Nov 13, 2004 By Jim Downey 4 min read

Most high school golf coaches would like to have a 1-2 punch of James McGrath and Ryan Bashour, and it is for that reason the two are the Herald-Standard’s Golfers of the Year. Bashour, a senior at Brownsville, put a cap on his great career for the Falcons by tying for second in the WPIAL Boys Individual Golf Championship held at Mystic Rock while McGrath, a junior at Geibel Catholic, played in his first district championship to a ninth place finish. McGrath was in the top 20 in the state finals while Bashour was unable to overcome a slow start in the first round to finish further back in the pack.

Few golfers have the steady demeanor McGrath shows on the golf course, unflappable in times that would send other golfers into a state of panic or their clubs airborne. Like Bashour, McGrath led the Gators to the 2004 team playoffs, a season dedicated to Andrew Broadwater, the lone senior and team captain, who missed the year due to treatments for cancer. Undefeated in winning the Division II, Section 8 title, Geibel wasn’t able to advance out of the team semifinals.

McGrath started the 2004 season on a high note, winning the FCCA Golf Championship at Duck Hollow Golf Club.

While McGrath was ‘Mr. Cool’ on the golf course, few had the sense of style showed by Bashour. His outfit in the WPIAL Championship looked something right out of the ‘Ocean’s 11’ movie set, dressed in black from his team shirt, to his jet black Under Armour undershirt, to his black slacks and his golf shoes. He was confident in his abilities and backed up his word on the course, making the upward transition to Division I, Section 2 easier for first-year coach Chris McManus.

Maria Battaglia also deserves special mention in the same vein as the two boys for her season. The Laurel Highlands freshman finished eighth in the WPIAL, the only 9th grader in the field, to qualify as one of a few freshmen in the PIAA Championship field.

High school boys golf teams field a team of six, so the squad will be filled out by a pretty good bunch of golfers.

The Mustangs won yet another Division I, Section 2, and the steady play of Chris Bonchosky and Santino Marchitello were two of the reasons why. Bonchosky just missed advancing to the individual championship, losing in a playoff for the final spot.

Geibel Catholic’s Philip Lucostic was another steadying influence for the Gators, finishing fifth in the county championship and filling the role of the Gators’ No. 2 man nicely.

Though soft-spoken, Chad Kokoska let his clubs do the talking, advancing to the WPIAL finals and helping Jefferson-Morgan to a tie for second with Mapletown in Division II, Section 8 for a team playoff berth.

As always, there were a lot of good golfers in the area, good enough to fight for one of the top six positions. Those earning honorable mention include Beth-Center’s Matt Rohrer, Carmichaels’ Jamie Bandish, Geibel Catholic’s Edward Spotts, Jefferson-Morgan’s Matt Kokoska, Matt Hoover of Laurel Highlands, Mapletown’s Zach Cumberland, Southmoreland’s Tom Beal, and Waynesburg Central’s Tommy Rohanna.

Though he didn’t play on one of the 15 local golf squads, a spot will be reserved for Greensburg Central Catholic’s Rich Tiberio, who hails from Connellsville.

A lot of coaches deserve to be honored to head this squad. Jefferson-Morgan’s John Curtis rallied a young squad for second behind Geibel while Craig Hoone did the same for Mapletown, the Maples first trip to the team playoffs. McManus was thrown into the fire, but learned along the way for a second place finish in the always-tough Division I, Section 2. Southmoreland’s Kim Pfeifer pulled double duty again, leading the boys to the team playoffs. Beth-Center’s Rich Gasher led a late-season push to tie with the Scotties behind Greensburg Central Catholic in Division II, Section 2.

Given the regular and postseason campaigns, however, two coaches rose above the rest for co-Coach of the Year honors. Geibel Catholic’s Joel Hood and Don Crawford of Laurel Highlands kept the tradition-rich programs moving forward once again to earn the top honors this year.