WHEELING – Day one of the two-day 2024 WVSSAC state golf tournament got underway on Tuesday under sunny skies on the Jones Course at Olgebay Resort in Wheeling.
Seven golfers from Monongalia County teed off on a crisp morning in both team and individual competition.
In Class A, junior Ryan Parker of Clay-Battelle also earned an individual qualifying spot and made his school’s first appearance at the state golf tournament since 2012.
The University Hawks entered the state tournament as Region I champions in Class AAA with the foursome of seniors Daniel Grabo, who was also the individual co-champion for Region I, senior Adam Argabrite, junior Owen Estel, and sophomore Will Biddington.
Morgantown High’s duo of senior Gabe Watson and junior Solas Chhin-Kreiner each earned a spot in the field of 40 for Class AAA as individual qualifiers out of Region I.
The Hawks ended the day in third place after the first round in the Class AAA team standings with a score of +32 (245), four strokes behind Hurricane for second.
Senior Adam Argabrite fired the low round for the Hawks on Tuesday with an impressive 9-over, 80. Estel shot +10, and Biddington added a 12-over, 84 to round out the UHS score.
UHS coach Barry Kolar says his team’s consistency worked well for them today in the opening round.
“The course played tough today and the pins were in some difficult places,” Kolar said. “A couple of our players had a chance to shoot in the mid-70’s and ended up a little higher than they wanted but we are happy to be carding the scores we have and are looking to come out and improve on the things we didn’t do well today.”
MHS head coach Christian Root assessed the rounds his players produced after round one on Tuesday, saying he was happy with how Watson and Chhin-Kreiner battled after a missed shot or when things got tough.
Watson ended the day tied for seventh in the individual standings for Class AAA. The senior shot 7-over, 42 on the front nine (starting on hole 10), then turned around with a solid 1-over 37 to close out his first round at +8 on the day to put him within reach of the leaders at +2. Watson took advantage of his distance on the longer holes, as he shot 2-under on the three par-5’s.
“Gabe had a great round today,” Root said. “After a rough start on the first nine, he did something I don’t typically see from him on the golf course; he smiled. We’ve been working all year at staying in the moment and not getting ahead of himself during his round or overthinking. I think he was able to remember those things and it helped him turn it around today and keep himself in contention. We will be looking for him to continue that play tomorrow.”
His teammate, Chhin-Kreiner, sits tied for 15th at 12-over par.
Ryan Parker of Clay-Battelle ended his first round tied for 33rd at +35.
Day two of the state golf tournament will begin bright and early this morning at the Jones Course in Wheeling. The first groups will tee off at 8:30 a.m.
