In their first year as a member of the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference, the Southeast Pirates ran away with the championship as they made a magical run to the State Tournament. Even with losing a generational talent in Taylor Blazek, Southeast will still be primed to repeat as conference champions. Picking up the slack for the Pirates will be sophomore Samantha Morgan, a star in the making. Senior Aubree Varga will join sisters Jessi and Jennifer Mix, a senior and sophomore respectively, to create a dynamic top four players. Champion will be relying on an incoming freshman to help them compete for the conference. Avery Robinette is a highly touted player and should immediately make a huge impact for the Flashes. Mineral Ridge has done a terrific job of balancing out their lineup and have added a huge freshman class that should bode very well for them this season and in the future. LaBrae will return an experienced roster and should have a strong 2025 campaign. Garfield and McDonald will round out the competition in a conference that is gaining ground in Northeast Ohio.

Impact Players

Lily Briggs (SR) LaBrae
Riley Mills (JR) McDonald
Jennifer Mix (SO) Southeast
Jessi Mix (SR) Southeast
Samantha Morgan (SO) Southeast
Riley Rowe (JR) LaBrae
Isabella Showalter (JR) Mineral Ridge
Mia Sloan (SR) LaBrae
Addison Snyder (JR) Garfield
Alayna Valley (JR) Mineral Ridge
Aubree Varga (SR) Southeast
Brilea Woods (JR) Champion

Freshmen to Watch

Aurora Apanazewitz (Mineral Ridge)
Olivia Boggs (Champion)
Ripley Farnsworth (Mineral Ridge)
Madalyn Hagman (Champion)
Leah Hendrick (Champion)
Makenna Keefe (Southeast)
Kerrigan Kucera (Mineral Ridge)
Emily Morrison (Southeast)
Alyssa Roberts (Champion)
Avery Robinette (Champion)
Holland Svirbly (Mineral Ridge)

Champion Golden Flashes

Head Coach- Ken Haynie
Last Year’s Results- 12th at Pine Lakes Sectional
Coach’s Comments- Champion is looking to rebound from last year. Freshman Avery Robinette leads a strong group of incoming freshman to go with our upperclassmen. Avery Robinette and Brilea Woods are players to watch.

Garfield G-Men

Head Coach- Kevin Sponaugle
Last Year’s Results- 15th at Punderson Sectional

LaBrae Vikings

Head Coach- John Pugh
Last Year’s Results- 2nd at Pine Lakes Sectional, 8th at Good Park District

McDonald Blue Devils

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

Mineral Ridge Rams

Head Coach- Nicholas Flaviano
Last Year’s Results- 6th at Pine Lakes Sectional, 15-5 runner up in conference and Trumbull county
Coach’s Comments- A bad attitude is worse than a bad swing. Attitude is EVERYTHING!

Southeast Pirates

Head Coach- Cindy Fesemyer
Last Year’s Results- 1st at Punderson Sectional, 1st at Good Park District, 5th at State Tournament, League Champions, League record 14-0, Overall record 20-0
Coach’s Comments- We are very excited and optimistic about the upcoming season. The girls have been working hard all summer and they know what it takes to be successful. Taylor Blazek will certainly be missed but she left behind a legacy of determination and dedication! Taylor will be playing golf this fall at Gannon University. Sammy Morgan has spent the summer playing in some tough tournaments and has gained valuable experience. Jessi and Jenni Mix are following close behind competing in their share of tournaments. Sophomore Kristen Dillon, Freshmen Emily Morrison and Makenna Keefe will add extra depth to our lineup. They are hitting the ball exceptionally well early in the season. With all that said, as long as we continue to grow as a team, stay focused and encourage one another good things can happen!

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.

The Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference continues to grow and become more of a factor in the Northeast Ohio Girls Golf landscape. The league has good balance between the five teams, who are all growing programs. In 2023, the Champion Golden Flashes, coming off a District appearance, look to be the top team in the conference, followed closely by LaBrae, Garfield, under new coach Kevin Sponaugle, Newton Falls, and Mineral Ridge, who will have an influx of young players to add to their core.

Impact Players

Aubree Brunton (JR) Mineral Ridge
Kennady Grace (SR) Champion
Kayla Haynie (SR) Champion
Kennedy Howard (JR) Newton Falls
Madison Touart (JR) LaBrae
Madison Woconish (SR) Garfield

Freshmen to Watch

Isabella Showalter (Mineral Ridge)
Savannah Turek (Mineral Ridge)
Alayna Valley (Mineral Ridge)
Ally Zolka (Mineral Ridge)

Champion Golden Flashes

Head Coach- Elisa Morello
Last Year’s Results- 4th at Pine Lakes Sectional, 10th at Districts

Garfield G-Men

Head Coach- Kevin Sponaugle
Last Year’s Results- 15th at Punderson Sectional

LaBrae Vikings

Head Coach- John Pugh
Last Year’s Results- 8th at Pine Lakes Sectional

McDonald Blue Devils

Head Coach- Matt Vukovic/Zavier Bokan
Last Year’s Results- No team last year
Coach Comments- This will be the first season ever for the a girls’ team in McDonald. There is a lot to learn, but the girls are soaking things up like a sponge. This will be a fun year to show a lot of growth from everyone.

Mineral Ridge Rams

Head Coach- Nicholas Flaviano
Last Year’s Results- 13th at Pine Lakes Sectional
Coach Comments- Last year was only our second year for girls golf and we finished the season at 7-13; we improved immensely from year one.

Newton Falls Tigers

Head Coach- Zach Parent
Last Year’s Results- 16th at Pine Lakes Sectional