The first week of the season yielded positive outcomes on all fronts for the blue and gold.
The Saint Ignatius golf program's varsity, JV Gold, and JV Blue teams all posted impressive results last week, culminating in a nice weekend for the men of Ohio City.
It's safe to say that the PJ Myers '99 era is off to a great start.
Starting with the varsity squad, a group of six Wildcats trekked to Cincinnati on Saturday for the St. Xavier Invitational. The Bombers previously traveled to the Saint Ignatius Invite earlier last week, so the Wildcats returned the favor by traveling to Maketewah Country Club for a great day of competition.
All in all, the day went well for the Wildcats. Amidst a strong field, the Golf Cats tabbed a score of 295, good enough for second in the team standings. Only Lakota East (292) bested the Wildcats.
Andrew Kaye did not leave empty-handed, however, as the senior won his second straight medalist trophy. The dynamic veteran continued his excellent start to the season, recording a score of 69 on Saturday.
Topher Reed also enjoyed a great day. The sophomore carved a score of 71, tying for second with an Upper Arlington golfer. Reed completed Week 1 with another outstanding effort, showing off his prowess and consistency on the course.
Nick Longano navigated the course well on Saturday, carding a 75. His tally tied him for 10th amidst some very strong golfers. Ross Williamson and Nick Piesen followed Longano in the standings, each marking down an 80 at the end of the day. Andrew Martin rounded out the squad with a score of 85.
The Wildcats will look to start off Week 2 well, as the squad heads east for the Hudson Invitational at Hudson Country Club.
On Friday, before the varsity team gallivanted off to the Queen City, Tom Beach's charges headed south for a shorter trip to Stark County. The JV Gold/Varsity B squad partook in the Tannehauf Invitational at Tannehauf Golf Club in Alliance.
Competing against varsity teams, the JV Gold squad acquitted itself well, finishing fifth. The Wildcats tallied a score of 328, just eight strokes off from the winning team from Dover High School (320).
Liam Doyle led the charge for the Cats, shooting a 78. Connor Warns followed his lead with an 82. Braden Hilditch corraled an 84, continuing a strong freshman campaign. JR Leedy and John Thompson each marked down an 85, while MJ Myers rolled an 86.
As a team, the scores marked a stepdown from a marvelous 310 at Red Tail earlier in the week. But Beach's boys faced a tougher course on Friday. Tannehauf features many tight fairways and very hard greens, making the scoring harder than the course rating and slope of 71.2/121.
Even still, the Wildcats' effort stands as impressive. The team will be back in action on Tuesday at the Titan Cup, hosted by St. John's Jesuit High School in Toledo.
Late last week, Tom Bogen's boys reveled in their best performance of the year to date. The JV Blue Cats rocked the competition at the Strongsville Classic, totaling 294 at Bunker Hill.
John Thompson played a big part in the success. The youngster earned medalist honors with an impressive score of 71. Not bad for a freshman!
Michael O'Leary finished not far behind with a marvelous score of 74. Michael Van Etten enjoyed a similarly pleasing day on the course, tallying a 79. Domenic Pilla and Connor Keefe also recorded varsity-type numbers with scores of 80 and 81, respectively.
The JV Blue Cats will be back on the course on Tuesday, facing the Preppers of University School at Little Mountain Golf Club at 7:30 am.