2023 saw the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference crown their first conference champion, appropriately Champion High School. It will be difficult for the Flashes to repeat as they will be losing a significant portion of their scoring players from last year. The heavy favorite to win the conference will be newcomer Southeast. The Pirates are one of the best teams in Division 2 in Northeast Ohio and will be very tough to compete with in 2024. One candidate outside of Champion to contend with Southeast would be LaBrae, who will return a good amount of talent centered around senior Madison Touart. Mineral Ridge would be another potential contender, while Garfield, McDonald, and Newton Falls will look to compete as well.

Impact Players

Megan Blair (SR) Mineral Ridge
Taylor Blazek (SR) Southeast
Isabela Chepke (SR) McDonald
Kennedy Howard (SR) Newton Falls
Riley Rowe (SO) LaBrae
Addison Snyder (SO) Garfield
Mia Sloan (JR) LaBrae
Madison Touart (SR) LaBrae
Aubrey Varga (JR) Southeast
Brilea Woods (SO) Champion

Freshmen to Watch

Kristen Dillon (Southeast)
Jennifer Mix (Southeast)
Samantha Morgan (Southeast)
Ava Sayre (Southeast)

Champion Golden Flashes

Head Coach- Bryant Wilson
Last Year’s Results- 2nd at Pine Lakes Sectional, 7th at Good Park District

Garfield G-Men

Head Coach- Kevin Sponaugle
Last Year’s Results- 17th at Punderson Sectional

LaBrae Vikings

Head Coach- John Pugh
Last Year’s Results- DNS at Pine Lakes Sectional

McDonald Blue Devils

Head Coach- Matt Vukovic/Zavier Bokan
Last Year’s Results- 14th at Pine Lakes Sectional

Mineral Ridge Rams

Head Coach- Nicholas Flaviano
Last Year’s Results- 12th at Pine Lakes Sectional, 9-11 in matches
Coach’s Comments- “Look in the mirror. That is your competition”

Newton Falls Tigers

Head Coach- Zach Parent
Last Year’s Results- DNS at Punderson Sectional

Southeast Pirates

Head Coach- Cindy Fesemyer
Last Year’s Results- 2nd at Punderson Sectional, 4th at Good Park District, Record 14-2, Portage Trail 2023 League Champions
Coach’s Comments- We have five of our six starters returning from last year, led by senior Captain Taylor Blazek. Taylor, Jessi, Layna, Adrianna and Aubree are experienced and very motivated golfers. Taylor was also our first ever state qualifier last year where she finished 14th. Freshmen Jenni Mix and Samantha Morgan bring loads of experience by spending much of the summer practicing and playing in tournaments. Our team expectations are to stay focused, play our best, and represent ourselves, family, and school district proudly. The rest will take care of itself.