BY MATTHEW PEASLEE
MORGANTOWN — All varsity members of the Morgantown High golf team are back from the 2020 season. In all, there are 18 golfers out for the 2021 Mohigans, whose home course is The Pines Country Club.
“It’s going to be nice to have this group for in-house matches and battles for positions,” head coach Joel Barrett said. “It’s good for their development. We have a lot of kids and it’s a competitive team. We have golfers who love to play and who want to get better every time out.”
MHS won its first tri-match of the season against Buckhannon-Upshur and University on Monday with a team score of 160. Barrett said he expects the team score to stay around that mark for most of the matches.
“We looked good. We showed up and played well,” Barrett said. “Everybody seemed to have smiles on their faces being back on the golf course, which is always a good thing. I’m rather pleased with where we are.”
Conner Decker, Avery McMillan, Owen Newbold, Isabella Ferrell, Braxton Martucci and Alec Poland are in the top rotation for the Mohigans. Barrett said they all have nice experience and have the potential to score in the low 40s every time out.
A group of freshman golfers are also ready to make their mark on the team.
“Some of the young kids that we have coming up spend their days at The Pines,” Barrett said. “They take lessons and are always on the course practicing. They’re working on their games and they aren’t too far off of the top scores as freshmen. So, our future is looking bright.
“They are in the upper 40s now but if they can shave a few strokes off on the putting green they are right in the thick of it. I fully believe we’ll see them getting some varsity time this year.”
The 2020 season was disruptive for the Mohigans due to the rising COVID-19 numbers and red level of Monongalia County. Barrett acknowledged that the team was rusty heading into the regional match and he knows his group is hungrier this year.
Morgantown did not have a state qualifier last year and that has the potential to change this year.
“They’re competitive and they can score well,” Barrett said. “We were lacking a competitive fire heading into the regional match last year just due to how many distractions there were. That will change this year because we’ve gotten better and now we’re ready to show it.”
The Mohigans recently took part in the Callaway High School Series Tour at the Jones Course in Oglebay Resort. The tournament featured more than 30 teams from around the region.
Morgantown is also looking forward to early-season matchups in Fairmont, as well as a return trip to Wheeling to face Wheeling Park.
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