Welcome to This Week in Golf (TWIG). We are looking to highlight special moments, school records, impactful people, and other unique stories as the golf season unfolds. We don’t hear about everything, so if there is something you would like to be included, please reach out to us on social media or email us with a small recap of what you would like to be posted.

Tournament Results

We are trying to keep tabs on all tournament scores. We will have separate pages for Conference Tournaments and Regular Tournaments. Any scores that are not posted, please feel free to send over (bolinr@hudson.k12.oh.us). Unfortunately, we aren’t able to post scores from 9 hole matches as there are too many to keep track of.

Cruising

Magnificat has broken 300 as a team in every tournament they have had at full strength. Senior Kayla Knaze, juniors Calli Reed and Kellan Gleason, and sophomore Korinne Knaze have been on a remarkable run, making them one of the favorites to take home the State Championship trophy in Dayton in October this year.

Brunswick junior Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble is on a tear of her own, bringing home several medalist trophies and being at or near the top of the field in every tournament she has played. She is the unquestioned leader of the Blue Devils and plays golf with the perfect demeanor and mindset.

Freshmen

It is always fun to see the new faces in high school golf each year. Many freshmen are already making a huge impact on their teams and in their conferences. The most impressive might be West Geauga standout Anna Phillips, who is ranked ninth among all freshmen on BOYS teams in Northeast Ohio. Phillips has registered nine hole rounds of 37, 41, and 41 and is the number two overall player at West Geauga, only behind her brother Dylan Phillips. In Division 1, Elizabeth Jia has done more than anticipated at Hudson, scoring in each of their tournaments, posting a low round of 77 at the Stow Invitational at Fox Den. Not far behind her is teammate Mya Buzzelli, who has had solid showings at the events she has been summoned to play in. Sedona Benedict has given Avon a jolt, consistently shooting in the high 30s and low 40s in nine hole matches, with an 18 hole low of 83 at Thunderbird Hills. Benedict, along with teammate Wynter Delarm will keep Avon competitive for the next four years. When Bobbi Woods showed up at Champion, they immediately became a contender to make it to the Division 2 State Tournament. Sanaya Dubey has been a nice surprise at Hathaway Brown, finding a nice comfortable spot in their starting lineup, while Ellison Greenwood has done the same at Howland. Mia Turner has been a pleasant surprise and a huge piece of the lineup at Kent Roosevelt, while Sari Rosenblatt at Orange and Claire Bir at Westlake have done the same. Payton Papuga from South Range recently had a top five finish at the tournament hosted by the Raiders. In the Federal League, GlenOak is getting production from a pair of freshmen, Leah Krum and Lyla Karam, while Jackson freshman Ava Tester is ready to be the next star for the Polar Bears. Ellie Risaliti might be the top player for Canton South and Aris Asher at Green is showing a good amount of potential. A final name to watch for is Tessa Yonadi at Rocky River, who is still a raw talent, but a player who will have a big impact not too far down the road.

Growing the Game

Ask any girls golfer and they will be able to tell you a story about someone they have run across on a golf course that has made them question their love for the game. Recent incidents stick out showing this not-so-new phenomenon. Elderly gentlemen yelling at an entire team of high school players for talking to each while waiting for a space at the driving range, course employees commenting on teenage girls’ attire when they are wearing clothing designed for golf, and patrons blaming slow play on high school players, who had to wait five to ten minutes on each tee box because the people in front of them were playing slow all do not realize how much their actions and comments could deter our young players from wanting to pursue the sport.

The good news is there are many more instances of teams being supported at these courses that counteract the negatives that occur. The girls who were yelled at on the driving range were offered spots by at least seven other people after they witnessed what happened. Other employees at the golf course stood up for the young players that were being discriminated against. And the golf course starter stepped in and informed the players complaining about slow play that the high schoolers were not responsible. These people understand how difficult it can be for a teenage girl to be comfortable in a public golf course setting and they are great ambassadors of growing the game.

Coaches, let’s all make an effort to continue to promote respect on the course, proper attire, and pace of play. But also, let’s make sure we continue to stand up for our players to show them that we have their back. This is the next generation of supporters of our sacred game, and we need to give them all the tools and support necessary.

We would also like to thank all the courses that support high school golfers. We plan to have an article highlighting the places and people that go above and beyond to promote our players and their talents. Readers, if you know of any courses or individuals that meet this criteria, please email us at bolinr@hudson.k12.oh.us to tell us who they are and what impact they have. A huge thanks to everyone who supports high school golf.

Federal League Update

In a huge match, the Lake Blue Streaks defeated the Hoover Vikings at Sable Creek on August 14th. Lake now has a considerable lead in the Federal League, looking to end Hoover’s reign at the top of the conference. The Blue Streaks won the Preseason Conference tournament before defeating Hoover head-to-head. There are still several matches left for both teams and the league tournament in September. Hoover and superstar senior Ellie Hutzler will not go down without a fight, however. It will be fun to see how this race shapes up.

Welcome to This Week in Golf (TWIG). We are looking to highlight special moments, school records, impactful people, and other unique stories as the golf season unfolds. We don’t hear about everything, so if there is something you would like to be included, please reach out to us on social media or email us with a small recap of what you would like to be posted.

Tournament Results

We are trying to keep tabs on all tournament scores. We will have separate pages for Conference Tournaments and Regular Tournaments. Any scores that are not posted, please feel free to send over (bolinr@hudson.k12.oh.us). Unfortunately, we aren’t able to post scores from 9 hole matches as there are too many to keep track of.

Low Scores

Kayla Knaze, a senior at Magnificat, had a day in Parma. The conditions at Ridgewood, by most accounts, were not as scorable as they had been in the past. That didn’t stop Knaze as she swept through the course with a record setting 63 on the par 72 setup. She had seven birdies and eagle in her bogey-free round. The eagle came on the 415 yard par 5 16th hole. There was a buzz around the golf course the rest of the day as people came and went through the fabulous new clubhouse. Confirmation on whether 63 is a course record has yet to come.

On Monday, Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble shined at Fox Den in Stow. Her five under par 66 vaulted the Brunswick Blue Devils to a win the Stow Lady Bulldog Invitational. Gonzalez-Ribble was locked in from the moment she stepped on the course, birdieing three holes on the front nine followed by birdies on three of the first five holes on the back nine. Her lone bogey came at the difficult 15th hole and she managed to finish with three straight pars to easily lap the field at Fox Den.

Sister-Sister

The connection between both Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble’s and Kayla Knaze’s stellar rounds this past week is that they both have younger sisters who played amazing. We don’t want to overlook how good the rounds of Emma Gonzalez-Ribble and Korrine Knaze were on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Emma Gonzalez-Ribble shot a 75 at Fox Den to tie for 4th place overall in Brunswick’s tournament victory. Korrine Knaze shot an amazing 69 to finish second overall only to Kayla at Ridgewood as Magnificat shot a tournament record 285, nearly breaking their school record for the lowest score. The golf gene is a real thing and these two groups of incredible sisters are showing it on a daily basis.

There are some other pairs of sisters to keep an eye on. Ellie Hutzler and Frankie Hutzler are the top two golfers at Hoover High School and are pacing the Vikings to make a run at another conference championship this year. Willa Streeter has developed into one of the top golfers at St. Joseph Academy and her sister Izzy is right behind her competing in several events for the Jaguars. While Kaylee Kirk is on her senior year tour at Riverside, sophomore Madison Kirk is waiting in the wings to take over in the lineup. In Chagrin Falls, there is a new Venorsky in town. We have become accustomed to the game of Natalie Venorksy over the last four years, but her freshman sister Olivia is already making an impact. She will be a mainstay for the Tigers moving forward. The same can be said at Champion, where freshman Bobbi Woods is looking to add to the already deep roster that includes older sister Brilea Woods.

At Wooster, not only are Ava and Ella Scott sisters, but they are twin sisters, and the Generals are relying heavily on both their scores as they look to make a splash from the far reaches of the Northeast District. Both Ava and Ella play a similar brand of golf and we are sure the competitiveness is at an all time high in the Scott household. Medina twin sisters Natalie and Olivia Maybaum are in the same boat, both contributing significantly to the Bees this season. With the dissolution of the Our Lady of Elms golf programs, St. Vincent-St. Mary hit the jackpot as they received both of the top players from the Elms program. And guess what, they are twin sisters as well! Brooklyn and Gracelyn Berkowitz were exactly what the Irish needed as the move their way back up into competitiveness this season.

While they aren’t both playing, there is a big sister connection in Brecksville as Coach Sylvia Stibley gets to coach her younger sister, Claire, who is a sophomore this season. Claire got some playing time as a freshman and looks to fight her way into the lineup this season as well. Brecksville has gotten off to a fast start this season and will continue to make their run through the Suburban League.

We know there are more sets of sisters currently on rosters out there. Let us know who we missed so we can spotlight them in future TWIG columns.

A Roller Coaster Season

Yes, we use that term often as most golf teams go up and down throughout the year. The term was much more literal last week as several teams headed out to Sandusky to not only take on some formidable golf opponents at Sawmill Creek Golf Course in Huron, but also to take on opponents such as Steel Vengeance, Gatekeeper, and Millennium Force at Cedar Point. Even with a heavy shower that halted the amusement for about an hour, the girls had an amazing time at Cedar Point and made memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

In tournament action, Magnificat had another impressive performance as they finished first in a State Championship quality field at Sawmill Creek. Hudson and Revere were the second and third Northeast Ohio teams to finish in the tournament with sixth and ninth place finishes respectfully.

Due to a lack of autocorrect on a certain not-to-be-named coach’s cell phone, a new golf term was coined overnight in Northwest Ohio. We will soon be reaching out to both Miriam-Webster and the Oxford English Dictionary to include the word glooded, which is defined as “a golf course immensely saturated with water, including standing water in many places, but is still playable.” Sawmill Creek was certainly glooded on Thursday, but a huge credit to the entire staff of the resort and course that made it playable and welcomed all the teams for an amazing event.

The Coaster Classic was hosted by Brunswick and Coach Chad Thompson, who had a vision and made it a reality. We are hoping that the Coaster Classic becomes a staple tournament in the state of Ohio for years to come.

PAC and MAC

It is wonderful to see conference tournaments expanding. The Principals Athletic Conference Preseason Tournament this year featured six teams this year, up from four last season. With the addition of Triway and Manchester, nearly the entire league is fielding girls golf teams, which is a huge step forward for our game. Congratulations to Canton South for winning the tournament.

Soon the PAC Tournament will also feature the Cloverleaf Colts. But they have business to take care of first. Kent Roosevelt invaded the Metro Conference and made a huge statement in the first tournament at Pine Valley. Cloverleaf and Kent will play a huge head-to-head match later this season and will also compete in the conference postseason tournament. Cloverleaf will have some work to do to compete with Kent and will rely heavily on senior Quinn Malarkey, who outplayed Kent’s Brooke Beatty by two shots in the first tournament. Kent Roosevelt has been a staple in the girls golf scene going on two decades now under the direction of Coach Bryan Harvey. After competing for years with Highland in the Suburban League, Kent landed in the Metro Conference and have already made a big impact on the girls golf scene, as they look to oust Cloverleaf from the top spot.

More Conference Races

Two conferences have already hosted their second conference tournaments of the year, both this past Friday. Brunswick, back to full strength, jumped back into a tie with Riverside as they dominated at Big Met to win the GCC Tournament. Revere and Hudson both had victories in the second Suburban League Tournament. Each conference still has two tournaments remaining, all in September.

Outside the Northeast

We have a few teams that fall out of our coverage area that still are big contributors to Northeast Ohio golf. One of those teams is Minerva, who has gotten off to a hot start this season after making it to the State Tournament last year. With recent wins over United and Massillon, the Lions have improved to 6-0 on the year. In tournament action, Minerva won their Invitational, won the Garaway Invitational, and won the Tri-County Conference Preseason Tournament. It has been a fun stretch for the Lions as they look to repeat as East District champions.

Welcome to This Week in Golf (TWIG). We are looking to highlight special moments, school records, impactful people, and other unique stories as the golf season unfolds. We don’t hear about everything, so if there is something you would like to be included, please reach out to us on social media or email us with a small recap of what you would like to be posted.

Tournament Results

We are trying to keep tabs on all tournament scores. We will have separate pages for Conference Tournaments and Regular Tournaments. Any scores that are not posted, please feel free to send over (bolinr@hudson.k12.oh.us). Unfortunately, we aren’t able to post scores from 9 hole matches as there are too many to keep track of.

Buckeye Bucks

On Wednesday, August 5th, the Buckeye Bucks played their first girls golf match in over 20 years as they have recreated their girls program this year. Fittingly, it was junior Angelina Vannello who hit the first tee shot on hole 10 at Coppertop Golf Course as the Bucks hosted Hudson. Vannello and graduated senior Grace Palermo are the most recent Buckeye golfers to compete in OHSAA girls tournaments, and now Angelina will be the leader of the new look Bucks.

More New Programs

There is no clearer evidence that the game is growing than seeing schools start girls golf programs. The Manchester Panthers and Triway Titans both have new teams this year with very high participation numbers. Ashley Midock will be at the helm in Manchester as she looks to build their program up and prepare her two daughters to become future Panthers. Jay Winans has plenty of coaching experience at both Smithville and Triway as he will lead the Titans in 2026.

School Records

The first week of the season tends to be when school records get shattered at a frantic pace, especially in schools where there are some new impact players. That is the case at Champion High School as they welcome in Bobbi Woods to join their already strong team featuring her sister, Brilea, and sophomore sensation Avery Robinette. The Flashes have played in three matches and have broken the school record each time. That is a good indicator that Champion will be a team in contention come late September.

Hole in One

Congratulations to Chardon senior Riley McKenna, who recorded a hole in one on the 4th hole at St. Denis Golf Course during the first day of tryouts!

Federal League Shocker

The Lake Blue Streaks came to play at the preseason Federal League Tournament, finishing ahead of multiple defending champion Hoover by ten shots, and lapping the rest of the field. Lake was led by juniors Charlie Brophy and Jamie Burns, who tied for second in the tournament with 81s at The Elms. Hoover senior Ellie Hutzler easily won the individual crown with an even par 72. Hoover will be out for revenge, making this a very fun race in the Federal League.