Brentwood golf celebrates 1st section championship

By: Ray Fisher
Sunday, October 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM

It’s proven to be quite a memorable 2024 fall season for the Brentwood boys golf team.

For the first time in school history, the Spartans finished as section champions as Brentwood and Bishop Canevin tied for first place in Section 7-2A with 11-1 records.

And the Spartans advanced to the WPIAL playoffs for the second straight season.

“I honestly could not be prouder of our team,” coach Nick Vaccaro said. “I teach eighth grade here at Brentwood, so I’ve spent the last five years with these seniors. Many of them joined the team as freshmen that had never even swung a club before.

“To see their growth as players and young adults has been impressive. It was certainly a fun season, and I think we’re all sad to see it come to an end.”

Vaccaro and the Brentwood linksters expected to have some success in 2024. The Spartans exceeded expectations.

“We finished last season winning six of our last seven matches and really improved as the season went on,” Vaccaro said. “We ended up making the WPIAL team playoffs and that was kind of a surprise. We returned four starters from that team, and even though we knew we’d miss Brady Donovan and Zach Wuenschell, we thought we had enough talent to still make some noise.

“We expected to be back in the WPIAL team playoffs again, and I think the kids practiced over the summer with that goal in mind. I wouldn’t say we expected to win the section, but I thought we certainly had what it took to be in the mix to win it. The kids certainly put in the time and effort to exceed the preseason expectations.”

The four returning starters were all seniors: Aidan Barker, Joe Klemm, Luke Hammond and Isaac Johnson.

“They played in every match this season,” Vaccaro said.

Sophomore Jackson Knabenshue started nine of 12 matches and solidified himself as a starter as the season progressed.

Other team members rotated into the lineup throughout the ‘24 golf schedule. They were seniors Corey Topping and Olivia Witt, junior Connor Dusch, sophomores Gavin Cornell and Aidan Leach and freshman Travis Kuehn.

“I am beyond proud and excited for my team’s performance this year. I feel as though we met, but also exceeded, all my expectations,” Barker said. “At first, we just made it our goal to go to the playoffs again, but we went above that and managed to be able to get the section championship for golf for the first time in Brentwood history.

“I’m so proud of the team for what we were able to accomplish.”

Brentwood started out 4-0 with wins against South Park, South Allegheny, Serra Catholic and East Allegheny.

The Spartans racked up seven consecutive victories in the season’s second half, defeating South Park, South Allegheny, Steel Valley twice, Serra Catholic, East Allegheny and Bishop Canevin.

The win against Bishop Canevin proved to be the biggest for the Spartans. After losing to the Crusaders in August at Chartiers Country Club, 218-247, Brentwood rebounded with a 213-223 victory Sept. 12 at its home course at South Park.

The Spartans were led in 2024 by Barker, who advanced to the WPIAL Class 2A individual championship Sept. 23 at Youghiogheny Country Club. He’s the first Brentwood golfer to qualify for the postseason since 2010.

Barker advanced by shooting an 83 in the section qualifier Sept. 16 at South Park.

He finished with an 87 in the WPIAL first round Sept. 23 at Youghiogheny Country Club, missing his chance of going on to the finals by one stroke.

Barker is a three-sport standout for the Spartans; he also competes in basketball and baseball.

He averaged a nine-hole score of 39 this season and said the strongest part of his golf game is his approach around the greens.

“I felt like I had a pretty good season overall. I shot a fairly decent average,” Barker said. “I’m very proud of being a prominent part of the team that won its first-ever section championship. I also made it to the WPIAL individual semifinals, and I was the first person in over a decade to do so.

“I feel like all of the work and dedication I have put in through the offseason — going to the course, time spent at the range, and playing in summer tournaments — paid off. Mr. V has been such an integral part of my success this year. He has really done such a great job with this team, and I can’t thank him enough.”

Barker, Johnson, Klemm and Hammond filled the first four positions in the Spartans’ starting lineup with Knabenshue normally in the fifth spot.

“I’m really proud how far the team has come over the past few years,” Barker said. “We put in a lot of work, and we have some great talent. I like to think we’ve all helped each other improve our games.

“I was able to help get the team to playoffs two years in a row which has not happened in a very long time (at Brentwood). The section championship was the icing on the cake.”

Barker next will take aim on the college game. He hopes to continue his career at the next level.

“It’s crazy to look at where I started and where I am now,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to hopefully continuing to pursue my game in college.”

Tags: Brentwood