Minerva Lady Lions’ 'one-two punch' fueling unbeaten start
The assault on the record books has already begun as the Lady Lions have, on more than one occasion, lowered their best 18-hole mark and also set a new record nine-hole mark.
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The one-two punch is a time-honored tradition in boxing. It’s simply a jab with the lead hand followed by a straight cross with the back hand. Pugilists who master the one-two can dominate a fight by keeping their opponents continually off balance.
It’s also works well in golf, as the Minerva Lady Lions and their fourth-year coach Kenny Beaumariage have discovered. Instead of fisticuffs, however, he’s referring to two of his star golfers. One is a returning letter winner and the other a newcomer, and together, they’re provingMinerva’s success last year was no fluke.
“Peyton Beaumariage and Emery Sell will provide a one-two punch that will be hard to teams to overcome,” Beaumariage said. “Emery will average around a 40 and Peyton will be in the 30s.”
Peyton Beaumariage is a sophomore, one of six returning letter winners from a 2024 squad that posted a sparkling 22-1 record that included a first-place 7-1 mark in the Eastern Buckeye Conference. The Lady Lions also placed second at the Division I East District sectional tourney that advanced them to districts, where they placed fifth. Incidentally, Peyton Beaumariage placed third individually, and was three strokes from qualifying individually for the state tournament.
Returning letter winners joining Beaumariage are junior Delaney Sell, who went 16-7 in matches last season and was a first team East District and second team EBC selection, senior Mady Bartley, a three-year letter winner and team captain who posted an 18-5 record in match play last season and was a second team East District honoree, senior Hannah Kirkpatrick, who went 13-6 in match play, senior Macy Stowe, and senior Danika Wagner.
Joining this lineup, and making an immediate mark, to boot, is the aforementioned Emery Sell. The freshman already has impressive resume – she won the First National Bank Jr. Tour 13-15 this summer. If that’s not proof of her talents, how about 14th place at the Under Armour National Championships.
One effect of success? After seasons in which Minerva struggled with a lack of depth on the roster, the 2025 team has plenty of athletes interested in making the varsity squad and hitting the links wearing Lions red.
“This year we have 12 girls on the roster, many of which have played in varsity matches and tournaments,” said Beaumariage. “We will field two teams this season. We have depth and consistency in our lineup this season.”
The addition of depth and multiple options makes this Lion team scary good as the lineup has no glaring weakness.
“Every time we play a match or tournament, everyone in our starting lineup has the chance to count in the top four,” said Beaumariage. “When we play well, I anticipate rewriting the history books for Minerva girls’ golf.”
The assault on the record books has already begun as the Lady Lions have, on more than one occasion, lowered their best 18-hole mark and also set a new record nine-hole mark. Currently, Minerva sits at 12-0 on the season following a road win over EBC rival West Branch to move to 6-0 in conference play.
Simply put, when Beaumariage says, “If we play well, we control our destiny,” there is no bragging involved. He is speaking the truth.
