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Shushok, Neumeister take home titles in Vindicator Greatest Golfer of the Valley junior championships
HOWLAND
Joey Shushok and Ken Keller went out in the final group of the boys 17-and-under division as two of the favorites to win the Vindicator Greatest Golfer of the Valley junior championship on Sunday.
Keller, who will be a junior at Cardinal Mooney, pushed Shushok all afternoon, but the Austintown Fitch senior was able to stave off his friendly rival to win his first career junior title.
“It feels good,” Shushok said after shooting even par 72 at Avalon Lakes Golf & Country Club.
“There’s a lot of good players here and to be able to win, especially in the last time I’m ever gonna play [in the junior tournament], it feels pretty good.”
Shushok, whose bucket hat made more noise than his golf game last year, was all business this time around. He jumped out to a two-shot lead over Zach Jacobson of Poland after the first nine holes, posting 2-under par when the player made the turn.
Jacobson continued his strong play on the back nine, shooting 74, to finish in second place. Keller won a scorecard tiebreak over Brian Terlesky and Avery Andric to earn a third place finish.
As for Shushok, this year’s victory provides even more satisfaction for the way he closed out last year’s final. A par on the 18th hole would’ve put Shushok in a tie for the lead. Instead, he double-bogeyed the hole and wound up in fourth after a scorecard tiebreak.
“Can’t lie, it feels pretty good,” Shushok said. “To be able to keep my emotions in check when I knew the kids that played in front of me and how good they were — and then I had Keller that was one [stroke] behind me pretty much the entire back nine — to be able to play how I did and consistent and smooth feels good.”
Kaylee Neumeister and Jenna Vivo had a battle of their own going in the girls 17-and-under division that felt more like a match play event than a stroke play tournament.
They were tied coming up the 17th hole when Neumeister yanked her drive left off the tee, leaving a difficult second shot with a water hazard awaiting any mistake.
“I had to almost sit down to hit the shot and I was thinking ‘Oh my gosh this is going in the water,’” Neumeister said of her second shot. “I ended up hitting it probably three feet from the hole and making it for birdie.”
With the momentum, and a one-shot lead, Neumeister was able to outlast Vivo to win her second career junior title — her first since winning the 14-and-under championship in 2012.
“I could breathe a little bit coming down 18, but it was very nerve-wracking,” said Neumeister, who will be a senior at Lakeview in the fall and will continue her golf career at Cleveland State next year.
Neumeister, who credited Vivo for playing a great match, said she felt like her competitive tournament experience paid off in high-pressure situations.
“It’s just experience and being able to pulling the shots off when you need to,” she said. “My goal was to come out and win this as my last hurrah in the Greatest Golfer, which now I can say I did.”
Vivo, a sophomore at Boardman, won back-to-back 14-and-under championships the last two years, but fell just short in her first year of competition in the older division. Emily Koehler of Mathews finished third.
This year’s junior championship could’ve been a match play event, because the boys 14-and-under division featured the third down-to-the-wire finish of the day.
Cole Christman and Conner Stevens put the heat on each other, as both players posted the lowest rounds of the day of any golfer. Unfortunately for Stevens, who will only be in eighth grade at Brookfield, his 2-under par round of 70 was one-upped by Christman’s 3-under 69.
Christman, who will begin his freshman year at Boardman in the fall, went birdie-eagle-birdie to start the back nine after making the turn one shot back of Stevens. He used that boost to ride out the round and into a championship — barely.
“I had two bad losses the year before and it was like ‘Here we go again,’” Christman said of the final few holes. “But it forced me to go shot-by-shot and really focus.”
RJ Pozzuto took third, winning a scorecard tiebreak over Dean Austalosh.
Hannah Keffler didn’t know how low her score was until she went to sign it after the round. That’s because her caddie, also known as her mother, wouldn’t let her look at her scorecard.
When her score was posted, the soon-to-be Canfield freshman liked what she saw, winning the girls 14-and-under division with a round of 79.
“My mom wouldn’t let me see the scorecard because she knew if I did, I was going to put a lot of pressure on myself on the last hole,” Keffler said. “I just tried to shoot the best I could and it worked out.”
Gillian Cerimele finished second and Hadley Spielvogel third.