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Boardman's Thomas, Pikunas qualify for championship
CANFIELD
Ethan Thomas and Jacinta Pikunas are classmates at Boardman High School and both qualified for The Vindicator Greatest Golfer of the Valley junior championship on Tuesday at Diamond Back Golf Course.
But the similarities between the two begin and end there.
Pikunas, who will be a junior in the fall, began playing golf at the age of 4. She’s traveled all across the country for different tournaments and had an already impressive golf resume before she began high school.
Thomas, who will be a senior, is more of a late bloomer. He didn’t pick up a golf club until he got to high school and didn’t play in his first competitive event until last year.
On Tuesday, they both ended up at the top of their respective leaderboards and earned a spot in the junior final at Avalon Lakes Golf Club on July 26.
“I had to work really hard for it,” Thomas said of his golf game.
“I didn’t get good until sophomore year when I was really working for it. And I just keep getting better.”
Thomas shot a 4-over par round of 76 in his first Greatest Golfer event of the year to join Jacob Wilson, Joey Shushok, Ken Keller and Zach Jacobson as automatic qualifiers in the boys 17-and-under division.
His first tournament golf experience was at sectionals last season with the Spartans golf team. So far, the only difference from what he can tell is things are “more serious and you have to putt everything out.
“I just figured I wanted to try out for the team and figured it would be fun,” Thomas said. “I was like what the heck?”
Pikunas has spent much of her summer playing in other tournaments. She’s qualified for the Optimist International Junior Golf tournament in PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and has a PGA Junior Series tournament next week at Westbrook Country Club in Mansfield.
“It’s going to be a busy month,” Pikunas said following her 5-over par round of 77.
“My game was pretty up and down today. The greens were tough out there.”
Pikunas is the defending champion in the girls 17-and-under division. She joins Alexa Tringhese, Nicole Gula, Emily Koehler and Jenna Vivo in this year’s finals field.
The two qualifiers in the younger age divisions also are classmates. Matthew Kinkela and Erika Hoover will be freshman at Wilmington High School in New Wilmington, Pa., in the fall.
Kinkela had been putting together low rounds all summer in Greatest Golfer tournaments and was finally able to break through with a round of 81 at Diamond Back.
“I really started to feel comfortable last week at Mill Creek,” Kinkela said of his 78 round. “I just tried to stay in my routine and today it worked.”
His routine consists of hitting 100-or-so golf balls the morning of a tournament to get loose. He now has something to do the morning of July 26, as he joins Connor Stevens, Joey Vitali, Cole Christman and Keegan Butler in the boys 14-and-under division.
“I’m very excited,” Kinkela said of playing in the final. “I was hoping this would be the year I get in it.”
Hoover said she doesn’t have much tournament experience, but that didn’t prevent her from beating the rest of the field in the girls 14-and-under division by 23 strokes.
“I got up and down a lot today,” she said of her round of 85.
She didn’t start playing golf until three years ago with her father and uncle. Now she has an invite to the junior championship.
“I really wanted to qualify to make my parents proud,” Hoover said.
Also with automatic berths in the girls 14-and-under division is Hannah Keffler, Jenna Jacobson, Hadley Spielvogel and Gillian Cerimele.
The final junior qualifier is on July 16 at Trumbull Country Club in Warren.