Marvin Ridge
Conference: Southern Carolina Conference
Coach: Al Webster
2016: Won Southern Carolina Conference Championship; Finished third at the Class 3A Golf Championships.
Between the Lines: Marvin Ridge has finished third at the state golf tournament the last two seasons after finishing as the runner-up in 2014. … Marvin Ridge is the three-time defending Southern Carolina Conference champion. … The top three teams in the SCC advance to the regional where the top three teams there advance to the state tournament. … Individuals not on advancing teams can also move on to regional and state play.
Depth and experience look to be a winning combination for the Marvin Ridge boys golf team.
Marvin Ridge returns four players — Zack Swanson, Tyler Haines, Will Frye and Connor Targonski — from last year’s team that finished third at the Class 3A Golf Championships and the Mavericks have a deep roster that includes several freshmen that could contribute as the season progresses.
After a Southern Carolina Conference match March 14 at the Emerald Lake Golf Club, the Mavericks were 2-0 in conference matches. The final conference match is April 18 with the conference tournament scheduled for April 25.
“Hopefully, we will do even better this year,” said Marvin Ridge coach Al Webster, who is in his third year coaching the team. “I have a real strong set of returning players and we have some great freshmen. We have got off to a great start this season.
“We definitely are building on that tradition and we definitely want to contend for a state championship every year. But contending at the state level is a huge challenge.”
Swanson is the Mavericks most experienced returnee after playing in the Class 3A State Championships the past three seasons. Swanson finished ninth overall at state as a freshman and sophomore and was 14th a year ago. Swanson signed to play golf at Charlotte last fall.
“Our leader is Zack Swanson,” Webster said. “He is fantastic and we are excited that he is leading the team this year. He is shooting at par and below par on a daily basis. He is very dependable.”
Other top returnees are juniors Haines and Frye and sophomore Targonski. Haines and Frye both played in the state tournament the previous two seasons while Targonski played last year as a freshman.
“With our experienced players returning, I feel we have a great shot to contend for a state championship,” Webster said. “All of our returning players are stepping up for us. The fact that that some of these guys have been to state multiple times is going to help. Everybody on the team is fighting hard.”
Freshman Joe O’Callaghan has cracked into the Mavericks lineup after firing a 40 and a 38 in the school’s first two conference matches. Freshman Lucas Cashion and sophomore Zach Pardoll could also figure into the mix for the Mavericks.
“Joe is playing great and starting pretty much every match,” Webster said. “We have a good mix of seniors, juniors sophomores and freshmen.”
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