FRONT ROYAL — After finding success during Tuesday’s Blue Streak Invitational at Heritage Golf Club, Sherando turned in another strong performance 24 hours later at the 26th annual Curly Licklider Memorial Golf Invitational.
The Warriors shot a six-player score of 510 to lead all five local teams at the yearly event held on Wednesday at Shenandoah Valley Golf Club. They placed 18th in a field of 35 qualifying teams (40 total), following up on a fourth-place finish in a 10-team group on Tuesday.
The Warriors were trailed by 23rd-place Handley (525), 26th-place Clarke County (541), 29th-place Millbrook (561) and 30th-place James Wood (572).
Like last year’s event, each team’s top three golfers competed on the Titus Course, a par-72 course which is composed of Shenandoah Valley’s blue nine and nine additional holes at Bowling Green Country Club. The bottom three golfers competed on Shenandoah Valley’s par-71 red and white nines, which are known as the “Old Course.”
Douglas Freeman High School placed first by shooting a 433, and the Mavericks’ Matthew Berry and Rylan Hulse and Broad Run’s Grant Kerrigan tied for first by tallying a 69. Clarke County senior Grace Trent led local players with a 5-over-par 77.
The invitational dealt with some rain in the morning, but the skies cleared up by the afternoon. Sherando head coach Jonah Pearson said he’s glad his team embraced “falling in love” with playing in the rain.
Pearson also commended his group for staying strong across back-to-back 18-hole days and said he was impressed with what he saw.
“I’m really excited about this group, and today was a good look at what they’re capable of,” Pearson said. “We have a lot of guys who are capable of shooting good scores, and we can prove that we’re one of the best teams in the area.”
Last season, Sherando finished fourth at the Region 4D Sub-Region Tournament and sent both Daniel Hill and Peyton Sullivan to the region tournament.
Although Sullivan has graduated, Hill is back for his junior year as the team’s No. 1 player. He shot a team-high 83 on Tuesday and tallied an 88 at the Licklider.
The Warriors’ other scorers on Wednesday were sophomores Ty Chunta (80), Lane Fisher (83) and Mason Ables (85), junior Cole Prather (86) and sophomore Nick Sneddon (88).
Pearson said the Licklider showcased the team’s depth and commended Chunta for his efforts after a tough time out on Tuesday.
“I was encouraged, especially because our four, five, and six guys, they outplayed the guys at the top, and I think that is really what our team is,” Pearson said. “We have a lot of depth.”
“Ty, that’s why he’s one of our captains. Yesterday he shot a 101 down in Harrisonburg, and he bounced back with an 80 today. That’s why he’s a captain, because he’s mentally strong and has fun with it.”
Handley had the strongest finish for any area team last season after finishing second at the sub-region tournament and fourth at the region tournament. On Wednesday, the Judges were led by junior Hudson Slaughter, who shot an 80 to replicate his performance from Handley’s season-opening loss to Freedom (South Riding) on Monday.
The Judges lost key seniors Finn Slaughter, Will Brubaker and Cooper Phillips in the offseason and will look to Hudson and junior Jack Pearce-Gonzales to lead them in 2026.
Slaughter, who posted a stroke average of 79 last fall, said he’s not upset with his performance, but knows he can do better.
“I didn’t have any birdies today, so I didn’t go quite as low as I wanted to,” Slaughter said. “But I’m not super unhappy with 80 … I definitely will look to go lower as the season goes on and just keep putting in work with the team and by myself to try to make more of those birdies and get down into the low 70s again.”
Clarke County’s Trent was the only area golfer to perform better than Slaughter and Chunta on Wednesday, besting her 2025 stroke average of 85 by eight.
She said the rain made the grip on her club a bit slippery at times, but overall, she was pleased with her performance.
“I think I was just getting more up and downs. My chipping was really comfortable,” Trent said. “I definitely struggled a little bit off the tee once my grip started getting a little loose. But overall I had a lot of fun and thought I played consistently.”
Clarke County also received a good showing from senior Zac Shinabery, a newcomer who shot an 82 on Wednesday. Tom McFillen, who coaches the Eagles alongside John Milleson, said Shinabery has played golf before, just not with Clarke County.
He also noted that he was impressed with his roster’s performance across the board.
“For some of them, it’s the first time they’ve ever been in an 18-hole tournament,” McFillen said. “And to be shooting around bogey golf or better, I’ll take that every day … I think we’re going to be fine. I think we’ll be competitive in our district.”
Millbrook competed without senior Trenton Conley, a 2025 region tournament qualifier who was away on vacation Wednesday. The Pioneers did have senior Tyler Learn in the lineup, and the 2025 Winchester Star Golfer of the Year bounced back after a quiet showing at the Blue Streak Invitational by shooting a team-best 82 on Wednesday.
Pioneers’ head coach Tim Deegan said he expects Learn and Conley to continue improving in their final high school seasons and said he’s excited to see how his team progresses throughout the fall.
“We’ve got a great group of juniors and seniors, and we’ve got some great freshmen that have come in and really impressed me,” Deegan said. “So they’re starting at a higher level than, say, in previous years. So I really want to just take that and take advantage of the opportunity that we have and continue to take that next step forward.”
James Wood was led by junior newcomer Tucker Campbell, who shot an 87, and returning senior Drew Longo, who shot an 88.
Colonels’ first-year head coach Vitoria Whitehurst, who played golf at Shenandoah University from 2021-2025, said she’s been welcomed by the James Wood community with open arms. She also noted that she was proud of her lineup’s efforts on Wednesday.
“They all had their own personal goals, and my biggest thing was for them to show etiquette and respect and just take a feel for it,” Whitehurst said. “I actually watched every single one of them shake hands, and they kept their heads up. It’s also cool to see all of the drills we’ve been working on during practice; they actually think it through, and I see it starting to pay off.”
Beyond Slaughter, Handley was led by Pearce-Gonzales (81), Jaxon Pardue (88), Sohil Patel (91), Mariska Sharma (92) and Aaron DeChristopher (93).
Clarke County’s other scorers were Cambie Ferre (89), Anderson Pledgie (93), Dane Burgess (98) and Isaac Nei (102).
Millbrook’s additional scorers were Jude McGee (86), Nate Stubblefield (92), Preston Hammer (95), Finnegan Hepner (103) and Jackson Russell (103).
James Wood’s other scorers were Cole Ritter (93), Abram Nail (93), David Terry (99) and Emeric Ponceroff (112).
— Contact Joe Tuman at jtuman@winchesterstar.com