Junior Patrick Ruane is expected to hold down the number-one spot in the Pittston Area golf lineup for the second straight year, but he should have plenty of help.
“We have a lot of returning starters and a solid freshman class,” Patriots coach Jason Miller said.
Ruane was one of two Pittston Area players to qualify for the district tournament as individuals last season. The other, 10th-place Class 3A finisher Matt Mesaris, has graduated.
The Patriots went 9-5 last year when they played every Class 3A opponent in the Wyoming Valley Conference twice. A new format this year has the WVC teams all playing each other once, so the overall challenge of the schedule should ease up some with matches against smaller schools.
Senior Chris Scavo and juniors Andrew Nocito and Nick Cook all return to the starting lineup where they will be joined by junior Nick Gruber.
The sixth spot in the lineup to begin the season was still up for grabs as the Patriots worked their way through the first week of practice.
“Our overall team has a positive outlook going into this upcoming season and should compete for a title,” Miller said.