NORTH EAST — North East head coach Seth Grimes might be the first to recognize the challenge that comes with replacing a three-time state golf champion in Noah Wallace. The return of two state qualifiers, the addition of a promising freshman and expanded numbers has Grimes looking at many ways to fill the void left by last year’s All-County Player of the Year.
The Indians return two members of last season’s team that qualified for the 2A/1A state tournament, including junior Wyatt Cudmore and senior Brysen Keithley. Grimes said the program added four freshmen golfers, including Evan Smith. While Smith may be new to the team, he boasts plenty of experience on the green. Grimes said Smith has played in junior leagues and tournaments “up-and-down the eastern seaboard.” Smith shot a 34 across nine holes at his season-opening scrimmage.
“Him and [Wyatt Cudmore], it’s definitely still a little one-two punch that we have between those two,” Grimes said. “We didn’t drop off too far, which is incredible because you think you lose Noah Wallace and your scores will plummet twenty.”
Cudmore returns after a sophomore season with an average score of 40 across nine holes. He reached the final day of the state championships as an individual.
“I think Brysen is a little bit more consistent this year,” Grimes said. “Wyatt’s solid again, he’s one of those guys that I expect to lead us again.”
Grimes said this season’s squad was his largest team ever and resulted in cuts, something he has never had to do as a head coach. Alongside North East’s four freshmen, the team has three sophomores and a handful of seniors.
“We have a couple freshmen, sophomores and a few seniors that can kind of hopefully separate themselves to be contributing factors to help keep us competitive in this upper division,” Grimes said.
With the state qualifiers on Sept. 17, Grimes said North East will aim to return as a team. Grimes understands however, the need to develop the young golfers of the program.
“We have a really young, developing team,” Grimes said. “We’re going to try and get there this year, but we’re also going to keep hopefully building for future success so we can try to get down there multiple times.”
Rising Sun aiming for another competitive fallLast fall, Lucas Kilgore represented Rising Sun as an individual in the state championships. With Kilgore and fellow junior Caiden Jordan back in the mix, plus a large number of promising freshmen entering the program, Rising Sun head coach Tim Kerns sees 2024 as another competitive year for the Tigers.
Kerns said Kilgore and Jordan have played throughout the summer in tournaments and other events that he feels serve as an early precursor to possible success. Kilgore reached the final day of the state championship last fall.
“I think Caiden could join him,” Kerns said. “And Lucas — given the summer he has had — he’s played very well. I think he can be very competitive when he goes back to states this year. As long as he gets through [state qualifying], I think he will have a great shot at being on the top of the leaderboard when we get to College Park.”
Sun’s head coach said the team welcomed eight freshmen this season, all of whom have previous golf experience. While the numbers can set the program up in coming seasons, Kerns told each of the freshmen golfers they have an opportunity to compete for a spot this year.
“I told them not all of our top eight spots are set, I said they can compete for them,” Kerns said. “I want to try to get that across that even though they are just starting in high school, if they work hard and don’t just work in practices — they’ve got to put their own time in — that they’ll be able to push for a spot on the starting rotation for this fall’s squad.”
Kerns said the Tigers will aim to capture their fifth consecutive county title. Having talked with North East head coach Seth Grimes, Kerns thinks the county match in mid-October will be a close one. Kerns added his team could possibility make the cut for the state tournament at the District Championship in mid-September. Alongside Kilgore and Jordan, Kerns said Jerry Joyce is a golfer who has shot in the 70s across 18 holes. Kerns noted the addition of freshmen Joel Vogt, who Kerns said has a lot of prior golf experience. Senior Caleb Simon returns after shooting in the 80s last fall.
“I don’t think it’s out of the question, depending on how everybody plays, that we could push for a team spot,” Kerns said. “We are deep enough that if they have a good day at [state qualifying] that we could hit the qualifying score.”
Perryville retooling after graduating large senior classFollowing the graduation of multiple seniors from last year’s roster, second-year head coach Mike Rice will aim to to once again build up the golf program in 2024.
Two golfers in junior Julian Howes and senior Zach Vanbergen scored for last year’s Perryville team that placed second overall at the six-team county championship. The Panthers finished last season’s county match with a score 530, just two strokes behind Rising Sun and 17 strokes ahead of North East. The returning Howes and Vanbergen will likely lead the way for the Panthers on a roster that includes six seniors in Vanbergen, Holden Coe, Zoe Zimmerman, Connor Baldwin, Blake Ruszala and Alex Klevinsky, plus Howes and sophomore C.J. Maggiore.
“We’re young and they’re getting the game, it’s a rebuilding year,” Rice said. “I think we are going to be decent, but there is still a lot to work out.”
“Tournament wise we are going to be taking six, a lot of brand new golfers,” Rice added.
Rice feels the addition of an assistant coach will benefit in continued development of his golfers. Scott Serio will serve as an assistant under Rice with the pair knowing each other for some time. Rice said Serio possesses a thorough knowledge of the sport and understands how to teach the game.
“He’s bringing a lot to the table to get these guys trained and trying to get ready for these tournaments,” Rice said.
Bohemia Manor excited with infusion of golfers
For the first time in Sandy Grimes’ four-year tenure with the Bohemia Manor golf program, the Eagles held a qualifying round in the preseason to determine their match golfers. For Grimes, competition is never a bad thing.
“It’s a good thing to have qualifying too,” Grimes said. “Competition makes everything better.”
Bo Manor’s roster consists of 12 golfers, including five returners that scored in last year’s Cecil County Championships. Senior Evan Wilson and junior Brody Means likely serve as the top two returners from last year’s squad. Wilson and Means will aim to replace the production of Braden Paris, who became the first Bo Manor golfer since 2018 to reach the state championships.
Grimes believes his lone senior has a chance to follow in Paris’ footsteps. It just comes down to one day in the middle of September.
“Evan I think has a shot, but he has to be consistent,” Grimes said of the state qualifying. “He’s capable of shooting in the 30s.”
The Eagles sit with a sizable junior class alongside Means, including returners Doug Sample, Bryce McCoy and Greyson Sizemore. Sophomore Joseph Liberti and senior Owen Veasey also return to the team this fall. Grimes also likes what he has seen from freshman Finn Ulrich.
“There is not a lot of separation outside of the top two,” Grimes said.
Kline takes over Elkton program with increased numbersBaseball coach Ethan Kline is taking on the coaching responsibilities of another Elkton athletic program this fall.
“I kind of wanted to just take on another role and see what I could learn from a different sport,” Kline said. “And then how can I incorporate whatever setbacks or tribulations that come into golf, how can I learn how to better prepare for those things that could potentially happen in the spring.”
“And also golf is fun,” Kline added.
Kline said 18 golfers tried out for the team this year. The high numbers are a welcome addition for the program. Elkton had just three golfers compete in the county championship last fall.
Returning sophomores Gavin Troiani and Zack Flynn, along with rising senior Isabella Moran competed in the county championships last season. Kline also welcomed the addition of freshman Sam Speakman, who Kline described as hitting the ball well off the tee. Elkton’s first-year head coach said he also has athletes re-joining the team after taking years away from the sport. Kline noted the additions of Jeremy Ruth, Hishaam Wahid and Max Cooper.
“I feel like the program hasn’t had that many people wanting to join it in the past couple years,” Kline said. “Hopefully we can keep it going with some new kids coming in and bolstering the program as the years go on.”
Tome looking to 2024 and beyondDespite the departure of last year’s senior class, including multiple-time All-County selection Karina Serio, Tome head coach Doug Phillips views a slight uptick in participation as a way to keep his team scores at or under last season’s totals.
The Titans begin the year with nine golfers on the roster, none of whom are seniors. Tome returns four members of the team that competed at last year’s county championships in juniors Reece Tester and Matt Montgomery and sophomores Thaddeus Moore and Jayden Davies. Phillips also noted the return of junior Spencer Cain and the addition of freshman Cole Niles. Phillips said Niles shot under 50 in the team’s first practice round.
“Despite the fact that I lost Karina and her sub-40 scores, I actually have some promise that I think our team scores may still be lower this year than in years past,” Phillips said. “Because we have more depth on the team.”
Entering his second year with the team, Phillips said he made a larger point to promote the program and recruited students in the spring with the addition of an interest meeting.
“I definitely have been making some changes to try and get golf more noticeable within the school,” Phillips said.
With no seniors on his roster, Phillips said this upcoming fall can serve as a building block for short-term sustainability and future successes of the program.
“This is kind of like a building block year for the team I think in a sense of being able to grow,” Phillips said. “I’m expecting continued improvement from last year to this year and then I think even greater improvement in 2025.”
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