Brookfield golf duo can’t wait for college
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BROOKFIELD -- Justin Atkinson and Conner Stevens exploded onto the high school golf scene in the fall of 2015 for Brookfield.
Their merger gave the area arguably one of its top 1-2 combinations in decades.
The duo played its final prep rounds together in the Division III state tournament Oct. 11 and 12 at Ohio State's Scarlet Course, where Atkinson tied for second place individually with a two-round 149 and Stevens carded a 150 to place fourth. They helped the Warriors finish fourth (669) in the 16-team field.
The couple will be parting ways next season, as they officially finalized their collegiate choices last week.
Stevens will continue his career at Youngstown State and Atkinson will be golfing at Findlay.
"Both will help their teams tremendously," Brookfield coach Larry Smoot said. "Plus, they are going to programs that suit them well and to schools that fit well with their future plans. I've known them both since they were 12 or 13, and I've seen them grow, and I couldn't be more proud of what they accomplished and what lies ahead of them. I'm excited to see them develop in their next phase of life."
Together, they helped the Warriors qualify as a team to the state tournament all four seasons in high school, including in 2018 when they finished second.
Stevens was a four-time player of the year honoree in the All-American Conference and earned first-team all-state honors three times. In addition to placing fourth this fall, he was third as a sophomore and runner-up as a junior. Stevens was a four-time sectional medalist and two-time district medalist.
"I keep telling everyone that I wish the rest of my senior year will go fast because I'm excited to get to college and start competing, but they tell me I'm crazy and shouldn't wish away my senior year," Stevens said. "But I am really looking forward to it because (YSU) did well last year and they have already welcomed me. I know a lot of guys on the team already and I will be rooming with a buddy I've known since he was 10 (Dean Austalosh). He's from Campbell and he walked on last year and was redshirted.
"They have a lot of good golfers and we'll all be battling for spots. I love that I'm going to YSU because it's close to home, yet it's not home. The coach (Tony Joy) has followed me since I was young, even though we couldn't have contact."
"We are extremely excited that Conner has decided to stay home and represent YSU," Joy said. "He is coming off one of the most heralded junior golf careers in the area, and will be a major addition to our program. Conner will fit in great with the rest of our team and will add to the group of talented local players that we have been lucky enough to recruit. He is a true winner who has competed at a very high level, and we are thrilled to have him become a Penguin."
Stevens plans to major in business and minor in hospitality.
"My ultimate goal is to play professionally, but my back-up plan is to stay in the game some way," he said. "I could work on a golf course or own one, or maybe be a club pro like my cousin Rod Perry in Florida. He won a tournament to be eligible to compete in the PGA championship and did that maybe four years ago."
In addition to being state runner-up this season, Atkinson placed fourth as a junior. This fall, Atkinson was sectional runner-up (69) behind Stevens (68) and district runner-up (73) behind Stevens (72) before turning the tables at state.
"Those guys were the top two in so many tournaments," Smoot said. "Their inner drive to be the best is tremendous, and they always were striving to have the best round, and that just made us so good as a team."
Atkinson said he enjoyed his visit to Findlay and is looking forward to competing in college.
"It's a very good fit for me," he said. "I loved the atmosphere, and the small-school feeling is similar to going to a small high school. I'm really looking forward to getting there. They had a pretty strong start to their season last year and won three tournaments. They had three sophomore starters, so they're still pretty young overall."
Atkinson tuned up for the season by having an outstanding summer. He won four of the five Northern Ohio Junior PGA tournaments that he entered, including the 36th annual Kenny Novak Tour Championship and the Junior PGA sectional qualifier, which earned him a trip to play in the Junior PGA Championship in Hartford, Connecticut. He also finished first in the AJGA Circle K Junior Championship qualifier and second in both the AJGA Junior-qualifier at South Pointe and the AJGA Preview at Chesapeake Bay.
"He's going to flourish at Findlay and he's just starting to write his own story," Smoot said. "In addition to golf, he's got a 4.0 GPA and will be one of our valedictorians. He got a lot of academic scholarship aid, too. They wanted him and he's excited to get there."
Atkinson plans to major in actuarial science with an eye toward a possible career in risk-management insurance.
"Everything seemed right for me," he said. "The size of the school, the academics and the golf team, which has some great coaching. It's cool to finally make things official."