Boardman High School will send its entire boys golf team and two Lady Spartans golfers to the Ohio prep links championships this weekend in Columbus.
      The boys team, under the direction of Ron Moschella, earned its berth in the championships with a second place district finish with a 303 stroke total, just one stroke behind district champ Medina.
      Dublin Jerome High School figures to be the favorite, entering the state meet as Central District champs with a 292 total, and fielding a senior-laden team that includes one junior. The 292 total was the best at any Div. I district championship.
      Boardman enters with one senior, captain Ethan Thomas; three sophomores, Brian Terlesky, Cade Kreps and Bobby Jonda, and freshman Cole Christman.
      Thomas saved his best round of the season for the district championships at Pine Hill GC, shooting an even par 36-36-72, that included a 23-ft. birdie putt on the 426-yard 18th hole.
      “Ethan played his best round ever and that saved us,” Moschella said, adding his captain “practices hitting the ball all the time.”
      Terlesky went into the clubhouse at 39-35-74. His drive on the 18th hole landed somewhat behind a tree and Terlesky hooked his second shot to the green, and two-putted to save par.
      Kreps finished 41-37-78, including a back nine that included two birdies, while Christmas posted a 42 on the front side and went one-over-par 37 on the back for a 79.
      Rounding out Boardman’s tourney team is Jonda, who finished with an 85 at the district event.
      Boardman opens play in the 36-hole state event Friday on Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, where pin placements leave little room for error, with the final round on Saturday.
      Terlesky will see play in his second state championship. Last year as a freshman, he finished fourth. The top three finishers in last year’s event have all graduated.
      “We’re not going there to say ‘we’re glad we are here.’ We going there to compete at our best,” Moschella said this week.
      He added, “The kids all thought they could have played a little better at the district meet, and we hope to carry that kind of momentum in the state championships.
      The Ohio high school girls’ championship gets underway at OSU’s Gray Course where Boardman sophomore and sectional and district champ Jenna Vivo; and junior Jacinta Pikunas, a two-time state qualifier, are set to compete.
      Vivo earned tourney titles at each event with an 18-hole score of 73; while Pikunas earned her berth in a one-hole playoff after finishing 18 holes at the district meet at 74 strokes.
      Pikunas’ best finish at the state meet was seventh.
      “We have two, quality student-athletes representing us in Columbus,” Boardman head girls golf coach Brian Terlesky said, adding “When they get to the golf course, they are all business.”
      Both Lady Spartans are steady golfers, as Pikunas finished the regular season with a 9-hole average of 34 strokes; and Vivo ended averaging 37 stroke a nine, until she got red-hot at sectional and district play as the medalist in both tournaments.