Pratt and Dominick Sladky, keep getting better and better. Freshmen Drew Just and Nathan Waesch are also putting pressure on the upperclassmen to perform,” said Waesch.

“We have about 10 kids that could see varsity playing time this fall,” Waesch added. “So if varsity players begin to struggle, we have some depth, which will make for some interesting qualifying rounds as the season moves along.”

EXPECTATIONS: “We have the ability to finish in the upper-half of the conference standings if we perform well in key matches,” said Waesch. “Our goal is to continue to improve each week and focus on course management.

19th HOLE: Cole Hostetler is entering his sophomore season as a member of the University of Detroit Mercy men’s golf program.

SOUTHEAST PIRATES

COACH: Mike Jenior, 8th year.

HOME COURSE: Olde Dutch Mill Golf Course, Lake Milton.

LAST YEAR: 5-7 overall, 4-6 PTC (4th place). District qualifier, James Morgan earned PTC Player of the year for the second year in a row and was named First Team All-District.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: James Morgan, jr.; Shade Stevens, jr.; Alex Peelish, soph.; Cole Bruno, soph.; Ethan Shodd, soph..

DEPTH: Josh Donovan, soph.; Tim Parbell, soph.; Jude Hale, soph.; David Miller, jr.; Braeden Martin, soph.

EXPECTATIONS: “First team All-District and reigning two-time PTC Player of the Year James Morgan had a very successful summer playing in some of the most prestigious junior tournaments across the country and is 100 percent zoned in on every aspect of his game,” said Jenior.

“James is, hands down, one of the top golfers in the sate, and I see him leading our program to new heights this season. Alex Peelish and Cole Bruno have both been playing some of the best golf I have seen them play this preseason and will be instrumental in our success.

“Ethan Shodd and Shade Stevens gained a lot of experience last year on varsity and will be instrumental when it comes to that fourth score. We may not have a senior on the team and would be considered young this season, however, our top five returning letterwinners all played on the varsity squad last season and have been battle tested and should not have any trouble picking up where they left off,” Jenior added.

“There was close competition for the sixth spot between three sophomores, Tim Parbell, Josh Donovan and Jude Hale, and I see them making an immediate impact and picking up varsity experience this season.

“Being in the MVAC this season is a huge change from what we have seen in the PTC. The PTC boasted some of the top teams in the state last year, including state champion Warren JFK and every match our guys needed to play their best to compete. With that being said, I feel our team has a competitive edge heading into MVAC play, and I feel we have all the tools to compete for the MVAC championship this season.

“I know Brookfield and old PTC foe Garfield both have great teams, and I see them being the teams that we have to knock off on our way to hanging a banner in the gym. Not only do I see us competing for an MVAC title, but also making a run in the postseason in sectional and district play.”

19th HOLE: “With the new conference, there is an element unlike in any other sport when it comes to home-field advantage — our kids have not seen most of the new courses in the conference,” said Jenior.

“That will make our home matches all the more important. It will definitely require more focus from our team and myself this season when it comes to navigating the new terrain.

(Sidenote: “I will be relying heavily on GPS to find some of these new courses,” said Jenior.)

“I am also sure there will be some friendly competition between James, on the boys team, and his younger sister, Sammy, a freshman on the Southeast girls team, which will be fun to see,” concluded Jenior.

STREETSBORO ROCKETS

COACH: Bruce Thomas, 22nd year.

HOME COURSE; Boulder Creek Golf Club, Streetsboro.

CONFERENCE: Metro Athletic Conference.

(More team preview information will be published at a later date)

WATERLOO VIKINGS

COACH: Matthew Flanagan, 12th year.

HOME COURSE: Paradise Lake Country Club, Suffield.

CONFERENCE: Mahoning Valley Conference.

LAST YEAR: 15-5 overall, 10-2 MVAC, second place. 4th place Division III sectional tournament. Jackson Eichler advanced to Tannenhauf Division III District.

RETURNING LETTERMEN: Trevor Simons, sr.; Clayton Smith, sr.; Mitchell Shepherd, sr.; Blade Ascarrunz, jr..

DEPTH: The Vikings will return four letterwinners, including two All-MVAC players from a league runner-up squad last year and look to continue the success that this group has built.

“Our three seniors, Trevor Simons, Clayton Smith and Mitchell Shepherd, will lead the team through a tough MVAC league schedule,” Flanagan said. “Junior Blad Ascarrunz showed a lot of growth last season and will continue to contribute to each varsity match. The team will add four new faces to the team this year with freshmen Trevor Flarida, Cole Kaiser and Mason Long as well as sophomore Shelby Wilson.”

EXPECTATIONS: The MVAC continues to have a grueling league schedule every year, offered Flannagan. Each team brings their best shot every time you play them. To keep momentum from our previous success, we will rely on our group of seniors and their experience. Trevor, Clayton and Mitchell have seven varsity letters between them. They have played enough golf to help all of our younger players acclimate quickly to match and tournament play. We emphasize with our players to play their game, make sure to have fun and don’t put added pressure on yourself.

19th HOLE: 2024 graduate Jackson Eichler (First Team All-MVAC and Division III District qualifier, is headed to Bluffton University to continue his golf and academic careers.

WINDHAM BOMBERS

COACH: Cody Apthorpe, 5th year.

HOME COURSE: Riverview Golf Course, Newton Falls.

CONFERENCE: Northeastern Athletic Conference.

(More team preview information will be published at a later date)