The Southeast girls golf team stands with lone senior Taylor Blazek (right of tree) on Senior Night.
Susan Jenior/Portage Sports

By Susan Junior

Staff Writer

It was a night to remember for the Southeast Pirates varsity girls golf team.

The team concluded their regular season with a perfect 17-0 record and 14-0 in their first year as a member of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference.

It was also the final home match for Taylor Blazek, a senior for the Pirates, and she was honored.

The Pirates won the match over Mineral Ridge 162 to 206 with the help of freshman Sammy Morgan’s 35, setting the record for low score as a freshman thanks to a chip-in approach shot from 70 yards on the ninth hole.

On her senior night, Blazek fired a 40, with Aubree Varga adding a 43 and Jessi Mix a 44 for the final regular-season victory.

Southeast has been planting a tree as recognition and celebration for the senior class on the walkway to the first tee at Olde Dutch Mill.

Southeast senior Taylor Blazek stands next to a Flowering Plum tree, which was planted at Olde Dutch Mill as part of the program’s tradition to celebrate its seniors.
Susan Jenior/Portage Sports

This season was a little different.

“Each year we look forward to honoring our seniors with a tree planting,” said Cindy Fesemyer, coach of the Pirates.

“Unfortunately, the Cleveland Pear tree is considered invasive in our area, so we needed to plant another tree type for Taylor.”

The tree this season was the Flowering Plum.

“The tree was especially fitting because we found out it was Taylor’s grandfather’s favorite tree,” said Fesemyer. “How fortunate we were to choose a tree with special meaning for a special girl like Taylor.”

Blazek was Player of the Year in the Portage Trail Conference in 2023 and was the first female golfer from Southeast to advance to the state tournament in the program’s history.

The Pirates’ season has continued this season, riding Blazek’s and the team’s success into the MVAC as they also look toward the postseason tournaments.

PTC RIVALS COMPETE

Ravenna and Rootstown were both a part of the Portage Trail Conference, but now the athletic teams are in different conferences.

The friendly rivals, only five miles apart, had the opportunity to compete in a golf match at the Ravens’ home, Windmill Lakes Golf Club in Ravenna.

On the Par-35 fairways, the Rovers won the match 174 to 206.

Luke Flowers led the visitors with a 40 and Anthony Cambareri added a 45 as did Ryan Wolf for the Rovers.

For the Ravens, on their home fairways, Owen Lucarelli carded a 50 and Nic Brazleton added a 51.

The Rovers are now 12-6 overall and the Ravens are 2-17.

Both teams will play their Division III OHSAA Sectional at Riverview Golf Club in Newton Falls on Sept. 25, along with Waterloo and Windham.

THIS WEEK

Both the PTC boys and girls and the MVAC boys and girls compete in their end-of-the-season conference tournaments with championships on the line.

The PTC will crown both a girls and boys championship team, as well as Player of the Year and First-Team honors.

The MVAC will also crown champions in the Gray Division, Scarlet Division and Girls Division, as well as individual honors.

Both conferences use a combination of regular-season matches and the conference tournament to determine the overall champions. That has been the case for the PTC since its inception, but for the MVAC, this is the first time both the regular season and the tournament are used to crown champions.