Tee it up
JACKSON TWP — A successful junior season could be a springboard to bigger and better things for Adam Bushee.
As a junior in 2016, the Seneca Valley golfer emerged from a very competitive Section 3-AAA tournament to place ninth at WPIALs and sixth at regionals to earn his first trip to the state championship in York.
Bushee will look to add to his feats during the 2017 high school golf season, which begins Thursday.
“He's gotten bigger and stronger since last season,” said Raider coach Steve Mayes, “so he's driving the ball a bit farther. He played well over the summer and looked good in tryouts this week. He's coming out of the gate pretty fast.”
Mayes is looking for improved play on the greens from Bushee this season.
“Like with any golfer, putting comes and goes,” Mayes said. “If you watch golf on TV you can see that. Putting was Adam's downfall at states last year. He actually hit the ball pretty well, but struggled with his putter and that's why he didn't do so well.
“But the mental aspect of the game, I put that ahead of everything else. If a kid can deal with a bad shot, he can bounce back from it and still do well. You look at the three tournaments (sectionals, districts and regionals) Adam came out of last year, he doesn't do that if he's not strong mentally.”
Bushee joins senior Paul Lopiccolo and junior Zach Brown this season to lead a talented Raiders squad.
Youth Movement
Maddie Smithco didn't let her underclassman status get in the way of turning in an incredible freshman campaign last year.
The Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic golfer placed second at both the WPIAL Class AA finals and at the state finals.
“She competed in both of those events with a stress fracture in her back,” said CWNC coach John Haggerty. “I also coach baseball and if I had nine players who were as strong mentally as Maddie is, we'd win a state title every year.”
Since the school does not have a girls golf team, Smithco competes with the boys and averaged a 39 last year.
“Everything is straight down the middle with her,” Haggerty added. “She is so consistent with distance and direction and never gets in trouble.”
Mars' Cody Killian, now a sophomore, also had a solid introduction to the high school game, averaging 39.9 strokes per nine holes, second on the team behind only the graduated Adam Sweet. The former shot a 76 in the Section 8-AAA tournament at Saxon Golf Course last September.
“In my 18 years as head coach at Mars, there has only been four other freshmen to letter here,” said Planet coach Tim Tyler. “It's tough for a freshman to jump in and do that.”
Tyler said the next step for Killian is to qualify for the WPIAL finals and make the regional tournament. He believes the sophomore has what it takes to get there.
“Cody plays really well on the difficult courses because he has a good iron game,” Tyler said. “Even if his drive isn't right down the middle of the fairway, his irons get him there. If you can do that, you can play anywhere.”
Twin Tornadoes
Butler's girls have high hopes this fall and Hannah Folk and Maggie Feczko are leading the charge.
A senior and junior respectively, Folk (high 30s) and Feczko (low 40s) return as the top two golfers from a Butler team that tied Pine-Richland for the section title and placed fourth in the WPIAL last season.
“If we don't win states as a team, I'd love to see one of our girls win individually,” said Golden Tornado coach Sarah Zediker. “Hannah and Maggie are similar golfers and both have strong drives. Playing at (Hiland Golf Course), they know the slopes, the greens and how quick they are.”
The duo were Butler's best performers during tryouts this week. Folk tallied 121 strokes and Feczko 136 strokes in 27 holes.
Folk is seeking her fourth trip to the district final.
