Northeast Ohio High School Sports Underway – Perry Boys Golf wins NEO Futures Kickoff Classic, North Canton Girls Tennis Ranked Number One

Northeast Ohio High School Sports for the 2023-2024 school year began on Friday.

In fact, one of the first events that took place in Northeast Ohio was the NEO Futures Kickoff Classic which was held at Briardale Greens Golf Course in Euclid.

12 Northeast Ohio high school boys golf teams participated in the event including teams from Benedictine, Berkshire, Kirtland, Lake Catholic, Lutheran West, Perry, Valley Forge, Solon, St. Edward (1), St. Edward (2), Villa Angela St. Joseph’s, and West Geauga.

Great golf was played and the tournament was extremely close as it was decided by a single stroke.

The Perry Pirates Boys Golf Team, coached by Bob Dame, shot a 327 to win the tournament.

NEO Futures Tour Kickoff Classic Champions PERRY Pirates.

1. Perry – 327
2. Lake Catholic – 328 and Solon 328

Congrats! pic.twitter.com/EqWhQHDNZl

— NEOFuturesTour (@neofuturestour) August 4, 2023

 

pic.twitter.com/5jrQpmsdcu

— NEOFuturesTour (@neofuturestour) August 4, 2023

 

Perry edged out Solon and Lake Catholic who tied for second as both schools scored 328.

Individually, Kyle Boyd from Lake Catholic finished tied for first with a 74 and won medalist honors in a tiebreaker.

Matthew Contipelli from Solon also shot a 74 and finished second.

Jimmy Hoose from Lake Catholic finished third with a total score of 77.

Finishing fourth was Will Misconish from Benedictine who shot a 78, while Ray Pavlik from Lutheran West finished fifth as he shot a 79. 

After the event, Doug Sessor, a managing partner of the Northeast Ohio Futures Tour and Head Boys Golf Coach at St. Edward talked about the excellent golf that was played and the success of the tournament.

“Throughout the entire round we were witnesses to great shots and also recovery plays,” Sessor said. “(Perry was a) very deep and consistent team, all 5 players shot in the 80s.”

Sessor added, “The Kickoff Classic was a great success for NEO junior golf. The field consisted of 12 teams of 5 players. The ’24 goal is to expand to 24 teams. Highly recommend coaches entering their squads next year–great event to ease into the season versus top notch talent.”

North Canton, Avon and Magnificat Girls Tennis Teams Ranked in Top 10 

In addition to high school golf getting underway in Northeast Ohio, Girls high school tennis also began on Friday with Northeast Ohio having many top players and ranked teams.

In the OhioTennisZone.com Division I pre-season poll, the North Canton Hoover Girls Tennis Team is ranked number 1 in the state of Ohio.

In addition, Avon Girls Tennis is ranked 7th while Magnificat Girls Tennis is ranked 8th.

One of the first high school girls tennis matches in Northeast Ohio on Friday was between Beaumont and Our Lady of the Elms. Beaumont got the victory winning 5-0.

Nice start to the season for the varsity tennis team!

A 5-0 win over Our Lady of the Elms! pic.twitter.com/OReYfIyVey

— BeaumontBlueStreaks (@BlueStreaksAD) August 4, 2023

 

In other Northeast Ohio high school girls tennis news, Natalie Smitek a Western Michigan University commit from Avon High School, is participating this weekend in the United States Tennis Association 

Billie Jean King’s 16s and 18s National Championships in San Diego.

Northeast Ohio High School Football to Begin Thursday, August 17th

With the high school golf and tennis season starting this past Friday in Northeast Ohio, high school football is right around the corner.

The first high school football games in Northeast Ohio will take place on Thursday, August 17th with most games in the area being played on Friday August 18th at 7pm.  

The first Northeast Ohio football games on Thursday, August 17th include Grand Valley vs. Conneaut, Kent Roosevelt vs. Ravenna, Akron East vs. Youngstown Chaney, and Perry vs. Canton Central Catholic.