43
Boardman players, other teams chip in for Christine Terlesky
By Brian Dzenis
POLAND
It wasn’t about the golf on Monday. The Boardman girls golf team and with The Lake Club hosted the first Christine Terlesky Lake Club Invitational.
Terlesky is a former BHS teacher and coach who was diagnosed with ALS three years ago. Her husband is Spartans coach Brian Terlesky.
It was the private golf course’s first time hosting a high school tournament and everyone involved thought the tournament did her justice.
“I thought it was special event that was more than just golf,” said Boardman junior Jenna Vivo, who is Christine’s niece. “It was for something. We didn’t just play 18 holes.”
The invitational raised $17,000, all of which will go toward Christine’s fight against the disease, Boardman athletic director Denise Gorski said. Christine didn’t attend Monday’s invitational, but she did speak with athletes from the 15 participating schools on Sunday — her 44th birtday — and that set the tone for Monday.
“It was very emotional, she talked to the athletes about being kind to each other,” Gorski said. “One of the things she said was [that] suffering with this illness, she’s learned a lot. It’s made her stronger. It’s made her family much stronger, but it’s made her see the kindness in people and how the valley community has reached out to her family.”
Brian repeated the mantra to his team the following morning.
“She has a phrase, ‘Be kind’ and I told them if a girl hits a good shot, clap, cheer,” Brian said of his wife. “It’s a sport. It’s not life or death. They’re learning the right values from their teachers and coaches. They’re going to grow and become successful people.”
The Spartans, wearing teal for Christine instead of Boardman’s colors, turned in one of its most inspired performances of the season shooting 318. Green was a stroke better to hand Boardman its first defeat of the season, but the team was encouraged by its play.
“We wanted this and I think we’ve shot the lowest we shot all year as a team. We had the attitude that we were playing for her and we wore her colors,” Spartan senior Jacinta Pikunas said. “(My teammate) Britney Jonda’s mom was so nice to make us ribbons. We were wearing them for [Christine]. We were playing for her and just doing our best.”
Pikunas, a member of The Lake Club, shot a 69 for the best individual score of the tournament. Vivo and Jonda each shot a 79 and Maya Stinson shot a 91.
“I was very consistent with my irons and off the tee,” Pikunas said. “Some of my putts weren’t dropping on the front nine but on the back, they started to roll in.”
The 15-team field was divided into Divisions I and II. Green took D-I and in D-II, Poland had the best team score, 385. A playoff was needed to settle who had the best individual score in D-II. Ursuline’s Sydney Heinbaugh and Columbiana’s Taylor Ross were tied at 85. Heinbaugh shot par on hole No. 9 to take the playoff.
The coaches and players were taken aback by The Lake Club’s hospitality. The teams got an 18-hole practice round on Sunday, which included dinner, and even more food courtesy Chick-Fil-A and Cocca’s on Monday. The teams paid a $150 entry fee.
“[It] doesn’t begin to cover that,” Gorski said. “[Lake Club president] Ed Muransky picked up the majority of the cost.”
The Lake Club staff were thrilled about Monday’s invitational. They weren’t hesitant to pull out all the stops to make it happen.
“We only do it one way, the best,” said Dennis Miller, director of golf at The Lake Club. “We wanted the girls to walk away saying what a great event this was.”
The Lake Club is open to hosting the invitational and Gorski was able to get the Ohio High School Athletic Association to sanction this year’s event. During the high school season, players are barred from participating in charity tournaments, but Gorski outlined what the purpose of the invitational was, where the money coming from and going to and what gifts and awards were handed out to alleviate any concerns from the state organization.
Gorski said it’s uncommon for a venue of The Lake Club’s stature to host a girls golf tournament. Brian Terlesky wondered if the ante can be upped.
“It’ll be interesting if they can top it next year. All the coaches, all the kids that participated in it are truly happy they came and we’re looking to make this bigger and better next year,” he said. “Our goal is after the Division I and Division II championships, we’d like to invite the top teams throughout Ohio to come and participate in this tournament next year.”
Even though the invitational is over, donations can still be made to the Terlesky family. Anyone wishing to donate may send checks made out to “Chip in for Chris” to Gorski at Boardman High School. For more information, Gorski can be contacted at denise.gorski@boardmanschools.org.
“She really inspires me everyday,” Vivo said of her aunt. “She teaches me and everyone to stay strong no matter what the circumstances and just keep going each and every day.”