After back-to-back District 9 Class AAA golf titles and five championships in the last six years, the goal for the Bradford boys golf team in 2019 is simple: keep the winning going.
The Owls opened up their season by finishing in third place at the Coudersport Invitational last Thursday, a promising start for head coach Travis Faulkner, entering his eighth season with Bradford.
“We’re looking up,” he said. “We do have a bunch of seniors, but we have experience with the younger guys as well. I’m happy how we are looking already, all of these guys have played golf all summer. I have watched a lot of them, and we are just going to keep getting better and better.”
Highlighting Faulkner’s excitement is the play of sophomore Spencer Cornelius, who stayed active all summer at the Penn-York Junior Golf League, averaging one of the top scores over the four-week event with a 75.
Cornelius had a team-low average as a freshman last year, but is currently injured and the Owls have begun the season without him.
“He’s out up until three weeks,” Faulkner said. “Taking his 75 average from Penn-York out is going to hurt us to begin the season. If everything goes well with his next appointment he should be back at the beginning of September. We are hoping for that.”
Faulkner is confident that Cornelius’ teammates can help fill the void in his absence, including the five seniors on the roster.
Faulkner is expecting big things from one of those seniors — Joe Gorse — who has some extra motivation after finishing with the second-best scores on the team during his first three years at Bradford.
Gorse shot an 84 at the Coudy Invite, good for fourth overall.
“He can hold his own, and he’s been number two on the team since he was a freshman,” Faulkner said. “Every year somebody new has beaten him. So he is looking to step up as a senior and we are looking for big things from all of them.”
The remainder of the senior class includes Thomas Anderson, Max Greenberg, Peyton Manion, Tony Lonzi and Matthew Frantz, who is golfing for Bradford for the first time in 2019.
Anderson and Frantz shot scores of 90 and 92, respectively, on Thursday.
Rounding out the Owls roster are junior Jack Tim, sophomores Michael Greenberg and Ashton Alexis and freshman Max Shaw, Gregory Tyler and Garrett Erickson.
With another good turnout, Faulkner is eager to keep building on the team’s success in hopes of keeping together the dynasty he’s built over the last eight years.
“Those younger kids watching them play and seeing those District title banners, they know they want to shoot for that,” Faulker said. “Golf is kind of overlooked sometimes in the area but a ton of people do it all the time. I have a ton of people come up to me that I didn’t know golfed and they follow it and know it so they know and know the kids. Just moving that through and trying to reload with the number of kids.
“I’m really happy where we are sitting right now. We are looking good.”
The Owls host five matches in 2019, including the Bradford Invitational at Pennhills Club on Sept. 14.
The 2019 schedule:
August
19 – at Bavarian Hills Invite
21 – ELK CATHOLIC
27 – ST. MARYS
September
3 – at Ridgway
5 – at Elk County Catholic
9 – at St. Marys
11 – RIDGWAY
12 – KANE
14 – BRADFORD INVITE
18 – at Punxsutawney Invite
20 – at Smethport Invite
