The temperatures are in the 90s but the high school fall semester is closing in, and that means fall sports teams are getting ready for their seasons. The golf season leads the way in the Virginia High School League and both Salem and Glenvar will be teeing off for real next week.
Both the Spartans and the Highlanders will be participating in the Botetourt Metro Tournament at the Botetourt Golf & Swim Club next Tuesday, August 5th. The former two-day Bob McLelland Metro has become a one day event in recent years after the Daleville course became the annual site of the season opening tournament.
In addition to Salem and Glenvar other teams included in next week’s tournament will be Lord Botetourt, James River, William Byrd, Northside, Patrick Henry, Blacksburg, Franklin County, Staunton River, Cave Spring, Hidden Valley, Auburn, E.C. Glass, Halifax County, Floyd County, Radford and George Wythe. Blacksburg won the Metro last summer and the Bruins come in as favorites to repeat.
Salem is having tryouts this week. The Spartans won’t be able to replace Vanderbilt bound Kathryn Ha but they hope to have enough depth to compete with the top teams in the area.
“I think we will surprise some people this fall,” said Spartan coach Blaine Hancock. “It’s hard to replace the two seniors that graduated last year. Kathryn Ha and Aidan Andrews have meant the world to this program and are off to college this fall. Kathryn finished her high school career as a three-time state champion and one of the top golfers in the country, leading to her playing at Vanderbilt this fall. Aidan had a counting score in 80 percent of our tournaments last year. We will miss these two incredible people and we are excited for them as they start their next chapter.
“We will be young again this year and we are excited to build off the success of a top four finish in the state last season,” said Hancock. “Even though we are young, our goal is to have four counting scores in the 70s every tournament this year. We hope to make another push to state as a team.”
The Spartans have a talented transfer in junior Ashnoor Kaur, who comes to Salem High from Hidden Valley. She sat out last season due to the move.
“She will be ready to go this fall after an incredible summer where she has elevated her game, posting consistently low scores,” said Hancock. “She is currently sixth on the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls Tour (PKBGT) rankings and is a national top 200 ranked player for the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Rankings. She is also one of the top five girls in the state.”
Ashnoor recently finished top 10 in two national tournaments. She finished fourth at The Lanto Junior Championship and tied for seventth in the Scott Robertson Memorial, both events that Kathryn Ha won. She averaged a 71.8 score in those events.
“We look for big things from her this fall, showing she is one of the best,” said Hancock. “Ashnoor will have to miss a few tournaments this fall as she will be competing in numerous national AJGA events.”
A returning sophomore is Mike Bateman, who is currently sitting at 11th in the Lanto Tour. He finished top 15 in the district and region last year as a freshman.
Zach Bocock is the lone upperclassman that is returning from last year’s team, posting a counting score in 47 percent of the tournaments in 2024. Sophomore Croix Bowen was a counting score in 53 percent of last season’s tournaments and finished tied for seventh in the region. Another sophomore, Will Creger, is out with a knee injury suffered during the lacrosse season.
Promising freshman McKenzie Eversole was on the JV team last year and others looking to make the jump to the Varsity roster include Eli Wells, Thomas Powell and John Stovall.
“We also have 16 others signed up to try out for the team,” said Hancock. “We’re excited to see if any of them can make an impact for our team this fall.”
At Glenvar coach Shawn Duff is looking to replace six seniors who played in just about every match last year.
“This year we have an exciting group,” said Duff. “We have a lot of youngsters and a large group of seniors, many of whom have not played high school golf. I have been pleased with the progress of our group over the summer.”
The Highlanders have been getting strong play from John Deel, Grayson Shearer, Easton Quesenberry and Tyler Shannon.
“We have seen lots of improvement from the others on our squad,” said Duff. “We’re looking forward to seeing how we perform in conference play.”
The Highlanders will open their season on Monday with a Three Rivers District match at the Olde Mill Golf Course in Laurel Fork, VA.
