Some may remember how I ended last year’s Kiely Cup tournament recap on kielycup.com or Northern Ohio Golf. The gist was that I hoped for Chamber of Commerce weather this year—especially after last year’s dismal wet start.
Fortunately, the weather cooperated with one exception, very high winds. It blew strong and constantly on both days. With temps in the 60s it felt like autumn, “Beautiful days to play golf; difficult days to score!” However, it really didn’t matter to many of Ohio’s most talented prep golfers. No tournament records were broken, but I thought the scores were remarkable, considering the playing conditions. Add Canterbury’s well-known lush rough, fast greens, elevation changes, and the fact they played the back tees, the flags on the pins were out straight! The conditions were stout.
Archbishop Alter won. Runner-up last year, coach Alex Schuster’s boys had their redemption after losing to Archbishop Hoban by a single stroke in 2023. This year, they prevailed over runner-up Upper Arlington by four strokes, perennial favorites St. Ignatius by seven, two-time winner University School by eight, and rival Hoban by twelve. Archbishop Alter’s win also came on the heels of last year’s D2 State Championship win. You can be sure the team has its sights set on repeating. Interestingly, Alter is also only the second D2 Ohio high school to win the Kiely Cup. Craig Yakscoe’s 2019 Columbus Academy team was the other. I still hope the day will come when a D3 school surprises us by overcoming D1 powerhouse schools. You know who you are.
This year’s medalist honors go to Alter’s TJ Kreusch (71-76 147)—a stroke better than St. Xavier’s Michael Stagnaro (74-74 148), followed by Bellbrook’s talented senior, CJ Scohy (73-76 149), and Hudson’s own Sam Fauver (76-73 149). TJ’s fine play followed last year’s co-medalist and teammate, Davis Gochenouer, who graduated and now plays on the Ole Miss men’s golf team.
This year’s tournament marked my final year as chairman, a role I’ve played for two decades. As I pass the baton to new leadership, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Canterbury President, Frank DeFino, the Board of Directors, General Manager, Michael Lukegord, and Canterbury’s course superintendent, Michael LoPresti. I am also deeply thankful to our entire membership for the privilege to serve as chairman. Your unwavering support and dedication have ben a source of inspiration since the inception of the Kiely Cup.
Back in the fall of of 2004, the founders, Leonard & Frank DeFino, Bill Keller, Tony Asher, and I, had a simple ambitious goal: to create a premier invitational high school boy’s tournament, including teams from all three Ohio athletic divisions. We hoped to offer them the opportunity to showcase their talents on Canterbury’s famed links and instill in them the values of sportsmanship, perseverance, and integrity. We dreamed of a platform that would reflect the excellence that Canterbury Golf Club is known for throughout our country. We envisioned an invitational tournament that would help foster the next generation of champions. It is humbling to see how far we have come since that 12-team tournament back on September 19, 2005.
None of it would have been possible without the unwavering support of Kevin Mackay and the non-profit Canterbury Heritage Foundation, whose efforts funded all the tournament expenses, except lodging. To my friends who volunteered their interest and time—I can’t thank you enough. Special thanks also go out to Canterbury’s, Head Professionals, beginning with Craig Murray, Bill McKinley, Mike Kernicki and including our present Head Professional, Jason Carbone, and his capable staff; and to our illustrious featured banquet speakers, from our first, Bob Lewis & Bob Fairchild, to this week’s 2024 speaker, IMG’s “Rainmaker” Hughes Norton, and all of you in between—my sincere thanks for sharing your insights, knowledge, and love for the game with these young aspirants.
As I step down, I have full confidence in our next chairman, Francis “Bear” DeFino. I’ve known him and his family since he was a young lad on the Canterbury Swim Team going up against and beating older kids from Country, Kirtland, and Mayfield. I know the Canterbury Kiely Cup will continue to thrive under his leadership, and I look forward to watching future Kiely Cups’ continued success as the tournament all Ohio golf teams aspire to play in.
Lastly, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Michael “Mike” Kiely—the patron saint of Canterbury—for his 50+ years as our assistant pro, caddy master, mentor, father, and priest to thousands of aspiring caddies. Mike, you’re an inspirational figure and the reason why this tournament is named after you!
I’ll end with one of Mike’s famous Kiely-isms: “you’re fired Fraser, be back here in the morning.”
With gratitude and warmest regards,
Craig Fraser
Outgoing Chairman, Canterbury Kiely Cup
FINAL RESULTS: Boys High School Golf
2024 Kiely Cup
Canterbury Golf Club, Cleveland
Sunday, Sep 8 – Monday, Sep 9, 2024
Par 72 – Team Par 288/576
1. ARCHBISHOP ALTER 304-311 615
TJ Kreusch, 71-76 147 Medalist
Andrew Gochenouer, 74-77 151
Matthew Kreusch, 78-77 151
Grady Tabar, 81-82 163
Charlie Anderson, 88-81 169
2. UPPER ARLINGTON 315-304 619
Bric Baird, 75-76 151
Mitch Stock, 80-76 156
Rocco Humphreys, 79-74 15
Andrew Singer, 81-86 167
Will Mangas,Jr. 81-78 159
3. ST. IGNATIUS 316-306 622
Patrick Myers, 76-85 161
Ethan White, 74-77 151
Fitch Farina, 80-78 158
Alex Stiegele, 86-76 162
Kyle Malicki, 86-75 161
4. UNIVERSITY SCHOOL 311-312 623
Jackson Pinney, 78-76 154
Ethan Roberts, 78-82 160
Adam Sands, 81-79 160
Bennett Johnson, 77-75 152
Slater Schoaf, 78-82 160
5. ARCHBISHOP HOBAN 313-314 627
Chris Pollak, 82-80 162
Braden Herstich, 77-78 155
Ray Dress, 77-82 159
Ben Berridge, 79-81 160
Brett Bagatti, 80-75 155
6. OLENTANGY LIBERTY 312-320 632
Jackson Harris, 74-79 153
Mitchell Corbin, 76-84 160
Noah Mulford, 87-78 165
Noah Andry, 87-78 165
Trevor Leeds,85-83 168
7. ST. XAVIER 311-322 633
Michael Stagnaro, 74-74 148
Patrick Paquette, 77-78 155
Tanner Berry, 82-86 168
Owen Sedgwick, 78-87 165
Eli Moore, 85-84 169
8. HUDSON 315-321 636
Sam Fauver, 76-73 149
Ben Fauver, 76-80 156
Benjamin Matava, 83-84 167
Barrett Atchison, 87-84 171
Jerry Du,80-84 164
9. MEDINA 324-319 643
Eli Zimmerman, 83-77 160
Cam Stafford, 81-87 168
Wren Spires, 77-76 153
Coen Miller, 83-80 163
Declan West, 92-86 178
10. TOLEDO ST. FRANCIS 330-319 649
Nick Miller, 82-74 156
Jack Julius, 83-81 164
Jack Schoen, 84-86 170
Thomas Woycik, 87-81 168
Collin Paris,81-83 164
T11. BELLBROOK 331-329 660
CJ Scohy, 73-76 149
David Gregory, 86-78 164
Brody Miller, 85-88 173
Brody Seitz,88-87 175
Jackson Hunt, 87-90 177
T11. WALSH JESUIT 327-333 660
Steven Voinovich, 81-79 160
Ryan Czenszak, 83-84 167
Anthony Spain, 80-80 160
MatthewCzenszaki 83-90 173
Mossimo Russo, 84-90 174
13. HILAND 336-334 670
Andrew Beun, 80 79 150
Jack Mast, 78-79 157
Camden Bille, 93-84 177
Grant Bille, 94-92 186
Jesse Conn, 85-94- 179
14. WARREN JFK 325-347 672
Henry Phillips, 72-89 161
Andrew LaPolla, 80-86 166
Andrew Fredenberg, 83-87 170
Julian Bolino, 90-85 175
Taggart Carfangia, 101-95 196
15. ST. CLAIRSVILLE 339-339 678
Brodi Foster, 84-78 162
Andrew Abel 91-95 186
Evan Fix, 84-84 168
Mavrik Malin, 80-88 168
Ethan Turner, 93-89 182
