West Liberty University Athletics

    After leading the West Liberty University men’s golf team to back-to-back NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional berths in his first two years at the helm, Wheeling native and former NCAA Division I standout Thadd Obecny tees off his third season as head coach of the Hilltoppers.
    Obecny’s Hilltoppers are coming off a strong 2021-22 campaign. Runners-up in the Mountain East Conference for the second straight year, the Black and Gold easily earned another bid to the NCAA Division II Atlantic/East Regional with another Top 5 finish in the final regional rankings.
    Alex Easthom and Howard Peterson IV repeated as first-team All-MEC selections with Easthom earning MEC Player of the Year honors for the second straight season and claiming his fourth All-Region berth. True freshman Noah Seivertson was a second-team All-MEC honoree.
    Despite his youth, Obecny has been a familiar face in Ohio Valley golf circles for years. The 2011 West Virginia Junior Player of the Year won two individual state championships while leading the Wheeling Park High School team to a pair of West Virginia Class AAA crowns during his high school days.
    After lettering as a true freshman at the University of Central Florida, he returned home to win the prestigious Kalkreuth Amateur Golf Classic at Oglebay's Crispin Center layout while still a teenager – setting a course record in the process with a blistering final round 59.
    Obecny transferred to Coastal Carolina the following year where he continued to impress. The Wheeling native capped his college career by leading the Chanticleers to a Sun Belt Conference title and NCAA Tournament bid as a senior. An All-Sun Belt Conference selection, Obecny was also honored as a 2018 GCAA Scholar All-American after graduating with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.
    West Liberty's new head man turned pro shortly after graduating from Coastal Carolina and cashed his first professional paychecks later that summer. Obecny continues to compete in several tournaments each summer and was runner-up in the 2020 West Virginia Open.