Charleston Catholic and Hurricane look ready to defend their state championships.

The state high school golf tournament gets into full swing today at the Speidel Club's Jones Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. The two-day tournament concludes Wednesday.

Hurricane captured the Class AAA Region 4 title last week, turning in the top score in the state. Juniors Sam Booth and Aaron Barna posted the low scores of 73 and 74, respectively.

The Redskins won their first state title last year, besting runner-up Princeton by 21 strokes. Hurricane returns its top four golfers from last year's surprise state title team, including Barna, who was the individual champion. Juniors Brian Anania and Wyatt Burgess are also back.

Hurricane was the Kanawha Valley's first state golf champion since George Washington put together back-to-back titles in 1988-89. Barna was the Valley's first medalist since 2005.

"This year it's a little bit different,'' said Hurricane coach Glenna Ragle. "It's kind of expected. We have a big target on our back. They've done fine [with that]. They're all pretty serious golfers. They actually play better in this type of environment than a regular dual match.

"They seem to step it up a notch when they get in a tournament because that's what they're used to playing. The good thing about them, if somebody has a bad day, somebody else steps in and covers that. At each tournament we have somebody different usually with a low round. It's pretty nice to have.''

Hurricane's 303 in regional play was 15 strokes better than runner-up Cabell Midland's 318.

Other regional winners in Class AAA were Greenbrier East (322), Bridgeport (323) and Wheeling Park (324). Brooke (326), GW (335) and Robert C. Byrd (342) also qualified for states as regional runners-up.

"I think everybody is playing well,'' said Barna. "We should do fine. The hardest thing to do is repeat. I think we're better off this year, too. I think everybody improved a lot since last year. We know the course a little bit better than last year.

"It gave us a lot of confidence going into the season knowing we're the team to beat. I think we're just all trying our best just knowing we're going to get the best from every team we play. We can't slack off at all.''  

Elizabeth Frederick (77), Carl Roncaglion (82), Tony Lacy (86), Lewis Roncaglion (90) and Tommy O'Neil (92) helped GW return to states as the Region 3 runners-up. Capital's Derek Jordan (79), St. Albans' Chris Carter (78), Logan's Ross Workman (80) and Jarod Adkins (81) qualified as individuals for states.

Charleston Catholic captured its 11th straight regional crown last week, posting the lowest score in Class A at 321.

Charleston Catholic and Hurricane look ready to defend their state championships.

The state high school golf tournament gets into full swing today at the Speidel Club's Jones Course at Oglebay Park in Wheeling. The two-day tournament concludes Wednesday.

Hurricane captured the Class AAA Region 4 title last week, turning in the top score in the state. Juniors Sam Booth and Aaron Barna posted the low scores of 73 and 74, respectively.

The Redskins won their first state title last year, besting runner-up Princeton by 21 strokes. Hurricane returns its top four golfers from last year's surprise state title team, including Barna, who was the individual champion. Juniors Brian Anania and Wyatt Burgess are also back.

Hurricane was the Kanawha Valley's first state golf champion since George Washington put together back-to-back titles in 1988-89. Barna was the Valley's first medalist since 2005.

"This year it's a little bit different,'' said Hurricane coach Glenna Ragle. "It's kind of expected. We have a big target on our back. They've done fine [with that]. They're all pretty serious golfers. They actually play better in this type of environment than a regular dual match.

"They seem to step it up a notch when they get in a tournament because that's what they're used to playing. The good thing about them, if somebody has a bad day, somebody else steps in and covers that. At each tournament we have somebody different usually with a low round. It's pretty nice to have.''

Hurricane's 303 in regional play was 15 strokes better than runner-up Cabell Midland's 318.

Other regional winners in Class AAA were Greenbrier East (322), Bridgeport (323) and Wheeling Park (324). Brooke (326), GW (335) and Robert C. Byrd (342) also qualified for states as regional runners-up.

"I think everybody is playing well,'' said Barna. "We should do fine. The hardest thing to do is repeat. I think we're better off this year, too. I think everybody improved a lot since last year. We know the course a little bit better than last year.

"It gave us a lot of confidence going into the season knowing we're the team to beat. I think we're just all trying our best just knowing we're going to get the best from every team we play. We can't slack off at all.''  

Elizabeth Frederick (77), Carl Roncaglion (82), Tony Lacy (86), Lewis Roncaglion (90) and Tommy O'Neil (92) helped GW return to states as the Region 3 runners-up. Capital's Derek Jordan (79), St. Albans' Chris Carter (78), Logan's Ross Workman (80) and Jarod Adkins (81) qualified as individuals for states.

Charleston Catholic captured its 11th straight regional crown last week, posting the lowest score in Class A at 321.

The Fighting Irish held off Wheeling Central on the final day last year to post their first state title since 2001. Catholic was runner-up two years ago and turned in back-to-back third-place finishes in 2004-2005.

The Fighting Irish finished third in the Capital City Classic, the Huntington Invitational and Ohio vs. West Virginia Tournament against bigger schools this season as a young team began to take shape.

"I think we've definitely come a long way since the beginning of the year,'' said Catholic coach Bill Gillispie. "The expectations weren't as high knowing we were going to have two or three freshmen having to play a pivotal role in our season.''

Catholic senior Michael Bush and junior Justen Holstein finished in the top seven individually at last year's state tournament. Freshmen Will Kimberling and David Miller were undefeated in middle school.

"We've been playing a lot better lately,'' Gillispie said. "The freshmen have come a long way.''

Gillispie said St. Marys should be the favorite after posting a 325 to capture Region 1. Trinity, which won Region 2 with a 339, return is entire team that made last year's state tournament. Central only qualified an individual for this week's event.

The Irish have only lost to Class AAA Hurricane and George Washington in head-to-head competition this year.

"I don't think we'll be intimidated,'' Gillispie said. "We played a lot of big tournaments for those young guys.''

Buffalo's Garrett Burdette (74) and Valley's Matt Sears (108) qualified as individuals for states.

Ravenswood returns to defend its state title in Class AA, but qualified as a regional runner-up. Ritichie County captured Region 1 with a 317, the best team qualifying score.

Scott won Region 4 with a 321, and Chapmanville (339) was runner-up. Grafton, which couldn't defend its title last year, took Region 2 with a 340. Oak Hill was the Region 3 champion with a 333.

Poca's George Hamrick (82), Clay's Josh Lively (85), Point Pleasant's Opie Lucas (93) and Wayne's Taylor Fry (82) and Neil Dillon (85) qualified as individuals.

Reach Tommy R. Atkinson at 348-4811 or tatkin...@wvgazette.com.