NORMAN, Okla. – ETSU’s Adrian Meronk and Western Carolina’s J.T. Poston were named third-team PING All-Americans by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) on Thursday.
Meronk, who recently played in his first-ever Palmer Cup, was named third-team All-American by Golfweek earlier in the month. To go with his All-American honors, Meronk was also selected Southern Conference Player of the Year and PING All-Region. In addition, Meronk was named SoCon Golfer of the Month in April and Golf of the Week on April 8.
The Buccaneer standout led ETSU in 10 of its 13 tournament this season, registering a stroke average of 70.65. Meronk totaled nine top-10 finishes, including three medalist honors. The Wroclaw, Poland, native won his first collegiate event at the Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 22-23) and earned co-medalist honors at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate (Oct. 6-7). He also tied for first at the SoCon Championship (April 19-21) before falling in a playoff with Poston for medalist honors.
Overall, Meronk registered 12 rounds in the 60s and 29 rounds of par or better. The Buccaneers used Meronk’s score in 36 of his total 37 rounds, while he tied his lowest collegiate single round with a 66 at the Warrior Princeville Invitational.
Meronk was ranked as high as 14th collegiately this season, while cracking the top 50 of the World Amateur Golf Rankings. He finished the season ranked 28th by Golfstat.
Poston, who also earned All-America honorable mention from Golfweek this season, is one of two Catamounts to receive All-America honors all-time, joining former golf standout Matt Cook, who tallied honorable-mention plaudits back in 2008. Poston, who finished his career as WCU’s all-time leader in stroke average at 71.73 through 135 career rounds, was named third-team All-America from Golfweek following the 2013-14 season. He was also tabbed PING honorable mention All-America from the GCAA in 2013-14.
This past season, Poston recorded a 71.13 scoring average, second both in the Southern Conference and in WCU’s single-season record books. Nine of his final 12 rounds were carded at even-par or better, including six rounds shot in the 60s.
The Hickory, N.C., product had a flair for the dramatic to close his storied Catamount men’s golf career in 2014-15. Poston claimed his second straight Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship in a sudden-death playoff, matching Cook as the only Catamount to ever win multiple conference individual titles. Then, not to be outdone, Poston again used extra holes in NCAA regional play to earn WCU’s first-ever berth in the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, rallying on the 54th hole of regulation before edging Lipscomb’s Dawson Armstrong on the second hole of the sudden-death playoff.
A six-time individual medalist during his career, Poston charted WCU’s best-ever individual finish at a NCAA postseason tournament with his runner-up finish in the 2015 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional.
Poston – who was a four-time honoree by the Southern Conference during his collegiate playing career including the 2013-14 SoCon Men’s Golfer of the Year – has plans to play out his amateur career through the summer before trying his hand at the professional ranks beginning in the fall.