This year's state berth has helped complete the Minerva High School girls golf team's big comeback.
AKRON — Distance-wise, Minerva's journey to the OHSAA Division I girls golf state championships was short. All it took was a 45-minute ride.
The mileage doesn't tell the whole story. The Lions came a long way in a brief time to play at Firestone Country Club's Fazio Course on the final day of the 2025 high school season. They won't leave with a championship trophy. They'll leave knowing the program is in a good place and more state appearances are possible.
Minerva went 0-18 in head coach Ken Beaumariage's first season in 2021. Over the last two years, the Lions won 38 of 39 matches.
It's a comeback Beaumariage always thought was possible.
"If you talk to my wife, once I get into something, I'm into it," Beaumariage said after the first round of the state tournament on Sunday, Oct. 12.
Beaumariage started to build a program from the ground up. Many of his players were just learning the game. Some found themselves playing right away.
Senior Mady Bartley practiced one round at Great Trail and was in her first match 24 hours later.
"I had my first practice and was like 'Oh, this is rough,'" Bartley said. "Then we went to a tournament the next day. It did not end very well, but it was a fun experience. So I stuck with it."
The Lions raised their win total from zero to six in Beaumariage's second season. The program was gaining traction. Keeping the momentum going required a big commitment from the players.
"We spent the entire summer doing nothing but golfing," Beaumariage said. "It was Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and we took Friday off.
"We came back and went 22-1 last year."
Beaumariage said Minerva's 2024 team was a great 9-hole team. Despite their great record, the Lions fell short of a state berth at the district tournament.
When the winter weather broke, the Lions were back on the course almost every day.
"We started practice back in April," said Minerva sophomore Peyton Beaumariage, the coach's daughter. "Normally not a lot of golf teams do that. We just really wanted to make it to state."
Ken Beaumariage also wanted his players to get used to longer events like the state tournament.
"When you're building, you have to be able to play 18 holes," he said. "This past summer we did nothing but 18 holes. We were ready."
The Lions breezed through the regular season and won Eastern Buckeye Conference, sectional and district titles. A state berth was finally in their hands.
"State was a really big goal for us this year," Peyton Beaumariage said. "We're really happy to be playing at Firestone."
Minerva hoped for better results in the first round. The team of Bartley, Beaumariage, senior Hannah Kirkpatrick, junior Delaney Sell and freshman Emery Sell will enter the final round 12th out of 12 teams.
The Lions quickly found out that Firestone is a different beast.
"This is almost 2,000 yards longer than what we normally play," Peyton Beaumariage said. "It was super long. The greens were super fast. We got our practice round in yesterday and knew what it was going to be like."
The Lions hope to make the most of their final round in this memorable season.
"As long as we come out here, give it our all and give it our best, I'll be happy," Bartley said.
How other players, teams fared in first round of OHSAA Division I golf tournament
Green will head into Monday's final round in sixth place in the boys field. Seniors Silas Kirkpatrick and Shane Bates are tied for 32nd overall at 6-over.
Jackson sophomore Ben Young is tied for 20th at 4-over after shooting an area-best 76. In the girls tournament, Hoover's Ellie Hutzler wrapped up her round with four straight pars and is tied for 19th at 11-over.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Minerva girls golf team's big comeback ends with OHSAA state berth
Category: General Sports
