Moorefield Golf seniors Kail Greenwalt and Tommy Parisi took one oil stroll into the sunset on senior night at Valley View Golf Club honoring their careers facing off against the Vikings.
Petersburg crashed the senior ceremony with a 158-stroke team win over the Yellow Jackets at 187.
Ayden Gossard was the overall low-medalist for the Vikings with a card of 36, followed by Maverick Wratchford at 39. Matthew Rigglema to 40 and Austin Kuh at 43.
Moorefield freshman Will Martin stole the spotlight from the seniors with a team best 44 strokes, followed by junior Kiody Biser with 46.
Parisi paced the Yellow Jackets senior duo with a card of 48 and Greenwalt rounded out the scoring at 49.
Greenwalt and Parisi played the course together for the final time and found the trees more often than desired.
“I always enjoy the kids. Those two are outstanding young men. They will be successful at anything they attempt. They come from great families and it shows. Seniors should be leaders and both have shown great leadership qualities on the course and off,” Moorefield Golf coach Kevin Reed commented.
Parisi was just under the tree line on the first hole of the day after his drive off the tee and would find his next shot off the fairway going behind the green and rolling down the hill on the other side.
Parisi would launch the ball back to the green and nearly got the ball in the hole.
Greenwalt’s first drive off the tee went to the right side of the fairway and was able to clear the brush for a landing on the green.
The second hole drive off the tee sent Parisi’s shot to the far left side of the fairway past the cart path and just beyond the giant tree, while Greenwalt landed his shot on the right side of the fairway in between the trees for an uphill battle to the green.
Greenwalt’s third hole tee swing landed in the pond and had to take a drop spot shot to the green, while Parisi landed firmly on the green.
“It means lot to be part of the Moorefield Golf team, because it is more than just wining matches It is about teamwork and learning how to be a leader. Golf is really mental and I have a good group of guys to play with and it has been a really fun year. My advice to the younger golfers would be ’to stick with it and have a short term memory. If there is a bad shot, it isn’t as bad as you think and there’s going to be a really good shot coming up ahead if you keep your head. The best time with this team would have to be singing in the golf van. We all have really good voices, if you ever want to listen. I plan on graduating high school and going to West Virginia University to earn a degree in agricultural business, then go to WVU Law School,” Moorefield Golf senior Tommy Parisi remarked.
There aren’t extra rewards for hitting trees, but Greenwalt found the trees thrice on the fourth hole to his dismay.
After the rough start, Greenwalt and Parisi found a better groove the rest of the course.
“Being part of the MHS Golf team is just a surrounding family that supports you and your good and bad days no matter the scores. My advice for the younger kids would be ‘stay the course, work hard and everything will play out how it’s supposed to.’ The funniest moments are definitely the rides in the golf van to and from matches. After high school, I plan to go build power lines,” Moorefield Golf senior Kail Greenwalt stated.
As part of the Moorefield senior tradition, their fathers were the caddies for the final hole and their mothers joined in on the walk with a beautiful sunset to take a final bow on the home course.
There was a big senior night dinner with pizza and cupcakes as Greenwalt and Parisi were able to smile after the rough finish.
The regional tournament is next Monday in Berkeley Springs for one final shot at reaching the state tournament for these seniors and their teammates.
