Area high school golf has been on the upswing for the last several years in the Ohio Valley.

It’s clearly evident, too.

How?

Just take a look at the number of players who are playing – and contributing – to teams at the collegiate level.

Three are products were recently named to their respective all-conference teams because of their performances in the conference tournaments held this month.

Two of the three were actually prep teammates and are now teammates again.

St. Clairsville graduates Adam Jefferies (Class of 2013) and Seth Vannoy (Class of 2014) were named first-team all-conference after finishing in the top five for Alderson-Broaddus University.

Jefferies – for the second straight season – was second overall at the G-MAC Championship held at Four Bridges Country Club in Liberty Township, Ohio.

Jefferies, who was the Belmont Hills Country Club Champion last summer, posted a three-round score of 235, which was second strokes off the pace.

Vannoy finished with a three-day score of 245, which placed him fifth overall and also on the first-team all-GMAC.

As a team, the Battlers finished second in the tournament, trailing Trevecca Nazarene by just a single shot.

On the women’s side of the equation, Martins Ferry graduate Kaitlyn Bliss earned a spot on the Mountain East Conference’s second team. She plays for West Liberty University.

The MEC passes out its honors based on how players finish in three designated events throughout the season.

Bliss led the Hilltoppers in the Southern Regional event, finishing fifth with a score of 166.

River High School grad Samantha Knowlton, who is a senior at West Liberty, was named to the honorable mention all-MEC squad.

Wheeling Jesuit’s Kasey Frazier was named the MEC Player of the Year.

OUE GOLFERS CONTINUE

TO SHINE

The Ohio University Eastern golf team continued to inch closer to the Ohio Regional Campus Conference title by winning yet another event.

The Panthers captured the Hawthorne Hills tournament, which was hosted by OSU-Lima, set the pace thanks to posting a 303, which is their lowest mark of the season.

Union Local grad Trevor Mudrak once again led the way. He not only led OUE, but he led the field, capturing medalist honors with a round of 72. Steubenville Central grad Thad Schrickel carded a 74, while Buckeye Trail grads Justin Wilson (75) and Austin Warehime (81) rounded out the scoring for the Panthers.

OUE was scheduled to be in action this weekend in Akron and Newark.

OGLEBAY WOMEN’S GOLF

The Oglebay Women’s Golf Association started its 2015 season with a banquet at Wilson Lodge’s Terrace Room with more than 50 ladies in attendance.

The keynote speaker was Chris Muroski, who spoke about how the league remains one of the area’s biggest women’s golf leagues. The club accomodates all skill levels and welcomes both 9 and 18-hole membership options.

The actual season begins on May 5.

For more information, please contact Betty Johnson at 304-242-2752

MARTINS FERRY GOLF FUNDRAISER

The Martins Ferry Golf Team is hosting a celebrity server night on Sunday, April 26 from 3-6 p.m. at Greco’s on Washington Avenue in Wheeling. There will be a bake sale and Rider Golf Hats will be available to purchase. For further information contact Darla Miller at 740-633-2926.

UPCOMING SCRAMBLES

• THE FLUSHING Masonic Lodge scholarship scramble is an open tournament for the first 22 teams to register. The event will be held on Saturday, May 16 at Cadiz Country Club. The event will begin at 12:30 p.m. with a shotgun start. Lunch and registration will be served at 11:30 a.m. The entry fee is $65, which includes skins games, steak dinner, awards, door prizes, beverages, golf and cart. All proceeds of the event will benefit two $500 scholarships at both Union Local and Harrison Central High School. For more information, please contact William McGowan at 740-491-0349 or Chuck Bizzari at 740-491-3183.

• THE ANNUAL YMCA Bobby Baker Memorial Golf Scramble, sponsored by Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration, will be held on Friday, May 1 at Belmont Hills Country Club. The event will feature a 1 p.m. shotgun start. The cost is $75 per player and that includes golf, cart, dinner, refreshments and there will be plenty of door prizes available. The deadline to register is April 19. The top two placing teams will receive prizes. All proceeds of the event will benefit youth sports at the YMCA. For more information, please contact Curtis McGhee at 304-242-8086.

• The 24th annual Soup Kitchen Scramble will be held on Friday, May 1 at Oglebay Park’s Crispin Course.

The event will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Registration and lunch, inside the Haller Shelter, will begin at noon. Dinner will follow the round.

The cost of the event is $75 per player and the proceeds benefit the Soup Kitchen, which provides on average of more than 175 meals per day.

For more information, or to register a team, contact Becky at 304-233-2992.

• THE 16TH annual Sons of Italy Bellaire Lodge #754 is holding its annual scramble to benefit Alzheimers & Cooley’s Anemia Charities on Monday, June 8 at Oglebay Park’s Crispin Course. The event will begin with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. The entry feet for the event is $200 per team, which includes golf, cart, refreshments and dinner after the round. The top three teams will receive prizes and the event is limited to 36 teams. For more information, contact Phil Pata at 695-0691.

• THE 4TH annual Thomas R. Dowler Memorial Golf Scramble will be held at Belmont Hills Country Club on May 18. The event will begin with a shotgun start at noon and lunch and registration will begin at 11 a.m. The proceeds of the event will go to the Dowler fund, which supports students, faculty, programs and facilities of Belmont College. There are four levels of sponsorship available. For more information, please contact R.J. Konkoeski at 699-3980.

• THE SARDIS Volunteer Fire Department will host its fourth annual golf scramble on Saturday, May 9 at Fairway Riverside Golf Course in Sardis. The four-play, better-ball scramble will begin with an 8 a.m. shotgun start. Cash prizes for the top three teams will be awarded. Door prizes, raffles are included in the $200 per team entry fee. That also includes breakfast items, lunch and a t-shirt. For more information, please contact Kevin Winkler at 740-310-0610 or via email at kevin-winkler@sbcglobal.net .

• THE SIXTH annual Don L. Seamon Memorial Golf Scramble will be held on Friday, April 24 at Moundsville Country Club. The team sponsorship cost is $500, which includes golf, range balls, cart, lunch, dinner. Individuals can enter for $100. There will be prizes for the top three teams and prizes for skill contests.

• The annual Butch Soukup Memorial Golf Scramble, which is conducted by the St. Clairsville Saints Club, is slated for Sunday, May 3 at Belmont Hills Country Club.

The event benefits the St. Clairsville High School golf program. The cost to enter is $70 per player and it includes golf, cart, post-round dinner by Outback, which will be held at the St. C. American Legion Post 159.

Prior to play, Starbucks will be offering coffee and pastries, starting at 8 a.m. Play is slated to go off at 8:45 a.m.

Bruce Poe of McGee Office Supply is sponsoring a $25,000 prize for a hole-in-one on the par 3, second hole. Bob Sabo, with Nationwide Insurance, is sponsoring a $5,000 putting contest.

Along with the golf event, the St. C. golf parents will be conducting a 50-50 raffle to benefit a scholarship. That award was first presented last year and went to current Alderson-Broaddus golfer Seth Vannoy.

For more information, please call Randy Mellott at 740-338-0578.

• THE HARRY Slacum Memorial Golf Scramble, which will benefit the Children’s Miracle Network, will be held on Wednesday, May 27 at Oglebay Park’s Crispin Course. The event will begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m.. The event will feature four-person teams and the cost to enter is $50 per player. The cost includes golf, cart and food. For more information, please contact Lou D’Amico at 740-827-1758.

• THE OHIO VALLEY Wrestling Officials Association will hold its golf scramble on Saturday, Aug. 8 at Cadiz Country Club. The event will begin at 1 p.m. with a shotgun start. The cost is $220 for a four-person team and that includes golf, cart, prizes, skins game and dinner. There will be special skill prizes for long drive, longest putt and closest to the pin. There are sponsorship opportunities available, too. There are $50 hole sponsors or $500 for a major sponsor, which includes a team. The proceeds of the event benefit OVAC wrestling and local scholarships. For more information, or to register, please contact Shane Kildow at 740-391-5928 or Paul Coffland at 740-491-0786.

LOCAL?GOLD?INFO SOUGHT

Off The Tee golf section is back again and will once again run twice during the week throughout the spring and summer.

As I try to make this column as much about local golf as possible, I need your help. If you’re having a scramble, we want to hear about it. If you have results of a league, we want to hear about those, too. If you know of just something interesting happening in golf, we want that info as well. Don’t forget about area natives who are playing golf collegiately. Feel free to send information on those as well.

Basically, if it’s local golf related, feel free to submit it because we want to hear about it.