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Weir’s Meneely paces third overall in Class AA state golf tournament

WHEELING -- There were plaques aplenty for local golfers at the conclusion of the WVSSAC Class AA state golf tournament, which wrapped up Thursday at the Speidel Golf Club's Jones Course at Oglebay. Wheeling Central took home state runner-up in Class AA, while Maroon Knight sophomore Isaac Tiu and Weir senior Guy Meneely each earned all-tournament recognition at the end of this year's golf season.

The most coveted prize, though, went to Midland Trail, who took a healthy lead at the end of Wednesday's first round, and carried over their strong play into Thursday to claim the Class AA state championship, making back-to-back titles for the Patriots.

Midland Trail posted a 476 as a team across the two-day competition, comfortably ahead of runner-up Wheeling Central at a team total of 497. Patriot head coach Justin Barnhouse was named Coach of the Year upon the conclusion of competition Thursday.

Finishing in third overall as an individual at the conclusion of Thursday was the lone Weir Red Rider out on the links, Meneely. After qualifying as an individual in last week's Class AA Region 1 tournament, Meneely carded a 82 on Wednesday and a 77 on Thursday to finish at 159.

"I had a decent round yesterday, but today I just really came back and put all that behind me and had a great day today," Meneely said.

Meneely was rock-solid in his second round, going for Par on 12 holes and avoiding any double bogeys.

"I was making a lot of putts today, lagging it up nice, except on the last hole I blew one past. But, you know, you're trying to make birdies so I can’t complain about that too much. All-in-all it was just a pretty sound day for my golf game."

Meneely was proud to represent Weir on the state tournament stage.

"I really couldn’t wish any more that my team was here with me, but I’m just really happy I got to come down here and represent the Red Riders."

“Guy is an incredibly gifted golfer and an even better person,” Weir coach Steven Kettler said. “When he joined the team four years ago, he was relatively new to golf. He immediately fell in love with the game and has worked tirelessly to improve ever since. He’s been an outstanding representative for our program and a role model for our younger players. I’m incredibly proud of him and couldn’t be happier to see him achieve the success he so truly deserves.”

After a third-place finish in last year's state golf tournament, Wheeling Central one-upped themselves to take home their state runner-up trophy. Central maintained their position after ending Wednesday as the second-place team-- though third-place Wyoming East got within earshot, finishing at a 505 against Central's 497.

"There’s a lot of good golfers in the state," Wheeling Central head coach Jim Mortakis said. "It’s really nice to see the improvement in golf across the state. I was proud of my boys. They fought. It came down to the last couple holes-- and, you know, I was a little bit concerned because our lead had shrunken down, but by the end, we ended up at about the same advantage that we had yesterday to start with."

Isaac Tiu finished tied for fifth overall in Class AA, earning his spot on the state all-tournament team. After carding an 85 on Wednesday, Tiu improved to shoot a 76 on Thursday, including birdies on his final two holes of the season.

"Didn’t play well the first day, but was able to finish today really well," Tiu said right after he'd finished his round. "Definitely playing at your home course makes it, well, interesting. You know, some holes that might scare you the first time you play it, some of them you might know better now. Hopefully my teammates finish well. That’s all I can ask for."

Tiu's final shot of the day was an impressive long putt on hole No. 18 which elicited applause from the gathered crowd around the green.

"My putts and my driver were working very well today," Tiu said.

Junior Rowen Parker finished tied for ninth at a 167 across two days. Sophomores Zack Zende (169) and Luke Freeland (181) rounded out the Maroon's runner-up finish.

"I was very proud of my boys," Mortakis said. "We played well. We hit the ball great. We still struggled a little bit on the greens today. All-in-all, I’m pleased with the way the boys played. Isaac, this is his first All-State. Rowen played really well. Zack played well. Luke did a good job for his first time ever being in the state tournament. I’m happy with the boys."

"We had some good competition, but we always went first," Tiu said. "Got to come back next year. Hopefully we can do that."

CLASS A

The Class A state tournament likewise wrapped up Thursday on the Jones Course, with Wirt County taking home the team title and St. Marys coming in as state runners-up. Madonna's Evan Kaczmarek, an individual qualifier, finished tied for 22nd overall with a two-day total of 187.