St. Clairsville Boys Golf Team Headed To State Tournament
Red Devils Tee Off Sunday At Firestone Country Club North In Akron
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AKRON - For the fourth time in school history, St. Clairsville will be competing in the OHSAA state golf tournament. The Red Devils will be part of the 12-team Division II event which begins Sunday and concludes Monday here at Firestone Country Club's North Course.
Head coach Heidi Mooney has watched this group of five players - which includes her twin sons Beau and Ryan - since they were very young, now she gets to watch them on the biggest stage.
"I've grown up watching these kids play golf. Every single one of them played in the PGA Jr. Program here at BHCC," Coach Mooney said. "It takes a village of people for a team to have a successful program. Our middle school program is run by Michele Abel. The boys get lessons from Oglebay Park Golf Pro Danny Ackerman. (Belmont Hills Pro) Ron (Baker) and (PGA Jr. Director) Jaren (Straughan) have done great things for the boys.
"I think they are ready to go. They seem really excited. I think they are very prepared. The training they had this summer really prepared them for a two-day tournament like this. I think the experience they got in those tournaments has us in pretty good shape."
The Red Devils are scheduled to depart the Ohio Valley on Saturday morning. They have a practice round set for 1:20 p.m.
The lone senior, Mavrik Malin, was a member of the St. Clairsville team that qualified two years ago and played on the same course.
"Hopefully the weather is better than it was two years ago. It was about 40 degrees and rainy," he recalled. "As long as the weather is good, I think we'll have some good scores."
Behind Malin's tri-medalist honors with a 70, St. Clairsville captured the District championship last week at EagleSticks Golf Club in Zanesville.
"I think it will help in just knowing the course. It won't be my first time seeing, or playing, on the course," Malin noted. "It's mostly flat, nothing like we are used to around here. I don't think there's a benefit, but I don’t think it can hurt us.
"I've been trying to tell the guys what to expect and when we have our practice round, hopefully I'll be able to help them there, too. If we all play well, I think we can win it."
Winning is something this team has done all of their careers.
So far this season, the Red Devils have won their sixth straight Buckeye 8 and OVAC Class 4A championships, while once again claiming the Division II Sectional crown. Malin was medalist in the OVAC and Sectional tournaments, while Beau Mooney topped the Buckeye 8 field.
In addition, the Red Devils have logged many, many miles trying to place the best competition around the state, and have held their own.
"Hopefully, we have a lot of fun. The weather looks good, so, hopefully, we can shoot some good scores," Beau Mooney said. "Mentally I think it helps us prepare knowing that we are capable of playing with anybody."
As for the Firestone North Course, Mooney has been reading up on it.
"In the last week, I've done a lot of research and studied the course. It's pretty tough," he admitted.
He added that with Malin already playing the course, that should be beneficial, as well.
"On Saturday during our practice round it will be nice to have him show us where to hit the ball and all the strategy that comes with that."
As for having his mom as his head coach, he wouldn't trade anything.
"It's been fun to have her follow us around," he said.
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"Mavrik's experience on the course will definitely help us. He's a very strategic player," Coach Mooney added. "I think he will offer valuable advice to the guys during our practice round as to what works and what doesn't.
"The weather could also play a factor. Golf is a fickle sport. The variables are all over the place."
In addition to Malin and Beau Mooney in the No. 1 and No. 2 slots, the roster is completed with Mason Conway (No. 3), Ryan Mooney (No. 4) and Jackson Conway (No. 5). The Conway's aren't related.
"We talked before the season that this was the order we were going to stick with so that it didn't mess with their heads. I think they are all very seasoned," the coach stressed. "They are a collective group that is very close-knit. They also display outstanding sportsmanship and knowledge of the game. They make sure the game is played with the integrity it was supposed to have."
The five really play as a team.
"We've been pretty consistent all season long. If someone doesn't have his best day, someone else steps up," the coach continued. "We have faced a few of the qualifying teams this year, and we've beat some of them. I think we came within a stroke of Alter at the Walker Jones event in Medina. I think it was their fifth man that broke the tie, so we're neck-and-neck there.
(Former St. Clairsville) Coach (Ryan) Clifford and I sat down and looked at a couple of things and we both think we're in the race."
While all five players have led the team at one point or another, Coach Mooney has been especially pleased with the play of the team's youngest player.
"Jackson has been nothing short of a Christmas gift," she said about her freshman phenom. "Mason (Conway) said earlier in the season it was nice to have him on the team because it took some of the pressure off of the other guys, knowing that you've got a No. 5 guy that is going to be there."
In the District, Malin carded a 70, while Jackson Conway fired a 73. The two Mooneys and Mason Conway all had 75s.
Coach Mooney hasn’t studied the course like her son, but she is doing her best to get the team ready.
"It doesn't go up and down as much as this one here at Belmont Hills, but we played a round on Tuesday at The Virtues that will be nice for them because of the length and distance. It's more of a tournament-style course."
St. Clairsville also appeared in the 1981, 2012 and 2024 state tournaments.