Golf is the first fall sport in Howard County to return to action for the fall season. However, the Howard County landscape will look a little different this year with several of the past year’s top performers now graduated.
River Hill lost a pair of multiple-time state champions in Benjamin Siriboury and Helen Yeung. Meanwhile, Glenelg’s Megan Kirkpatrick, last year’s Class 2A/1A runner-up, also graduated. Those departures leave the door open for newcomers to step up and continue to showcase Howard County as one of the top golf counties in Maryland.
Despite its losses, River Hill will look to capture a third consecutive 4A/3A state title. The Hawks bring back several key returners on the boys and girls sides including Mark Berg, Keagan Graves, Michelle Yeung and Evelyn Park. Marriotts Ridge figures to be a formidable contender, returning several key players from last year’s team. George Williamson, Aidan Kim, Jonathan Moon, Lila Becker and Morgan Swidersky headline the key Mustangs back.
For the postseason, Howard County’s 13 teams are split between 4A/3A and 2A/1A. Atholton, Howard, Long Reach, Marriotts Ridge, Mt. Hebron, Oakland Mills and Reservoir are in 4A/3A, while Centennial, Glenelg, Guilford Park, Hammond and Wilde Lake are in 2A/1A. For the district tournament, each of the schools are in District 5 of their respective classification.
In the district and state tournaments, qualifying teams will field teams of five golfers with the four lowest scorers making up the team total. Those teams who don’t qualify for districts can qualify individual players.
The district tournament is scheduled for Oct. 14, while the state championship will be from Oct. 28-30 at the University of Maryland.
Editor’s note: Not all teams responded to requests for information.
Atholton
Coach: Scott Rager, second season
Last season: Boys 4-3; Girls 6-1
Top returners: Senior Cate Lee and junior Dylan Giuliano.
Newcomers to watch: Junior Mikey Baptiste and sophomore Faith Grandier.
Coach’s outlook: “I want to see the golfers on the team improve and enjoy the game of golf. The girls team has five golfers this year. All can put up some points. With Cate leading the team, they should do very well in the county. As for the boys team, they are a young and inexperienced group. I think this year will be a good learning experience.”
Centennial
Coach: Rob Slopek, first season
Last season: Boys 3-4; Girls 5-2
Top returners: Senior Krish Ghosh; juniors Ryan Kane and Jathan Chavez.
Newcomers to watch: Junior Ethan Burgoon; freshmen Makayla Robinson and Ben Joo.
Coach’s outlook: “We only have one senior, so we are focusing on the process of getting better each match and learning how to compete. I’m hopefully that we will be competitive at the district tournament.”
Glenelg
Coach: Chris Beil, 17th season
Last season: Boys 3-4; Girls 6-1, county runner-up, fifth at 2A/1A state tournament
Top returners: Senior Clark Sharbaugh; juniors Tyler Carl, Kort Heusser, Jonah Taylor and Samadhi Tennakoon.
Newcomers to watch: Juniors Philip Key, Drew Hanna and Jack Hanna.
Coach’s Outlook: “I think this year the boys team has a chance to be competitive this year. All of my returners have improved and I am excited to see them play this year. For the girls team, looking at Samadhi [seventh at Districts] leading the way and I am anxious to see who will step up from last year. I lost several seniors last year, so we will see how the team responds.”
Guilford Park
Coach: Brent Kennedy, second season
Last season: Boys 1-6; Girls 0-7
Top returners: Junior Peyton Monson; sophomores Eamon Bloechl, Joey Dadurka, Alex Harkness and Gabrielle Walker.
Newcomers to watch: Sophomore Ethan Brancazio; freshmen Ronin Holmes and Makayla An.
Coach’s outlook: “We had 15 players tryout for the team this year, resulting in the program making cuts for the first time. Those eight that made the roster give our program a great chance to make big strides forward this fall. Our returners have put in a good amount of work on their games during the offseason, while we have a trio of newcomers that are going to be immediate contributors. In just the few practices we’ve had so far I can tell that this group is ready to push one another and I’m excited to see them grow. While we’re incredibly young, still featuring no seniors and just one junior on the roster, I expect both teams to improve on their records from a season ago.”
Hammond
Coach: Scott Osborne, 13th season
Last season: Boys 2-4; Girls 1-5
Top returner: Senior Mason Walls
Newcomer to watch: N/A
Coach’s outlook: “Look for a leap to five wins for the boys, at least two wins for the girls.”
Howard
Coach: Joshua McGoun, 12th season
Last season: Boys 4-2; Girls 2-4
Top returners: Seniors Ronan Menon and Krish Patel; juniors Andie Chung and Addison Courtemanche.
Newcomers to watch: Sophomore Justin Vannucci; freshmen Luke Farah, Madison Day and Noelle Lee.
Coach’s outlook: “We got a lot younger this year with many freshmen and sophomores. We are very excited to see our new players perform and grow. We are also excited to see our girls program excel with nine great golfers who can all contribute to a great team score.”
Long Reach
Coach: Anthony Valenza, first year
Last season: Boys 4-2; Girls 1-3-2
Top returners: Juniors Elliott Austraw, Amir Patel and Ethan Rothman.
Newcomer to watch: Senior Thomas Brennan.
Coach’s outlook: “I believe we have a strong team this year, consisting of dedicated individuals both on and off the course. Our athletes are committed to investing the necessary time and effort to compete, and as the head coach, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Marriotts Ridge
Coach: Mark Dubbs, 19th season
Last season: Boys and Girls 5-1; Team Runner-up in 4A/3A
Top returners: Seniors George Williamson, Jonathan Moon, Lucas Chavez, Lila Becker and Morgan Swidersky; juniors Aidan Kim and Swara Kakaraparthy.
Newcomers to watch: N/A
Coach’s outlook: “We are carrying a large team with eight boys and eight girls. Since we have all of our players who finished second in the state returning, we should be very much in the hunt.”
Mt. Hebron
Coach: Donald Walters, 16th season
Last season: Boys 5-1; Girls 1-5
Top returners: Seniors Jacob Larrabee and Quinn Carberry; junior Grady Kent
Newcomers to watch: Senior Phoebe Hogle; junior Brody Day; sophomore Jacob Stevens
Coach’s outlook: “Our top two golfers from last season graduated in the spring, so I’m looking forward to seeing how Grady and Jacob Larrabee shoulder the team. Also looking for senior Nathan Kim and junior Conner Lee to break out this season. We have a tougher schedule this year, especially with the courses we are playing, so I’m looking forward to seeing if the boys can step up and meet the challenge. I have only two girls so far and both have a lot of potential.”
River Hill
Coach: Matt Graves, 20th season
Last season: Boys and Girls 6-0, Howard County champions, district and 4A/3A state champions
Top returners: Seniors Mark Berg, Keagan Graves and Sydney Lynott; junior Justin Choi; sophomores Michelle Yeung and Evelyn Park.
Newcomer to watch: Freshman Justin Zhao
Coach’s Outlook: “We should be a very competitive team in the state of Maryland. I have five returning boys and four returning girls. Expectations will continue to stay the same and I’m looking forward to watching the kids perform.”
Wilde Lake
Coach: Kourtney Harrison, sixth season
Last season: Boys 2-5; Girls 3-4
Top returner: Senior Jane Mhonda
Newcomer to watch: Senior Sam Helicke
Coach’s outlook: “We are a small but mighty group this year. This is great groups of athletes that are in good spirits and hard working. Our record may not indicate some of the individual players’ successes due to our lack of numbers, but these kids are already putting in the work. In our opening match all three of our players competing shot their personal best.”
![South Carroll wrestling, Francis Scott Key softball, Manchester Valley girls lacrosse and last but not least: Manchester Valley field hockey. Few teams have been as dominant against county competition the past couple of years and Denean Koontz’s program is no exception. Entering her 31st season, Koontz once again enjoys an embarrassment of riches as she glances at her roster. Now a sophomore, Taylor Fique is back along with fellow Player of the Year candidates Sophie Baer and Amanda Herrold to lead one of the county’s deepest lineups. The Mavericks are back and ready defend their undefeated county championship. After a […]](https://www.baltimoresun.com/wp-content/uploads/migration/2023/11/08/QT6FPF3NJZD65EEDR2CNSU4VMI.jpg?w=535 "South Carroll wrestling, Francis Scott Key softball, Manchester Valley girls lacrosse and last but not least: Manchester Valley field hockey. Few teams have been as dominant against county competition the past couple of years and Denean Koontz’s program is no exception. Entering her 31st season, Koontz once again enjoys an embarrassment of riches as she glances at her roster. Now a sophomore, Taylor Fique is back along with fellow Player of the Year candidates Sophie Baer and Amanda Herrold to lead one of the county’s deepest lineups. The Mavericks are back and ready defend their undefeated county championship. After a […]")