Girls golf: Chris Kestner takes reins at Highland

For the 19-season existence of the Highland girls golf program, the Hornets have had one coach, Mary Becker.That number will double this fall, as Highland approved Chris Kestner to replace the retiring Becker.Kestner, who currently teaches American history and economics at the high school, is hoping to continue the success of Medina County's premier program."Coach Becker has always had a great program that she built from the ground up," Kestner said. "I've always admired it from afar. I've enjoyed watching our girls do well. When the position came open, I looked at it as an opportunity to get involved and give back here at Highland with the kids I see every day."Under Becker, Highland won the Suburban League 14 times, qualified for the state tournament 13 times and finished in the top five 10 times. Additionally, Becker coached current LPGA golfer Jessica Porvasnik (2012) and Madison Butler (2016) to individual state championships.Kestner sees taking over a program with an established winning culture as an advantage when it comes to implementing his approach."It's like that old saying, 'If it's not broke, don't fix it,'" he said. "We're going to continue on with a lot of what Coach Becker established. There'll be some nuances that I'll throw in there that'll probably be different."The foundation of a sport like golf is you're trying to make it an enjoyable experience, where if you work hard and put the time in you can have some success. Hopefully, we can continue with the success that they've had in the past."A lifelong golfer, Kestner has a lot of playing experience but has only coached for one season in the late 1990s, when he was St. Vincent-St. Mary's junior varsity coach under future Akron mayor Dan Horrigan when the two taught at the school.Kestner does have a lengthy coaching résumé when it comes to boys and men's basketball, beginning at Denison University. He's also had many different roles at Highland over the years, including compiling a 22-64 record as varsity head coach from 2005-09.He's also had stops at St. Vincent-St. Mary, Archbishop Hoban, Norton, Woodridge and Copley. Most recently, he served as an assistant under former Highland coach Adam Cestaro with the Hornets and Indians.The unique opportunity to coach golf was too good to pass up."I've always had a love affair with golf," Kestner said. "It's one of those sports that you can play for the rest of your life. You can play sports like golf or tennis until you are in your 70s or 80s. It's a great sport for young kids to learn and take into their adulthood."Highland has made the state tournament the last six years, finishing fourth three times and fifth three times, including last fall. Four-time Gazette MVP Isabella Goyette and two-time MVP Elizabeth Coleman finished runner-up in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and were All-Ohio a combined five times.Last season, the Hornets sent five seniors to the state tournament in Coleman, Kate Vickerman, Mirabella Shelton, Miley Tylicki and Allie Miller.Despite the graduation losses, Highland has long had a deep program with a strong varsity "B" team. Coleman's younger sister, Anna Coleman, and Charlotte Chester are incoming juniors who will likely have a strong presence.Kestner is stressing the importance of living in the moment."This team doesn't compare itself to last year's team," Kestner said. "This is this year's team, and we're always looking forward to improve ourselves. We're not trying to be last year's team. We're trying to be this year's team."I'm looking forward to the chance to work with the girls. We've got great kids here at Highland. Those of us as teachers and coaches at Highland thank our lucky stars that we get to work with great kids. Not everyone gets that opportunity."Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com.