Golf outlook

August 11, 2025

The 2024 season was historic for Clarke County High School golf. For the first time in school history, the Eagles won the Region 2B tournament, thus reaching the state tournament for the first time as well.

After placing eighth in Class 2, Clarke will look to maintain its high level of success. However, it’ll have to do so with new leadership at the helm.

Tom McFillen has taken over as head coach after previously serving as an assistant under former head coach Phil Facemire. McFillen said his prior history with the program makes him confident he can find success in his new role.

“I’ve had a great rapport with the team [during] the years that I was assistant coach,” McFillen said. “And I’ve benefited greatly by the addition of Johnny Milleson, who’s assisting this year with the Clarke team. Johnny and I both played for the Clarke County team five decades ago. We take great satisfaction in that.”

While Clarke’s coaching staff has a long association with the school, the current roster has its fair share of history to build off as well.

Graduated senior Emmet Morris is the only key contributor who won’t return this season, meaning the Eagles’ state tournament lineup is still largely intact and positioned for another run.

Though Clarke hit historic heights last fall, it wasn’t the only local team to find success. Handley and James Wood also made noise, as both teams reached the Region 4D tournament.

Though these teams’ seasons ended in similar fashion last year, so far in 2025 they couldn’t be more different.

Handley kicked off its season with a victory at last Monday’s Class 4 Northwestern District mini, before placing 18th overall in Wednesday’s Curly Licklider Memorial Golf Invitational.

Meanwhile, James Wood has struggled early after losing several key contributors to graduation, including 2024 state qualifiers Brayden Rockwell and Ian Longo. Longtime head coach David Oates said “it wouldn’t even be remotely fair” to compare this year’s less experienced group to the roster the Colonels had a year ago.

Additionally, although Sherando and Millbrook were unable to reach the Region 4D tournament last season, both schools put forth respectable finishes in the sub-region tournament to cap off their year.

With Sherando’s Daniel Hill and Peyton Sullivan and Millbrook’s Tyler Learn and Trenton Conley putting forth strong early-season performances, there’s every chance these schools will be in the race late in the season.

The four Northwestern District teams will compete in the Region 4D North sub-region tournament at Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club on Sept. 30. The top two teams in that field will then compete in the regional tournament on Oct. 6 at Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest.

Clarke County will compete in the Bull Run District tournament on Sept. 22, and will hope to once again qualify for the Region 2B tournament on Sept. 29. Both of these events will be held at Bryce Resort Golf Course in Basye.

The Class 4 state tournament will take place on Oct. 14 at Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Harrisonburg, while the Class 2 state tournament will be held the same day at Hobbs Hole Golf Course in Tappahannock.

With all five local teams’ 2025 campaigns already underway, here’s a closer look at each team’s roster and outlook for the remainder of the season.

Clarke County

Coach: Tom McFillen, 1st season

Last year: Third in Bull Run District Tournament; first in Region 2B; eighth in Class 2 State Tournament

Key losses: Emmet Morris

Key returners: Jonah Ziercher, Sr.; Cambrie Ferre, So.; Dylan Hoggatt, Sr.; Grace Trent, Jr.; Caleb Erickson, Sr.; Carter Frame, Jr.; John Mercer, Sr.

Key newcomers: None mentioned.

McFillen’s outlook: “I just need [the team] to focus on the fact that your season is the entirety of your season, not just your district tournament and your regional tournament. Every match is important. Every round of golf is important. And as long as you mentally prepare yourself that way, I think when it comes tournament time to qualify for the region or the state, you’re in a much better frame of mind as a player.”

Next match: Thursday against Sherando and Page County (at Luray Caverns Golf Course), 4 p.m.

James Wood

Coach: David Oates, 13th season

Last year: First in Region 4D North sub-region; third in Region 4D.

Key losses: Brayden Rockwell, Jake Bursey, Ian Longo, Laney Stiles, Lauren Van Horn, Jay Bartlett.

Key returners: Connor Causby, Sr.; Drew Longo, Jr.; Peyton Blair, Jr.; Paige Littman, Jr.

Key newcomers: Aubrey Nail, Sr.; Abram Nail, Fr.; Emeric Ponceroff, Jr.

Oates’ outlook: “We’re young, really young. A lot of kids have kind of just started playing, and because of the weather and a couple other things, we really haven’t had much of a chance to practice. I’d like to see us lower our scores by maybe 30 strokes. If we can get down to 350 or 360 that would be a complete and total success.”

Next match: Tuesday at Class 4 Northwestern District mini tournament (at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club), 10 a.m.

Handley

Coach: Troy Mezzatesta, ninth season.

Last year: Second in Region 4D North sub-region; fourth in Region 4D

Key losses: Nash Sharma, Lang Shickle, Adam Rosenfels, John Casella.

Key returners: Finn Slaughter, Sr.; Cooper Phillips, Sr.; Hudson Slaughter, So.; Sofia Bogaty, Sr.; Will Brubaker, Sr.; Jack Perace-Gonzalez, So.; Aaron DeChristopher, So.; Jax Pardue, Jr.; Sohil Patel, Jr.; Mariska Sharma, So.

Key newcomers: Max Boula, Fr.; Charlie Warren, So.; Nina Bogaty, Fr.

Mezzatesta’s outlook: “We’ve got a lot of experience up front. We’ve got to just gain a little more experience in the middle, in the rear, and if we do that, then we can be competitive with some of the top teams in our region and make a nice run at the end.”

Next match: Tuesday at Class 4 Northwestern District mini tournament (at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club), 10 a.m.

Sherando

Coach: Jonah Pearson, second season.

Last year: Fourth in Region 4D North sub-region.

Key losses: Jackson Hepner, Landon Rust, Timmy Hill.

Key returners: Daniel Hill, So.; TJ Selznick, Jr.; Jay Sluss, Jr.; Sam Brooks, Sr.; Peyton Sullivan, Sr.

Key newcomers: Lane Fisher, So; Cole Prather, So (transfer from Legacy Christian Academy)

Pearson’s outlook: “We’re in an exciting spot this year. We have a lot of guys who are competitive with each other on the team. We’re really looking for who are the young guys that are going to break through to kind of round out our top four. So I’m excited to see how that plays out.”

Next match: Tuesday at Class 4 Northwestern District mini tournament (at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club), 10 a.m.

Millbrook

Coach: Tim Deegan, third season

Last year: Fifth in Region 4D North sub-region.

Key losses: No key losses, everyone returned.

Key returners: Anthony Gelormine, Sr.; Trenton Conley, Jr.; Tyler Learn, Jr.; Jude McGee, Jr.; Dylan Reich, So.; Nate Stubblefield, So.

Key newcomers (for top six consideration): Finnegan Hepner, So.; Jackson Russell, So.

Deegan’s outlook: “I feel like our district is going to be very close this year … I’d like to see Millbrook qualify as a team for regionals. If that’s not the case, I’d like to get three of our top four at that same level … when you have a lot of kids get to that level I think it says a lot about the program. I personally think we’re there. I think we as a team have been the closest that we’ve been in a long time to actually reach those goals.”

Next match: Tuesday at Class 4 Northwestern District mini tournament (at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club), 10 a.m.

— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com

Follow him on X @jtuman21

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