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.

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

A few more conference champions were crowned last week. Congratulations to the Hoover Vikings on winning their fourth consecutive Federal League Championship. Brunswick swept all four tournaments to win their first ever Greater Cleveland Conference Championship. In the Suburban League, Highland took all four American Division tournaments and Nordonia won all four in the National Division.

Sectional Results

The Division 2 District field is set. As predicted, the Keystone Wildcats and Columbiana Clippers both easily won their Sectional championships, and also as predicted, the Punderson Sectional proved to be a battle royale. Punderson was packed with several quality teams that would probably have advanced from the other two sites, but only four teams were able to advance to Good Park. In the end, four total strokes separated the Sectional Champion from the sixth place team. Lake Catholic was the team that prevailed, earning a one shot victory over Southeast and Chagrin Falls with a 369. Fourth place went to Gilmour Academy, as they edged out both Orange and Edgewood by a single shot. Medalists from each Sectional were junior Anuja Patel of Orange from Punderson with a 76, freshman Avery Robinette of Champion from Pine Lakes with a 79, and sophomore Sophia Clarico of Keystone from Pine Lakes with a 79. A full list of teams and individuals headed to Good Park on Wednesday can be found at this link.

Hole in One

Another Hole in One! Congratulations to St. Joseph Academy junior Willa Streeter who got her ace at the New Albany Co-Ed Invitational at the Links at Echo Springs!

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

Tons of Conference races have wrapped up over the past week. If we missed anything or got anything wrong, please let us know.

Here is a list of conference champions that we know about:

AAC- Canfield
CVC- TBA
Federal League- Hoover leads (Postseason Tournament pending)
GCC- Brunswick leads (Tournament #4 pending)
LEGGA- Keystone
MVAC- Southeast
MAC- Cloverleaf
NCC- NDCL
PAC- TBA
SWC- Avon
Suburban (American)- Highland leads (Tournament #4 pending)
Suburban (National)- Nordonia leads (Tournament #4 pending)
Tri-County- TBA
WRC- Kenston/Riverside

Hole in One

It seems like we are seeing a hole in one every week in our This Week in Golf column. Congratulations to Norton senior Abigail Collins on her ace at Pine Valley during the Metro Conference Postseason Tournament on Tuesday!

Congratulations to senior golfer Abigail Collins who got a hole in one at the girls’ MAC Golf Tournament today! #GoPanthers pic.twitter.com/GuP0OPbr0u

— Norton Panthers Athletics Insider (@nhsath_insider) September 16, 2025

Terlesky Invitational

The Highland Hornets and the Southeast Pirates took the crowns in their respective divisions at the annual Christine Terlesky Invitational at The Lake Club. Teams rave about how well they are treated at this tournament and 2025 was no exception. Highland took the big school division with a 320 while Southeast fired a 362 to win the small school division. Elizabeth Coleman of Highland shot 70 to take medalist honors in the D1 category while Olivia Norris of Lakeview shot 82 for the D2 medalist position.

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

We are starting to get close to Conference Tournament Season and there are some really good races to watch. The Southwestern Conference is still up for grabs as Avon, Avon Lake, and Olmsted Falls are battling it out to the finish. Lake Catholic and Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin continue to go back and forth in the North Coast Conference. Chagrin Falls and Orange are struggling for Chagrin Valley Conference Supremacy. Keystone appears they may run away with the Lake Erie Girls Golf Association but are still getting some pushback from Rocky River.

In many other cases, the conference championships are all but wrapped up. Hoover has a commanding lead in the Federal League, Nordonia sits high atop the Suburban League National Division, while Highland once again is dominating the Suburban League American Division, and Brunswick has pretty much locked up the Greater Cleveland Conference.

Low Scores

United set a new 18 hole school record at Salem Hills in the Ursuline Invitational. They bested their previous record of 415 by a whopping 20 shots. The 395 marks the first time in school history that the Eagles have broken 400 as a team.

The Medina Invitational has traditionally featured some remarkable scoring. 2025 was no exception. Magnificat broke 300 as a team as they won the tournament with a 295, eleven strokes better than second place Walsh Jesuit. Individual scores were off the charts. Elizabeth Coleman set a Highland High School and Medina County record by shooting a 9 under par 63 at Fox Meadow Country Club. Brunswick’s Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble, also setting her own school record, and Solon’s Serena Wu finished with matching 7 under par 65s. Also under par were Magnificat’s Calli Reed with a 68 and Korrine Knaze with a 70.

Shout Out

Marti Hardy, the head coach at Laurel School has been a constant bright spot in the high school girls golf scene. A huge thank you to Marti, Laurel School, and Canterbury Golf Club for giving back to high school golf. The course saw two days of excellent play from the boys at the Kiely Cup then opened up for the girls event last Tuesday. Nobody does it better than Canterbury, and their amazing staff led by head pro Jason Carbone. Mike Kiely, the legendary caddie master at Canterbury, could be seen all three days supporting all the players at the Cleveland golf mecca. Thank you so much to all involved!

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

North Coast Conference supremacy was decided at Black Brook Golf Course in Mentor and it came down to the closest margin possible in a high school golf match. Notre Dame Cathedral Latin and Lake Catholic matched 180 scores and went to the fifth score tiebreaker. NDCL’s Taylor Wallingford shot a 51, which was one shot better than Lake Catholic’s Koreen Leukulich. NDCL took the match and gives them a big conference victory. Alexis Urigel of NDCL was the medalist with a 38.

Hoover continues to roll in the Federal League. Led by Ellie and Frankie Hutzler, the Vikings stayed undefeated with two match victories this past week.

Weekly Recap

Magnificat took home yet another title by winning the girls side of the Brunswick Coed Classic with a team score of 308, holding off Highland by 12 strokes. Blue Streak golfer Korrine Knaze tied with Amelia Buettner from Olentangy Orange for medalist honors. Walsh Jesuit won on the boys side and the Warriors were able to take the overall crown.

Speaking of Magnificat and the Brunswick Coed Classic, top golfer Calli Reed carded a hole in one on the 16th hole at Pine Hills. She became the third member of her family to get an ace in a high school match.

Rootstown continues to have their best season in school history. They have already shot their school record for best nine hole score and they are coming close to matching it every time on the course. This week they had a close loss to Copley and win over Lake Center Christian.

Teams to Watch

As Sectionals quickly approach, here are a couple teams to keep an eye on:

The Lake Blue Streaks have put up some good numbers this year. The team seems to go as their number one player, Charlie Brophy, goes. Lake is a team that has some good depth and experienced players and could surprise some teams.

Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin is not back to the team they were in the mid-2010s, but they are definitely on the right track. They could compete for a return to the District Tournament this season.

North Royalton is looking to jump ahead of some teams at the Fox Den Sectional. They have the potential to cause some waves as they keep getting better throughout the year.

Revere is another team at Fox Den to watch for. They are looking primed to get to the District Tournament and with a good round from a couple of their key players, they could go even further than that.

Keystone is the highest ranked team in Division 2 right now and they are rolling. The Wildcats are looking to get to the State Tournament as a team and sophomore Sophia Clarico may help them do that.

Tuslaw is a team that is looking to get out of The Pines Sectional. They have one of the youngest teams in Northeast Ohio and are competing with some much bigger schools in their regular season matches. The Mustangs will have a say in what goes on later this month.

Giving Back

Last week, the St. Joseph Academy golf team could be found at St. Herman’s Homeless Shelter bagging lunches for those in need. A huge shoutout to Coach Maureen Adler and her team for doing good things in the community.

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

The Southwestern Conference continues to be one of the tightest races we have seen. Avon got a huge win over Olmsted Falls on Tuesday. Emma Fitch led the Eagles with a 42. Avon, Avon Lake, and Olmsted Falls are all now tied at the top of the SWC head to head match standings.

Cloverleaf stayed undefeated in Metro Conference play and continues their MAC dominance. Quinn Malarky continues to put up good numbers for the Colts.

Hudson defeated Nordonia in a close match in difficult conditions on Thursday at Ellsworth Meadows. Elena Varga shot 36 to lead the Explorers. The Suburban League does not take individual matches into consideration and Nordonia still controls their own destiny in the National Division. Highland is in the same position in the American Division.

Weekly Recap

Grey Hawk Golf Club proved to be very challenging as Brunswick hosted a shootout there on Friday. Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble of Brunswick may disagree. Her -4 68 easily topped the entire field. Magnificat brought home the tournament victory.

Brunswick took the title at the Rocky River Invitational at Big Met on Wednesday. Ellie Gonzalez-Ribble was again the medalist as she carded a 74.

Elizabeth Coleman is making a run at being the best golfer in the state. The Highland senior took home medalist honors at the Country Club of Hudson as her Hornets took home the team championship in the Walsh Jesuit Invitational.

The Minerva Lions stayed undefeated on the season as they set yet another school record shooting 163 against West Branch on Thursday.

This year, we have started a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Conference Updates

At Twin Lakes on Thursday, Cloverleaf and Norton visited the Streetsboro Rockets in the most significant MAC matchup of the season. Cloverleaf pulled out a narrow four shot victory over Streetsboro and Norton finished in 3rd place. Quinn Malarkey of Cloverleaf led the scoring with a 45 on the tricky Sandy Alves design.

The Southwestern Conference is going to feature a fun race to watch throughout the year. While Avon and Avon Lake tend to be the favorites in the conference, it is the Olmsted Falls Bulldogs who are currently sitting atop the league standings. Olmsted Falls had a huge win against Avon Lake at Springvale and now control their own destiny to win the league title.

In the Federal League, North Canton Hoover continues their streak of superiority. The Vikings easily took the first league tournament and are currently undefeated in league matches once again in 2025. Ellie Hutzler has proven to be not only the top player in the league but one of the best in Northeast Ohio.

Nordonia and Highland both have gotten off to strong starts in their respective divisions of the Suburban League. Highland continues their dominance while Nordonia has won both tournaments by slim margins over Hudson. Elizabeth Coleman from Highland has reached a whole new level of golf acumen and is playing the best of her life. Natalie Barnes is still the top golfer at Nordonia but it has really been senior Maddie Eisner who has been the key for their success. She posted both her best 18 hole score and best 9 hole score within a week of each other.

Keystone having a good team is not a surprise to anyone, but just how good they are might be turning some heads. The Wildcats took full control of the first LEGGA tournament and have put up some really low numbers so far this season. Most of that is due to serious improvement from their supporting cast. Rocky River might still have something to say in the conference but Keystone is going to be hard to catch.

The Brunswick Blue Devils dominated both of the first two Greater Cleveland Conference tournaments, winning by 43 strokes at Ridgewood and 61 strokes at Big Met. The Blue Devils should be able to cruise to a GCC Title.

Canfield will easily run away with the All American Conference again this year but they have their sights set much higher. This is the culmination of developing a core group of players and the results speak for themselves. Look for the Cardinals to make a run in Sectionals and Districts this year.

Baum’s Page

Gary Baumgartner created Baumspage to keep track of wrestling results well over a decade ago. He then offered his website to the OHSAA to keep track of multiple sports including golf. In 2025 Baumspage is still going strong and is a wonderful resource for coaches, administrators, and media. Even with the advent of live scoring in OHSAA events, Baumspage is still a go to place for OHSAA golf information.

Weekly Recap

Our stats are not nearly good enough to track this, but we may have witnessed the greatest one day turnaround in the history of high school golf last week. The Strongsville Mustangs struggled at Lake Forest in the Lady Explorer Invitational and put up a score of 484, possibly the highest score in Strongsville golf history. The following day at the Flamingo Frenzy, Strongsville shot 363 with nearly the same lineup, an improvement of 121 shots in a one day period. If the trend continues, the Mustangs will look to have a strong finish this fall.

A team to watch out for this year is Lake Catholic. The Cougars have been building up their program over the last several years and they have put themselves in a place to contend for a District and possibly even a State Tournament berth. Lake Catholic is led by seniors Emma Madsen and Ella Zampedro, while fellow senior Angela Kerwood and sophomore Mao Edwards have stepped up in a huge way.

Good things are happening in Stark County as the Canton South Wildcats won back to back tournaments earlier this season. At The Pines, in the Principals Athletic Conference Tournament, Canton South  Each girl on the team had their personal best score. It was the first time in Canton South history for three scores in the 90s and it was their team record low at The Pines.

Ace Alert

Hudson junior Elena Varga recorded her first ever hole in one on the 6th hole at Brookledge Golf Course on Friday during a practice round. She used a 7 iron on the 150 yard par 3. Congratulations Elena!

This year, we will be starting a new column of local golf quick hitters called 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.

Our first ever This Week in Golf will actually be covering a couple weeks. We plan to release these each weekend throughout the season.

Special Moments

Cardinal High School in Middlefield is fielding a girls golf team for the first time in school history. Their season is underway and something special is brewing for the Huskies.

There are several new coaches around Northeast Ohio this season. Kevin Fitch (in his second tenure) of Avon Lake and Grace May at Cloverleaf have both hit the ground running. The Shoregals may very well be the favorites to win the SWC and the Colts are already dominating the Metro Conference with the help of their superstar Quinn Malarkey.

Big Shots

Avery Olson from Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy recorded a hole in one on the 9th hole at Fox Den Golf Course in a match against Notre Dame Cathedral Latin.

Hudson boys golfer Barrett Atchison recorded an albatross on the 7th hole at Pine Hills during the Brunswick Tee Off Classic. Amazingly, it was Barrett’s second albatross this summer!

Not to be outdone, Walsh Jesuit senior Ben Vasas got an ace on the par 4 5th hole at Turkeyfoot Golf Links, which also goes down as an albatross on the scorecard.

School Records

We can’t even keep up with the Brunswick Blue Devils right now. They are setting school records right and left. The most recent came at the second GCC Tournament, where they blew away the field shooting a 306.

At Ridgewood Golf Course in Parma, St. Joseph Academy had all five players in their lineup shoot their career best score. The Jaguars also set a school record in the process, shooting 303. Emerson Glending also was the tournament medalist with a two under par 70.

Champion High School and freshman superstar Avery Robinette will be constantly rewriting the school record books this year. The team has already set their nine hole record and Avery has set the school record, shooting a 35 in the team’s first match.

The Rootstown Rovers are getting better every year. Their 176 at Sable Creek earlier this month is the new point of reference for best nine hole round in school history. This is another team that’s just going to keep improving.

Minerva, even though they are not technically in the Northeast District, are an honorary member of our coverage area. The Lions have already set two 18 hole school records as they look to make a run through Districts and possibly to State.

Best of the Best

As far as we know, Magnificat has won every tournament they have played in this year. The Blue Streaks are on their way to competing for their second consecutive State Championship. Recently the team shot a 287, one under par as a team, at Ridgewood Golf Course. This came less than 24 hours after winning the Lady Explorer Invitational, a tournament that has one of the best fields in the state of Ohio.

As expected, Walsh Jesuit is the real deal this year. The Warriors have performed well in each of their events and they have all the key pieces needed to go to State.

We still don’t know how they do it every year, but Highland has been remarkable at reloading their roster with quality players and developing their players into exceptional golfers. The Hornets once again are a favorite to get to the State Tournament, but there are many talented teams trying to chase them down.

Shout Outs

There are many individuals that significantly contribute to showcasing our local high school teams.

Susan Jenior has been covering golf in Portage Country pretty much forever. If you want to stay on the beat of all the teams in the area, her articles can be found on Tom Nader’s fantastic Portage County Sports website.

Kevin Leigh, athletic director at Padua High School, runs one of the finest tournaments in Northeast Ohio, the Lady Bruin Invitational at Pine Hills, every year.

Personally, we want to thank golf director John Goodson and superintendent Tom Bolon along with their amazing staff at Lake Forest Country Club for making the Lady Explorer Invitational one of the premier tournaments in the state of Ohio. This year the course was absolutely stunning and was extremely challenging yet impressively fair.

Dave Chuba and Ridgewood Golf Course have been incredible to work with. When someone comes to you with the idea of having 123 girls play golf dressed as flamingos, saying yes is not a guarantee. Dave and his staff have embraced the Flamingo Frenzy and the tournament has become a favorite of many teams in the area.

Being a girl golfer at a school that does not have a girls golf team can be very challenging. We have many girls who represent themselves and Northeast Ohio girls golf in the boys game on a regular basis. Some players that we have recently run across are Grace Palermo from Buckeye High School, Sophia Goheen from Western Reserve Academy, Olivia Andregg from Lakewood High School, Maggie Kothera from Kirtland High School, Alaina Sovacool from Barberton High School, and Sophie Whang from Beachwood High School. Keep up the good work!

If you stopped by Washington Park Golf Center in Newburgh Heights in the morning of the first Saturday of the golf season, you would have seen no less than four high school teams getting in work. A huge thank you to Washington Park and the rest of the Cleveland Metroparks golf courses for being so supportive of local girls golf.

The Chagrin Valley Conference probably does the best job of showcasing its girls golf teams. Make sure to follow along on their website.

Conference Battles

Avon and Avon Lake are once again going to be in a battle for Southwestern Conference Supremacy. Avon Lake recently won the Edison tournament with Avon finishing second. This sets up some real drama as conference play gets underway.

Nordonia and Hudson have been going back and forth since the beginning of this decade. The Knights won the first Suburban League tournament on a 5th score tiebreaker and finished strong to take the second league tournament by seven shots at Fox Den. Hudson will need to finish first in both of the remaining tournaments to claim a share of the title.

Minerva, Carrollton, Louisville, and Massillon were all within a few strokes of each other in the Preseason Tri-County tournament. Minerva edged out Carrollton by four strokes and Louisville by six. This will be a fun race to watch.

The Miller Cup

We had never heard of the Miller Cup before this year. It is an annual tradition where the CVC takes on the WRC in a multi-format round of golf at Erie Shores. This year the WRC took the title as they won 11 of the 17 available points in the tournament featuring partner match play, partner scramble, and alternate shot.

Flamingo Thief

Caitrin Coyle from St. Vincent-St. Mary wanted a lasting memory of the Parma Flamingo Frenzy so she escaped from Ridgewood with one of our signature flamingo tee markers. We typically don’t condone petty larceny at Ohio High School Golf, but we’ll let it slide this time.