Liberty foursome highlight this year’s selection
Matt Vital’s philosophy was simple: The next shot.
No matter whether the Liberty senior shanked a wedge into the pond or hooked a driver into the woods, he always moved forward.
Vital’s high school resume showed that his approach worked. He twice won District 11 Class 3A titles by overcoming multiple squares on his front-side score card and was instrumental in coach Steve Bradley’s Hurricanes winning three consecutive EPC and district team championships.
The Bethlehem resident leads four Liberty competitors on The Morning Call’s 2022 All-Area golf team of the year.
“Matthew struggled early [at districts],” Bradley said, “but he never wavered. He knows that if he just sticks to his game plan and hits fairways and greens to give him putts he can take a run at.”
Vital, who also started slowly at the 2021 district tournament and this year’s state tournament before rebounding, is joined on the first team by brother Matthew and cousins Jase and Jimmy Barker.
Moravian Academy senior Evan Eichenlaub, the Colonial League and District 11 Class 2A champion who was in the lead with four holes to go at the PIAA Golf Championships before finishing fourth, also is on the first team. He is headed to Babson (Mass.) College.
Stroudsburg’s stellar sophomore Hunter Probst and Palmerton senior Tyler Hager are the other first-team picks.
Probst was a PIAA qualifier for a second year in a row after another District 11 3A top-5 finisher.
Hager completed his standout four-year career for coach Alex Knoll with a Colonial League runner-up finish, a district 2A runner-up finish in a playoff, another PIAA tournament appearance and instrumental in the Blue Bombers’ fourth consecutive district team title. He is headed to St. Peter’s (N.J.) to continue his golf career.
The Vital brothers will take their next swings at Temple. Matt Vital also was the EPC runner-up for the second year in a row, this year to Jimmy Barker.
The Barker cousins teamed to win the annual John Wasser Cup tournament in August.
Liberty repeated as regular-season and tournament team champions.
Palmerton’s Nathan Steinmetz, who played his best golf in this year’s postseason, and teammate Connor Reinhard, who gutted through a painful wrist injury, are among those on the second team.
Stroudsburg’s Will Eberz and Liberty’s Matt Ronca, who were 1-2 at this year’s district 3A qualifier, lead the honorable mentions.
Nazareth’s Camryn Hoff and Moravian Academy’s Mara Dubacher, the district’s 3A and 2A champions, head up the girls team.
Hoff also was second in a playoff
at the EPC tournament. Dubacher finished second in a playoff to Bangor senior Natalie White at the Colonial League tournament.
Northampton’s Madison Salter, who won the EPC event, also is on the first team.
2022 Morning Call All-Area golf teams
FIRST TEAM
Sr. Matt Vital, Liberty: EPC runnerup; District 11 Class 3A champion; PIAA tied for 19th
Sr. Evan Eichenlaub, Moravian Academy: Colonial League and District 11 2A champion; PIAA 4th
Sr. Michael Vital, Liberty: EPC and District 11 3A 3rd; PIAA tied 39th
So. Hunter Probst, Stroudsburg: EPC 4th; District 11 3A 5th; PIAA tied 10th
Jr. Jase Barker, Liberty: EPC 6th; District 11 3A 2nd; PIAA WD (injury) Sr. Jimmy Barker, Liberty: EPC champion; District 11 3A 7th
Sr. Tyler Hager, Palmerton: Colonial League and District 11 2A runner-up; PIAA tied 22nd
SECOND TEAM
Sr. Krish Patel, Freedom
Jr. Noah Shurman, Emmaus
Jr. Evan Murphy,
Pocono Mountain East
Sr. Nathan Steinmetz, Palmerton Sr. Connor Reinhard, Palmerton
Fr. Collin Schreiber,
Moravian Academy
So. Colin Sarnoski, Southern Lehigh
GIRLS TEAM So. Camryn Hoff, Nazareth:
District 11 3A champion; PIAA 29th Fr. Mara Dubacher, Moravian Academy: District 11 2A champion; PIAA 21st
Sr. Natalie White, Bangor: District 11 3A runner-up; PIAA 33rd
Jr. Chloe Chase, Parkland: EPC tied 3rd; District 11 3A 3rd; PIAA
34th
Sr. Madison Salter, Northampton: EPC champion; District 11 3A 4th
So. Allie Tarreto, Nazareth:
District 11 3A 5th
Jr. Ashlyn McCormick, Pocono Mountain West: District 11 3A tied 6th
Sr. Sydni Sundstrom, Parkland: EPC tied 3rd; District 11 3A tied 6th
HONORABLE MENTION
(alphabetical by school)
Central Catholic: Tanner Temple Emmaus: Anna Farnschlader Lehighton: Trey Spring
Liberty: Matt Ronca
Moravian Academy: Emma Xu Nazareth: Zach Miller; Aiden Greenburg; Bryson Hicklin; Lewis Ronca
Northampton: Gavin Pychinka; Michael Seidick; Trent Moyer Northwestern: Addison Remaley; Avri Chandler; Mary Frey
Notre Dame-GP: Simon Weed Parkland: Landen Benner
Pleasant Valley: Lydon Patascher Salisbury: Ava Smarch
Southern Lehigh: Frankie Boensch; Cohen Resch; Blake Greenawald; Maddie Hagens
Stroudsburg: Will Eberz
Tamaqua: Lucas Milot; Peter