CLARION, Pa. (EYT/D9) — This past week proved fairly light for KSAC golf.
With no conference Mega Matches scheduled for the boys, teams were left to their own devices.
Clarion, Clarion-Limestone, and North Clarion used the hiatus to play an 18-hole tri-match on Aug. 21 at Clarion Oaks Golf Course.
The girls’ teams were slated to play two Mega Matches at Hi-Level Golf Course, though only Monday’s was played as Wednesday’s outing on August 23 was canceled due to torrential rain.
Boys
It was a good day for Clarion on Monday as not only did junior Kam Kerle post the low round Clarion Oaks, and carding a plus-3 75 on the 6,235-yard loop, but his teammates took the remaining top-six spots and the Bobcats five-person team total (393) was the best of the trio of squads.
Taking second was senior Devon Lauer (76), with junior Lucas Mitrosky (80) third, senior Tanner Miller (81) and junior James Keenan (81) tied for fourth, and senior Avery Kline (86) sixth.
The rounds by Kerle, Lauer, Mistrosky, Miller, and Keenan counted toward the Bobcats’ winning total.
Clarion-Limestone and North Clarion golfers rounded out the top 10 with North Clarion senior Ethan Carll (88) seventh, senior Nick Aaron (92) of C-L eighth, C-L junior Jack Monnoyer (93) ninth, and sophomore Kelton Stitt (95) of North Clarion 10th.
C-L (480) placed second as a team, it’s five-person total coming from Aaron, Monnoyer, Jack Callen (97), Jack Craig (97), and Aiden Coulson (101).
North Clarion (482) was third, a mere two strokes behind C-L.
Carll, Stitt, Conner Slicker (96), Mason Shaftic (99), and Jack Buckley (104) contributed to the Wolves’ score.
The next KSAC boys’ megamatch is scheduled for Monday, August 28, at Slippery Rock, with another slated for later in the week at Hunter’s Station on Thursday, August 31.
Girls
Mariska Shunk, a senior at Moniteau, claimed her second victory in three outings this season, firing a 43 on the 2,209-yard front nine in Kossuth.
“I could have done way better, but it was not that bad of a day,” Shunk said about her round. “My chipping was way off, I was overshooting every single green.”
Shunk finished two strokes better than runner-up Kendall Sankey (45), a Moniteau senior, and five lower than third-place Jessie Stocks (48), also a senior at Moniteau.
“There were a couple of rough patches,” Sankey said. “I lost two balls, so I had to drop in place. Other than that, it was actually a pretty good day, really nice weather conditions.
“I think it was chipping and putting (that saved the round),” Sankey added. “My chipping and putting is usually where I’m pretty good. My drives either sliced or went left. I think I need to find my happy medium.”
A-C Valley’s Ruby Watson (49), a freshman, broke up the Moniteau sweep of the top-eight positions, coming home in fourth.
Moniteau golfers claimed spots five through eight as senior Taylor Voloch (51) and freshman Hayden Hilliard (51) tied for fifth, senior Samantha Smith (53) seventh, and junior Cara Roxberry (55) tied for eighth.
Joining Roxberry in eighth was Lily Nicewonger (55), a Keystone sophomore.
A-C Valley’s Reagan Best (56), a freshman, rounded out the top 10.
Moniteau (139) won its third consecutive match of the season with Shunk’s, Sankey’s, and Stocks’s rounds counting toward the Warriors’ three-person team-total.
“We have eight seniors this year, three returning from last year’s district championship team: Shunk, Sankey, and Stocks,” said Moniteau head coach Sue Scialabba of her 18-player squad. “We have a young team. Besides those seniors, we have seven freshmen and two sophomores.
“Our expectations are to improve every match. That’s really what we want,” Scialabba added. “We’ve had the luxury of being able to have everyone play and they’re finishing all nine holes. That was a goal at the beginning of the season, just to get them out and play and they’ve all been improving.”
A-C Valley (174) was 35 strokes behind in second, with Watson, Best, and Rayanne Sherry (69) contributing to the Falcons’ total. It was the first time this season the Falcons finished higher than third.
Cranberry (182) trailed AC Valley by eight strokes.
Kelsy Hanna (57), a junior, posted the Berries’ low score and finished 11th, falling short of the top 10 by a single stroke.
“I definitely need to improve on my putting. It was a rough one (round) for that,” said Hanna. “My chipping went pretty well, my drives were alright.”
Also contributing to Cranberry’s team total were Kayla Hanna (61) and Mallory McMasters (64).
“My team is very new, all first-year golfers for the school,” said Berries’ coach Brad Earp. “Kelsy and Kayla (Hanna) are dual sporting with cross country. They’re all very nice kids, just learning the game. We’re trying to improve each time they play. Good shot, bad shot, no matter what it was, try to hit the next one (better).”
With three matches in the books, Shunk leads the pack with a nine-hole average of 45.33. She is followed by Sankey (48), Stocks (51), and Voloch (53.33), and Waston (53.33).
There is only one Mega Match scheduled for next week, another trip to Hi-Level on Wednesday.
