By Tim Rogers
NOPGA Media
CANTON: As expected, promised and advertised, the weather became atrocious.
It went from okay to irritating to unpleasant to intolerable and finally, to unplayable.
Yet, the show went on and, in the end, 32 youngsters were the stars.
On a day in which rain gear, towels, umbrellas and even handwarmers were more necessities than accessories, the third Ohio Junior Cup became a race to see who could get to the clubhouse the fastest, as long as they had won more holes than their opponent.
And, that’s exactly what most of the eight boys and girls representing the Northern Ohio Section did on Sunday at Brookside Country Club when they rolled to a third straight victory in the third Junior Ohio Cup.
After winning the first two Cups by the identical score of 16-8, the 2025 team captained by Jimmy Beers and Mike Pickett went one better by defeating their counterparts from the Southern Ohio Section, 17 to 7 by dominating the Singles Matches.
The NOPGA won nine of the 16 matches, losing three and tying four. The NOPGA began the day with a 6-2 lead after Saturday’s Fourball Matches and it ended with a show-me-the-couch and hand-me-a-hot chocolate victory.
When it comes to tournament golf the Northern Ohio Professional Golfers Association can control many things.
It can control how long a course will play for a certain event. It can determine pairings, tee times and pin placements.
One of the few things it can’t control is the weather. So, the NOPGA and SOPGA and officials from Brookside did the next best thing. They determined late Saturday that Sunday’s Singles would be contested over nine holes instead of the customary 18.
SO, what were Beers’ final instructions to his players as they headed for the first tee?
“I told them to get out front as fast as they could and they did,” said Beers, who will turn over the captaincy duties to assistant captain Mike Pickett for a two-year run in 2026 when the event moves to a Southern Ohio site. “They dominated.”
Indeed. Of the nine who eventually won, seven of them had a lead they never relinquished before walking off the third green. Five of them – Dexter James, Elijah Stewart, Korrine Knaze, Dominic Castelluccio and Annelise Stencel – won the first hole and never glanced in the rearview mirror.
James, from Hudson, took control early and in spectacular fashion. He made a 12-foot putt for birdie on the first hole against Casey Colton, parred the second and went 2-up when he holed out from 87 yards for eagle on the 508-yard third. He went on to win, 3-and-2.
Pickett was standing behind the third green when James’ ball took two hops before finding the cup. When it went in Pickett raised his arms and shouted, “It went in!” James and his father, also Dexter, were below the elevated green and could not see the shot. When player Dexter saw and heard Pickett, he tossed his 9-iron in the air and ran into his father’s arms.
East Liverpool’s Stewart, the youngest player in the event at 13, got to a 3-up lead with five pars in a six-hole stretch and won 3-and-2 over Lucas Massa.
Korrine Knaze, from Fairview Park, won the first three holes with two pars and a birdie enroute to her 4-and-3 victory over Emma Gebhart.
Westlake’s Castelluccio, who teamed with Jacob Rainieri to win a Fourball match, parred six of the first seven holes and went on to pick up his second point of the weekend with a 4-and-2 win over Luke Holop.
Stencel, a sophomore at Ithaca College from Akron, became the NOPGA’s all-time leading winner in this event with a 4-and-3 victory over Samantha Spearman. Making her third consecutive appearance in the Junior Cup, Stencel raised her career mark to a perfect 6-0-0 while Spearman struggled as the weather began its descent into miserable.
It will be difficult to determine if Beers will miss the event more than the event will miss him. Beers, who has been honored three times with the Section’s Youth Development Award and has devoted a career to working with junior players. He was the assistant captain during last year’s win at Columbus Country Club and has repeatedly expressed his love for the event.
“I would stay in this position for the rest of my life,” he said. “Give me that 50-year contract and I’ll sign it right now. This is amazing stuff. Parents can pay to get their children into any tournament but this one you must earn your way in. It’s limited to 16 kids and to watch them work hard and earn enough points throughout the year and then come here and be successful makes it very special. Just playing on this team is one thing but winning is on another level.”
Seven players contributed two points to the victory. On the girls side it was Stencel, Sagamore Hills’ Julia Gulla, Hudson’s Elena Varga, and Kayla and Korrine Knaze from Fairview Park. James and Castelluccio did the same for the boys.
Kayla Knaze, making her second appearance on the team, gave an honest opinion on the weather.
“Well, my umbrella wouldn’t stay on my cart and I had to hold it,” she began. “The wind was so bad I couldn’t use the umbrella but then it started raining really hard so I needed the umbrella, so it was kind of like a Catch-22. Do you use the umbrella and not get soaked or do you use it and have it blow away?”
She also said she will be eligible to play next year and is looking forward to it.
“It is such a fun event,” she said. “It’s right after the state tournament but you get to play here and have fun. With my sister on the team this year made it even more special. It’s like watching the pros play in the Ryder Cup and you get to do the same thing.”
Castelluccio echoed Knaze’s comments.
“I had a blast and I played pretty well,” he said. “The weather was the same for everyone. It hurt them as much as it hurt me, but it wasn’t a big deal. “But, I’d come back again, for sure.”
Beers, Pickett and SOPGA Captain Chris Yoder all gave inspiring and emotional speeches after the trophy presentation and after Beers gave special recognition to NOPGA Junior Golf Coordinator Haleigh Gray.
“I grew up playing junior golf in the Northern Ohio Section and we didn’t have anything like this,” said Yoder, who grew up in Ashland. “I was fortunate enough to play high school and collegiate golf. The one message I can tell you is that you will play hundreds of rounds, thousands of individual rounds over the course of your lifetime. To have an opportunity to play team golf with your teammates and friends is truly something you will remember the rest of your lives. To have an event like this at the end of the season that all of you work and strive for all season long, to earn points and have that carrot dangling in front of you at the end is truly remarkable. And to have a site like Brookside to host this event makes it even more special.”
Special. It was a word heard frequently over the weekend. And it fit every time.
THIRD JUNIOR OHIO CUP FINAL SCORES
FOURBALL SCORES
Casey Colton-Luke Holop (SOPGA) def. Wren Spires-Griffin Pickett, 1-up
Julia Gulla-Kate Vickerman (NOPGA) def. Isabelle Perini-Rebekah Hartley, 2-and-1
Braylen Haney-Carter Westendorf (SOPGA) def. Elijah Stewart-Mick Ambrose, 4-and-2
Kayla Knaze-Annelise Stencel (NOPGA) def. Emma Gebhart-Taylor Stringfield, 5-and-4
Dexter James-Ryan O’Leary (NOPGA) def. Lucas Massa-Christian Yoder, 2-up
Korrine Knaze-Yumi Kohara (NOPGA) def. Aubrey Lunn-Sage Shriver, 1-up
Dominic Castelluccio-Jacob Rainieri (NOPGA) def. Brady Reuter-Reid Seimetz, 3-and-2
Elena Varga-Rachel Rush (NOPGA) def. Aubrey Arnold-Samantha Spearman, 4-and-2.
NOPGA 6, SOPGA 2
INDIVIDUAL SCORES
Julia Gulla (NOPGA) def. Isabelle Perini, 1-up
Dexter James NOPGA) def. Casey Colton, 3-and-2
Taylor Stringfield (SOPGA) def. Rachel Rush, 4-and-3
Christian Yoder (SOPGA) def. Ryan O’Leary, 3-and-2
Elena Varga (NOPGA) def. Aubrey Arnold, 4-and-3
Elijah Stewart (NOPGA) def. Lucas Massa, 3-and-2
Korrine Knaze (NOPGA) def. Emma Gebhart, 4-and-3
Mick Ambrose (NOPGA) def. Braylen Haney, 4-and-3
Kayla Knaze (NOPGA) def. Sage Shriver, 1-up
Carter Westendorf (SOPGA) halve Wren Spiers
Rebekah Hartley (SOPGA) halve Kate Vickerman
Dominic Castelluccio (NOPGA) def. Luke Holop, 4-and-2
Aubrey Lunn (SOPGA) halve Yumi Kohara
Reid Seimetz (SOPGA) def. Griffin Pickett, 5-and-3
Annelise Stencel (NOPGA) def. Samantha Spearman, 4-and-3
Brady Reuter (SOPGA) halve Jacob Rainieri.
NOPGA 11, SOPGA 5
NOPGA wins, 17-7
##