EAHS Golf preview

(The E-town golf team will be led by, from left, Nico Givens, Sam Hockley, Ben Grabowski and Ryan Shenk)

Head Coach: Shane Kargo, 14th season.

Current 2008 Record: 1-11 overall.

Key Returners: Nico Givens, senior, co-captain; Ben Grabowski, senior; Sam Hockley, senior, co-captain; Tyler Moyer, senior; Ryan Shenk, senior; Cody Morinchin, junior; Stephanie Skees, junior.
This group is led by Grabowski, E-town’s lone district qualifier last year. He is already off to a good start and has the low average on the team.

Hockley and Grabowski are back for their third-straight varsity seasons and are the two most experienced players on the team. Givens will likely be one of E-town’s top players this year and will be around the leaders often.

Shenk, Morinchin and Moyer round out the Bears’ top six. All three are returning letterwinners, so they know what needs to be done to shoot low scores at the courses around the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Every one in this group should be familiar with the courses, which could translate into lower scores for E-town.

Morinchin has been fantastic so far this season, and has the second best average on the team. He could have a breakout year for the Bears.

Skees was the team’s girl’s qualifier at last year’s state tournament and should be back in districts this season.

Key Loss: Hayden Gerhart.
Gerhart was a two-time letterwinner for the Bears and was a consistent player.

Key Newcomers: Seth Bashore, junior; Evan Hayward, sophomore; Michael Kennedy, sophomore; Brett Vuxta, sophomore; Trevor Crum, sophomore.
The Bears have a solid nucleus of young talents, led by Kennedy and Vuxta, who will get the most match experience out of this group. If those two can continue getting better as the year goes on, E-town could be in good shape in the next two years.

Bashore, Hayward and Crum need to be ready to step in and play any matches if they are needed. In the meantime, they’ll continue working on the intricacies of their games. All are good players who will be ready if their number is called.

Strength: Experience.
E-town’s five seniors – Givens, Grabowski, Hockley, Moyer and Shenk – are the leader’s of this year’s team. They’ve been around for a few years now, and will be able to help some of the younger players learn the courses and how to play them the right way.

With E-town jumping from Section Two to Section One this year, senior leadership will be a key to make that transition smooth.

Weakness: Competing with section opponents.
The Bears are a better team than they were last year – but they are also playing much tougher competition up at Section One. In fact, the Bears are averaging 23 less strokes per match as a team through two matches than they were last year. That improvement is major, but they don’t have much to show for it in the win-loss columns, sitting at just 1-11.

Outlook: E-town’s record is deceiving because the Bears are heads and shoulders better than they were last year, but they are competing against powerhouse teams like Manheim Township, Warwick and Cedar Crest in Section One this season.

“We are a much improved team, (but) are struggling in the win/loss column,” said Kargo. “The scores we are posting would be at the top of Section Two, but we accept our position in Section One and will continue getting better.”

They are already getting better, considering that, last season, E-town’s stroke average per match as a team was 446, and that they are at 423 right now – a 23-stroke improvement. That averages out to nearly four strokes per starter, which is a promising number.

With the stiff competition in Section One, Kargo has set a goal to average 425 or less per match for his team. If the Bears can do that, they’ll get all of their top six into the Lancaster-Lebanon League Tournament on Sept. 29, something they haven’t done for the past two seasons.

Right now, E-town has a good mix of seasoned veterans and promising underclassmen. And while they won’t compete for a team section title this year, considering that Manheim Township is off to a 12-0 start, the Bears have plenty of reasons to be optimistic and will be primed to make solid runs in the L-L and District Three tournaments.