IAC BOYS GOLF: S-VE HITTING LINKS WITH YOUTHFUL TEAM (2024-03-24)

Tioga County Sports Report
SPENCER — Spencer-Van Etten enters its second year as a solo act, having split with Candor prior to the 2023 season. With just one of the top players from the 2022 SVEC team playing for the Panthers, the team still went a respectable 6-8.

That player, Nathan Gillette, who competed in the Section IV Medalist tournament, has moved on to the collegiate level. S-VE also graduated Bryce Grant and Jacek Stahl, leaving coach Joe Darrow with a youthful group to work with.

Returning for S-VE are senior Tyler Fedenko, junior Jayden Stone and sophomore John Hastings while three newcomers hope to make an impact. They are 7th-grader Andrew Kinnetz, freshman AJ Shoemaker and senior Caden McFall.

“This year, we have a relatively young team with four 7th- and 8th-graders, one 9th-grader and a sophomore,” Darrow said. “This year our goal is to get better every day.

“We should be competitive in just about every match. Jayden Stone, Tyler Fedenko and John Hastings have shown continuous improvement the last two years, and I'm hoping to see another step forward from the three of them.

The competition should be stiff, despite the fact Candor suffered heavy graduation losses.

“Union Springs and Tioga Center are very good teams and both return a lot of talent from last year, and should be contending for both a sectional and league title,” Darrow said. “Candor has two very strong golfers also and are going to surprise some teams.”

S-VE opens the season with big challenges, hosting Union Springs/Port Byron at The Club at Shepard Hills on April 5 before visiting Tioga April 9.

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IN PHOTO: S-VE’s Tyler Fedenko. ... TCSR STOCK PHOTO.