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Morgantown High, Preston’s Brier Manko conclude WVSSAC state golf tournament

WHEELING – The 2022 WVSSAC high school state golf tournament wrapped up on Wednesday at Speidel Golf Club in Wheeling. Wheeling Park took the team championship for Class AAA, while Gavin Goodrich, also of WPHS, won the individual title.

As a team, MHS finished in fifth place out of eight total teams, posting a total score of 526 strokes (+100) throughout the two rounds of the tournament. The Mohigans posted a score of +45 on day one, and +55 on day two. As a young team, the future looks bright for head coach Joel Barrett and his program.

Individually, Andrew Sheets was the highest finisher for MHS. He posted a score of +31 for his two rounds, including improving by five strokes from round one to round two.

Fellow Mohigan Gabe Watson finished one stroke behind Sheets at +32, leaving him in a tie for 18th.

The other two Mohigans, Solas Chhin-Kriener and Brody Davis, finished in 24th and 25th, respectively.

Brier Manko, from Preston High School, qualified as an individual player for the state tournament. Manko finished his tournament tied for 27th in the state with a score of +47.

Barrett says being able to make the state competition is an accomplishment itself, and that his team has already started to plan for next year.

“We are extremely proud of this team. They played the two days to the point of exhaustion,” he said on Wednesday. The course was difficult, the greens were fast, the pins were challenging and we gave it our best effort.

“The experience we all had will never be forgotten by any of us, these guys were already game-planning for next season. It’s very difficult to make the state tournament. There are a lot of good teams in our region. We will have to be at our very best to go again, but we have a taste for it, and I am confident my players will put in the work necessary to give us a shot at it again.”

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