Pep talk spurred Boardman boys
Boardman boys team rallied to secure
berth in this weekend’s state tournament
By STEVE WILAJ
BOARDMAN
Thankfully for the Boardman boys golf team, the tee boxes were a bit backed up during the Division I district tournament at Pine Hills Golf Club on Oct. 14.
With just five holes remaining and the Spartans struggling, the slight delay allowed senior captain Ethan Thomas to huddle his team together for a quick pep talk.
“Our team was really tanking,” Thomas said. “So we just got together and I said, ‘Hey guys, this is not gonna cut it. We gotta really rally here and finish strong.’ From there on out, our last five holes, our team was one-under [par]. So that was a good push to make it.”
Boardman’s strong finish, paced by Thomas’ overall score of 72, allowed the Spartans to notch a team score of 302 — good enough for second place (just one stroke behind first-place Medina) and a spot in the state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course.
All season — as Thomas, sophomores Brian Terlesky, Cade Kreps and Bobby Jonda and freshman Cole Christman built a 18-0 record — their main goal was a trip to Columbus. Now that it’s a reality, the group couldn’t be more excited.
“We’re all pumped and we’re excited we get this chance,” Thomas said. “Last year we came up short and this year we made a big comeback. So we’re all excited to make the trip down there and show everybody how good we are.”
Terlesky, who shot a 78 at districts, qualified for the individual state tournament last season as a freshman. The other Spartans are all first-timers.
Still, coach Ron Moschella doesn’t think the scene will be too big for his team.
“I think if we play to our potential, we have a really good shot at winning it,” he said. “I really do. I really believe this kids have proven that. They shot a 282 one time this season and a 295. So they proved they’re capable of shooting those scores. Whether or not they do that remains to be seen.”
As good as the Spartans were at districts, Moschella believes most have room for improvement. Other than Thomas and Terlesky’s top two team-high scores, Kreps and Christman shot a 79, while Jonda shot an 85.
“At first it was like ‘OK, cool. We made it and we’re happy.’ ” Thomas said. “But after a while, it was like, ‘OK guys, we have to go down and win this.’ We have to do the best we can to really get Boardman’s name up there on the leaderboard.”
With such a young team — aside from Thomas — Moschella is confident this weekend’s trip to Columbus will help for potential state tournament trips in the next couple years — not that he’s looking past this year’s one bit.
“I think they have a lot of confidence and it’s gonna build for the future,” he said. “They’re good kids, they work hard and they’re very competitive. They’re gonna be a team to reckon with in the future, but they are right now, too.”