Young players on Penn-Trafford golf team looking to shave off a few strokes
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Sunday, August 25, 2024 | 11:01 AM
Penn-Trafford’s Aiden Dzurko hits a tee shot.
Penn-Trafford’s Jake Lenart watches his tee shot.
Penn-Trafford golf coach Jeff Newsom talks to his team prior to practice.
Penn-Trafford’s Owen Szekely watches his drive.
Starting new is the theme surrounding the 2024 Penn-Trafford boys golf team.
Graduation hit the team hard as only one player on this year’s roster — senior Aiden Dzurko — saw playing time with the starters last season. And Dzurko’s was limited to one or two matches when Nick Turowski was playing in the annual Palmer Cup for the Western Pennsylvania Golf Association.
Turowski was the WPIAL Class 3A individual champion.
Penn-Trafford finished tied for second place with Indiana in the section in 2023 at 7-3. Indiana, however, earned the playoff berth. Latrobe won the section with an 8-2 record.
The Warriors got off to a slow start this season, going 1-3 overall and 1-2 in Section 1-3A. They defeated Armstrong but fell to Kiski Area and Norwin in the section.
Other teams in the section include Hempfield, Indiana and Latrobe.
Second-year coach Jeff Newsom is trying to find the most consistent six players for the starting lineup.
Right now he’s working with Dzurko, senior Owen Szekely, junior Jake Lenart, senior Anthony Barilla, senior Noah Dubyak, senior Cam Kiste, sophomore Ryan Kiste and senior Evan Gross.
“Right now, our scores have been between 200 and 210,” Newsom said. “If each player can shave a shot or two off their score, we could be in the low to mid 190s. Being consistent and worrying about the next shot is what we’re working on right now.
“Right now, we’re inexperienced and most of the players have never seen our opponents’ courses. This is all new to them. It’s a learning experience for them.”
Moving on from last year’s squad were Turowski, now at West Virginia, David Newsom, the coach’s son who is playing at Saint Vincent, Bryce Williams, who is playing at Washington & Jefferson, Braedy Mastine, who is playing lacrosse, Seth Hartman, who is at Grove City, senior Bryce Kropczynski and senior Patton Graziano.
“Right now we’re trying to make adjustments to bring our scores down,” Newsom said. “We have some new faces try out for the team this season.
“One thing we’re trying to do is get the players more involved in the summer. Get them to play more competitive tournaments in the summer. We want them to focus on their skills, learn course management and improve their overall game.”
Barilla has been one of the most consistent players so far while Gross has made huge improvements, according to Newsom.
Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.
Tags: Penn-Trafford
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