DALLAS, Pa. — The dream for any high-school golf coach to have three #1 players. And that is what they have at Lake-Lehman for Tom Yoniski with the Ropietski brothers Eli and Cael and teammate Michael Lugiano.
"Over the winter the Ropietski's and Michael hit the gym really hard. Michael grew 6 inches since last year I think but they have matured as young men as well," said Tom.
You can crown current Black Knight junior Lugiano with the highest pre-season honor a golfer can achieve. Shooting a 67 and winning the Tom Tryba Memorial Golf Tournament back in August.
"I was just hitting the ball good that day. My putting was off but toward the back 9 I started making some putts, so right after the round I came here and I practiced my putting for maybe like 3 hours," said Michael.
Eli Ropietski tied for 3rd at the Tryba and fired a 70 and the lefty senior sizzling around the green this fall. Also bringing home the Huntsville Club Championship a 3-day tournament scores of 72, 73 and a final 72.
"The first two days I really didn't have much pressure. I just tried to put a good score out throughout those two rounds to give myself a chance on the last day. And then come into the last day I knew that I had to put up a good score," said Eli.
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And another good thing about the Tryba Tournament besides Michael winning the individual title Lehman bringing home the team championship without Cael. He wasn't there. The rest of the team played well along with Eli.
"We are a pretty tight group. We are all very competitive all of us but healthy in a competitive. I think that we are just really close together which makes us a great team," said Cael.
A few months ago Cael played in Oregon at the US Junior Amateur Championships. For him a thrill of a lifetime.
Steve Lloyd Newswatch 16 sports Luzerne County.