The Eighth Cave Cup

After the personal and team heartbreaks of 2021 – The Eighth Cave Cup (2022) of Stonewall saw the Red Squad at an impasse. After the loss of Cup friend and legend Chex, and, in light of the summary ass beating received at The Wilderness Resort the previous year, (marking back-to-back losses) – Would the Red Squad have it in them to rebound? Could they? Who would lead them? And what direction would the team have to take on the road to recovery? Would the Cup have to “change teams” as the Black Squad had proclaimed a year earlier? What happens to a Red Squad when it is cornered, with their backs against a wall? In a “do or die” year, Red Squad would have to do some serious soul-searching to answer these questions for themselves.

 

As new captains Joey Spesia and Paul Marconi searched for their Cup destination, they began to see promise in a West Virgina course, Stonewall Resort. Long had Marconi longed to bring the Cup to the Eastern side of the country, near his longtime residence in Pittsburgh and the Southern Appalachian ranges he had travelled. With first time guests Steve McGinnis and Brandon Bekkering, returning picks Corey Bingham (now Red), Tom Helwich, Jack Krull and Mike Spesia, and cementing of Kocenko and Fox as permanent Black Squad members - the table was set, and the stakes were clear: Either 1. Another dominant 3- peat by the Black Squad, or 2. A response and reset by the Red to reclaim the title and stop the bleeding.

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After a wet practice round, the Cup began to see the added difficulty created by the course’s moisture and the resulting thick rough – dear lord hit ‘em straight boys. As Saturday began, this adversity would only get worse as golfers were greeted by an impenetrable wall of fog. Members of this tournament will have lasting memories of the Saturday scramble beginning with blind tee shots into this wall of fog, as laughter could be heard from the tee box all the way to the pro shop on the hill above. Another variable came in the form of a course staff that was severely understaffed and resulted in their golf pro Mike jogging to-and-fro to supply the large drink orders expected from Cup Saturday. When golfers finally found their cups being filled, many would later recall (fondly) the strength of the pours.

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Captain Spesia and brother Mike started the day with a nice win (3 & 2) over the pairing of Hennessy and Marconi, but this was followed by a Red point shortly after by Foglton and Nash (1 Up) over M. Taylor and C. Marks. A hard fought halve between the duos of J. Houlihan / Helwich and S. Truesdale / McGinnis brought some stability as both teams eagerly watched to see if the leaderboard would take any dramatic swings in their direction. Malecki and newcomer Bekkering would cackle their way to a solid W, as the “Waluigi” duo were able to defeat Cup legends Krull and Wallace (5 & 3). In the “vibe group” battle of the day, A. Hall / J. Johnson would emerge victorious over Kocenko / Fox. Other winners of this match would undoubtedly be any listeners who could hear the absolute banger of a playlist this created by these four. M. Truesdale and Bingham would take a hard L at the hands of J. Krull / P. Hall – a true testament to the strength of complementary games and timely execution during Cup play. With a close score of 3.5- 2.5 in favor of Red, both teams awaited their matchups and assignments.

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As Cup play resumed with a quick turnaround for S. Truesdale and B. Bekkering, tensions would boil over. A particularly arrogant ranger would make the mistake of chastising the group and would learn the hard way that Bekkering and Truesdale would not take criticism lying down- if you’re going to pop your mouth off to those two, you’d better come correct. After eating the verbal assault and swallowing his pride, the ranger would proclaim, “Play Ball!” and the afternoon matches were off. After fighting hard, Truesdale and Kocenko would fall to Bekkering and Marconi (3 & 2). M. Truesdale / S. Hennessy would fall to Fox / M. Spesia in a muddy, ugly match they would later dub “The Rock Fight.” Momentum would turn hard and fast, however, as Red would take ALL remaining matches in alternate shot. As the day concluded, Red Squad began to wonder if this momentum could carry over to Sunday in a 180° reversal of the previous year’s drubbing. As the teams gathered for a catered meal of meatloaf (among other dishes), Black Squad arrived late due to an emergency meeting and the Red Squad was further emboldened.

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In a role reversal of the previous year’s record setting win, Sunday would see Black Squad as underdogs requiring a historic comeback - they would need nearly all the matches to fall their way to complete the win. Despite a great W from Fox over the red-hot A. Hall and C. Marks triumph over E. Nash - Black Squad fought valiantly, Black Squad fought nobly, Black Squad fought honorably- and Black Squad was defeated. While Black Squad fought hard to last as long as they could in the Cup’s final day – Red would not be denied, and a Red Wave washed over the course during the final 9 holes. As the Cup results were in, many onlookers now turned their attention to the extremely competitive match between longtime friends Kocenko and Malecki and eagerly awaited the results. With a gallery including the entire Cup roster, a timely up and down by Malecki as well as a red hot hybrid from Kocenko resulted in a halved point for the new rivals as well as multiple disappointed gamblers. Additionally, a late comeback from McGinnis also resulted in halve as well as a small bit of disappointment for the much-improved game of Captain Marconi.

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As the competition now turned to revelry, Red Squad was nothing short of joyous while Black would think of what could have been. Helwich would concoct a dangerous cocktail in the Red’s newly possessed Cup – returned to the Red for the first time in 2+ years. What followed next was a Cup party of epic proportions - including the disrobing of both captains after falls and late-night swimming, life jackets and kayaks, rock n’ roll, possible amoebas, and multiple lost wedding rings from *edit: names redacted*. Black Squad did not disappoint and stayed up late into the night for an obligatory singalong playlist led by McGinnis that lasted until early morning. Foglton, Bekkering, and M. Truesdale would celebrate into the early AM with a “garbage” salad and several late-night phone calls.

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Monday brought foggy heads for most, as well as the anxiety of a terribly long return drive. Some Cavers would opt instead for a miserable flight from the smallest airport in West Virginia but make no mistake – all members would endure much suffering before they found themselves back in the comforts of home.

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The Eighth Cup will always be remembered for the Red Wave – a response to the multiple questions facing the Red Squad, as well as the balance it added back to the tournament after the two prior victories of the Black Squad. The stage was set for a new era of competitive Cup play, and new rivalries emerged for future matches. With the Red Squad now down 5-3 in tournament history, Red would be eager repeat in year 9 while Black would look for answers and a chance to reclaim. It would be a LONG year of waiting for these answers – but first, let’s sing it all together now one last time:

 

“COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME……..”