Aguilar continues to make mark
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ELKINS -- At just 13 years old, Elkins golfer Valentina Aguilar continues to make her mark on West Virginia junior golf.
After competing in only nine of the 12 tournaments permitted for the season, Aguilar finished with 260 points, eight victories and one runner-up finish in the Callaway Junior Tour's Girls 10-14 year-old division. Her only second-place finish was decided by just one point.
That consistency earned Aguilar her third consecutive Player of the Year title, which she secured at the Callaway Junior Tour Championship on Aug. 13 at The Greenbrier Sporting Club.
The championship was the culmination of another impressive summer traveling across West Virginia and competing against some of the state's best young golfers. The Callaway Junior Tour brings players from throughout the state together, and Aguilar was able to turn that statewide competition into an opportunity to challenge herself and continue lowering her scores.
Several times during the season, she posted scores below 80 and even finished with scores competitive with -- and sometimes better than -- players in the older Girls 18-and-under division.
One of her highlights came earlier in the summer when she fired a 77, matching the best girls' score of the day in the older division.
Before the championship at The Greenbrier, Aguilar played a practice round with her father, Tony Aguilar, using the opportunity to identify both opportunities and challenges on the course. The following morning, she put that preparation into action and finished the season in championship fashion.
But the Callaway Junior Tour was only part of Aguilar's busy 2026 schedule. She also competed in the Peggy Kirk Bell Girls' Golf Tour, finishing second at Shenandoah Valley Country Club against girls as old as 18 from several states. That result earned her opportunities to compete in additional regional events this fall.
At the Drive, Chip & Putt subregional at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort, Aguilar finished third and became the first alternate for the regional competition scheduled for October.
She will also return to competition soon through the U.S. Kids Golf Northern Virginia Fall Tour, which begins Sept. 20 and continues through the fall. Despite another trophy-filled summer, Aguilar says one of her favorite parts of junior golf is the people she meets along the way.
"The year went so fast. I can't believe it's over," she said, reflecting on another summer of competing with familiar friends and meeting new players from across the region.
Some of those friends will move into older divisions next season, creating another challenge for Aguilar as she looks to continue improving.
She still has two years remaining in the Callaway 10-14 division, but her goals are already moving beyond trophies. She wants to become more consistent, continue challenging older players and eventually shoot even par on a regular basis.
There is also one thing she wishes she had closer to home: a golf team at Elkins Middle School. Aguilar believes there is plenty of local talent that could benefit from a middle-school program.
For now, though, she will continue finding competition wherever she can.
From Wheeling and Huntington to Shenandoah Valley, Nemacolin and The Greenbrier, Valentina Aguilar's summer has once again been about more than winning. It has been about learning, competing, and discovering just how far her game can go.
At 13, the trophies are already piling up. The next goal is to make the scores just as impressive.