Howard County 2022 high school golf season preview
Aug. 26—With the season already underway, golf is the first high school fall sport to begin play in Howard County.
For the postseason, teams are split amongst two classifications with 4A and 3A paired together and 2A and 1A together. Additionally, teams are divided into districts among their classifications. Nine Howard County teams are a part of District 5 in the 3A classification. Glenelg, Hammond and Oakland Mills are in District 5 in 2A.
In the district and state tournaments qualifying teams will field teams of five golfers with the four lowest scorers added to the team total. Those teams who don't qualify for districts can have individual players compete.
The district tournament is scheduled for Oct. 18, with the state tournament scheduled for Oct. 24-26 at the University of Maryland.
Here's a look at the county teams (not all teams responded to requests for information):
Atholton
Coach: Scott Dingman, third season
2021 record: Boys 2-3-1; Girls 2-3-1
Top returners: Junior Andy Christiansen and sophomore Cate Lee
Newcomers to watch: Sophomore Brody Pope and freshman Kiera Wilkie
Coach's outlook: "My expectation is that we're going to continue to improve. We already scored more points [in our first match] for both the boys and the girls team than either of those teams did in any match last year. We're definitely moving in the right direction, every single player seems to be making improvements. That's what we're going to continue to do every match. Limiting mistakes, managing the course a little better and playing a little bit smarter if we can and hopefully that equals out to some more points."
Glenelg
Coach: Chris Beil, 15th season
2021 record: Boys 4-2; Girls 4-2
Top returners: Senior Amber Kostick; juniors Ellis Waak, Megan Kirkpatrick and Norah Vanderpool
Newcomers to watch: Freshmen Mark Mcallister; Tyler Carl and Samadhi Tennakoon
Coach's outlook: "I lost several seniors last year and I am looking forward to seeing who will step up this year. There are several players I feel have the ability to do well, I am anxious to see if they will. I am expecting Megan Kirkpatrick to assert herself as one of the top golfers in the county and state this year."
Hammond
Coach: Scott Obsorne, 10th season
2021 record: Boys 2-4; Girls 1-5
Top returners: Sophomore Mason Walls
Newcomers to watch: Senior Mikaela Meer
Coach's outlook: "We're a young team overall, but we have strong senior leadership on the boys and girls squads. We're competing with every team on our schedule this year. Our sights are set on winning the Iron Skillet [the prize for the winner of the Hammond, Oakland Mills match]."
Howard
Coach: Joshua McGoun, ninth season
2021 record: Boys 4-2
Top returners: Senior Matthew Baur; sophomores Dev Sheth and Ronan Menon
Newcomers to watch: Senior Ashley Bui; junior Sean Dawes; sophomores Sydney Boris, Krish Patel; and freshman Andie Chung
Coach's outlook: "We are back with a girls team for the first time in two years. Jai Sheth graduated and is golfing for Towson. His brother is looking to step up and fill his shoes. We are excited to show what we can do on the course. Returning with five new players and four veterans who demonstrated great game management during tryouts, we are optimistic about our abilities to finish in the upper echelon of the county."
Long Reach
Coach: Keith Gonsouland, first season
2021 record: Boys 3-3; Girls 2-4
Top returners: Juniors Jake Filler, Emma Koech, Amir Patel, Ethan An and Calvin Vaughn
Coach's outlook: "We have a number of returning players who have the capability to compete with some of the county's better players. Our players have also displayed a great work ethic during the preseason and we are hoping to play our best golf as the season progresses."
Mt. Hebron
Coach: Don Walters, 14th season
2021 record: Boys: 2-4; Girls: 0-6
Top returning players: Seniors Beckett France-Kelly, Evan McClure; juniors Chris Bone and Lucas Edwards
Coach's outlook: "The boys look fairly good, we just need to put together some consistent play if we want to break into the top 3rd of the county. Girls have only one returning player, junior Julie Morton and two players with little experience."
River Hill
Coach: Matt Graves, 17th season
2021 record: Boys 5-1; girls 5-1
Top returners: Juniors Benjamin Siriboury and Helen Yueng (both 3A/4A state champions)
Coach's outlook: "Expectations are extremely high. District team champions and placed third in the state championship. We lost by a total of three strokes last season. Plan on making that next step and placing in the top two for the upcoming season."
Reservoir
Coach: Dave Appleby, first season
2021 record: Boys 0-5-1; Girls 3-3
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Top returners: Juniors Payton Pullen; Riyana Patel; and sophomore Finn Riley
Coach's outlook: "We have a young team this year overall. On the boys side, the team will be young and inexperienced."
Wilde Lake
Coach: Kourtney Harrison, fourth season
2021 record: Boys 0-6, Girls 5-1
Top returning players: Senior Henry Hilger; and sophomore Jane Mhonda
Newcomer to watch: Sophomore Antonio Hardy
Coach's outlook: "We are hoping that with the addition of Antonio Hardy this year and the work that the players put in during the offseason the boys team can improve their record from last year. The girls are small in numbers but are ready to put up a strong fight this season."
