2022 TEAM BRIA
Arlene Gurka - Team Captain
This is Arlene’s third year with Team Bria. This past year she ran her first Tournament as an Assistant Director at Greystone Woods in Morris Plains which raised money/awareness for a local adoption clinic. Arlene’s goals for 2022 are to improve her all around game, participate in as many events as she can, & get more involved with the community to promote and grow the sport to the female population. Lastly, she is known for her tournament cookies, and will be trying out new recipes in 2022.
Kevin Gleason has committed over 30 years of his life to playing Disc Golf. His passion is for helping new players improve their game and to grow the sport across the country. He was elected Maryland PDGA State Coordinator, has been on Team Latitude 64 since 2019, their US Team Captain the last 2 years. He plays or runs approximately 30 sanctioned events on the east coast every year all the way from New Jersey to Georgia. Kevin will also be on Team USA for the Team Golf World Championships later in the year!
Michelle Frazer’s tournament play improved greatly last year after shedding the stress of finishing her PhD in August. She hopes to ride that momentum into the new year as she explores her new disc golf scene of Centre County, PA. After finishing 2nd at 2 of the 3 A-tiers she made it to last year, the dream is to win an A tier. But, most of all, to keep getting outdoors and have fun throwing plastic underneath the clouds she loves to study!
Eric Moul is entering into his fourth season on Team BRIA and is looking to make a big splash this year in the region! He currently has two professional wins and is looking to at least double that amount in 2022. He is also looking to increase his rating closer to the 1000 mark and become a more consistent finisher. Off the course, Eric’s goal is to set up a winter team matchplay league in the Lancaster, PA region!
Originally from El Salvador, but now living in Little Egg Harbor, NJ, Rabi Orellana has enjoyed disc golf since the first day he played in 2018. Having played a full season of tournaments in MA1 during 2021 and winning a few events, most notably King of the Woods, Rabi decided to make the jump to MPO for the 2022 season and beyond. He looks forward to continually improving his game and winning a few tournaments while representing Team Bria.
Dave Heckman has come a long way since his first rounds using only a putter several years ago when a friend brought him out to play. Having already achieved his goal of becoming a sponsored player, he plans to play more open tournaments, and influence younger players as well.
Home Course: Hackett Park
Favorite Disc: Innova AJ Destroyer
Jacob Liss is a 14 year old disc golfer who is Sponsored by Discraft Underground and BRIA Disc Golf from Cranford, New Jersey. He competes in the MPO and MA1 divisions and plans on going on a mini tour summer 2022 hitting a few a tiers across the east coast and mid west. His biggest accomplishment his win at the 2021 Horizon Cup averaging 985 rated and his MPO win at the 2021 Fall Flyover while assistant TDing. Jacob’s future goals is to become one of the best players in the world! (Photo credit: DaveCoxPics)
Starting in late 2019, Andrew Stocklin has devoted his days to practicing any time he can. By watching his favorite players compete he has quickly fallen in love with the sport and strives to improve his technique. Andrew works to grow the sport through his Youtube channel and by hosting events to introduce new players to the game. His faith plays a big part in how dedicated and passionate he is about disc golf and all aspects of his life. He is honored to be on Team BRIA this year and hopes to bring more young people to the sport while improving his PDGA rating by playing in as many events as possible.
The biggest achievement for Josh Snyder in 2021 was getting his first pro win at Okie Mike Triples. In addition to this, he placed in the top 15 in 10 out of the 15 events he played in 2021. Josh is looking to improve his rating to at least 950 during 2022 and is aiming to cash at half of the events he plays. (Photo credit - DaveCoxPics)
Christopher Stone is a professional disc golfer from Ottawa, Illinois. He has been playing the sport for over 10 years. He has found his passion in organizing events and playing competitively. He directs a weekly local league and has plans for unsanctioned/sanctioned leagues and events in 2022. Last year, with the help of the local community, he was able to raise over $2,000 towards improving his local disc golf course. This summer he intends on instructing a recreational disc golf program for the youth in his hometown. He aspires to become a 1000 rated player and in his free time enjoys creating helpful disc golf content on social media.
Benjamin Streeter, PDGA #91054
Ben is from Charlton, Massachusetts and has been playing disc golf since 2010. Ben’s home course is the famous Maple Hill Farm, he likes to play with friends and family and travel across New England for tournaments. In fact, he and his family travel all over to play disc golf. Ben has competed three times in The Junior Worlds Championships in Emporia, Kansas. He won his first B tier at The Hilton Head Island Open in South Carolina, and recently competed in The South Florida Open in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This year Ben’s goals are to achieve a 920+ pdga rating, continue to compete all over the northeast, and travel to Peoria, Illinois to compete in The 2022 Junior World Championships.
Aeris Hansen
Sean Ryan is a Junior disc golfer from Yorktown, NY. Sean found disc golf at the beginning of the pandemic and has grown to love the sport and it’s community.
Sean’s goals for 2022 are to move up to Ma1, place in the top 25 at Junior Worlds, become 900 rated, and run multiple events throughout the year.
Alfonso Manzo showed dramatic improvement in 2019 by limiting his bag which forced him to really learn his discs and focus on form, resulting in more distance and accuracy. He has also been able to better shape his shots to navigate any challenge a course present him. His goals for 2020 are to win a tournament and increase his circle 1 putting percentage.
Home Course: Doc Cramer
Favorite Disc: Discraft Buzzz
In 2021 John Birkrem managed to travel to Colorado for a tournament and is happy to announce he has now played disc golf in all of the lower 48 states. His four year goal is to play a PDGA sanctioned tournament in all 50 states, 38 down, 12 to go. John's touring schedule is set up with this goal in mind. Earning enough points each year for a Worlds invite is considered a bonus.
Rick Hansen is an avid disc golfer, who found the sport in 2020. As with most things he loves, he was all in after his first throw and has dedicated most of his free time to the sport since that day. If you happen to miss him on his daily sunrise rounds, you may catch him on his home course, Mercer county, where he shares team captain duties. In addition to running live scoring for the stafford open in 2021, he had the honor of representing NJ in the MA40 division at the NADGT’s in 2021. Not only is he happy to represent team Bria, it is extra special being on the team with his daughter Aeris. They hope to bring some parent/child clinics to local courses in the near future.
John Copeland is the Camp Director and Course designer at Camp Tecumseh in Pittstown, NJ.
After winning his first MP40 B-tier in 2021 John is excited and proud to represent BRIA as he plays more tournaments and hopefully secures more wins in 2022.
Nate Renshaw is a high level advanced player that’s transitioning into the pro field. He recently took 16th place at 2021 Am Worlds and is the current South Jersey champion. Whether Nate is organizing course cleanups, working on his game or performing rescues from helicopters (his day job) he is always grinding. Nate is looking forward to growing as a player, achieving a 30 point rating bump, directing a tournament, and helping others gain a love for the game. Give him a follow on Instagram to track his progress!
Donnie Rakes’ most recent accomplishment was playing his first PDGA tournament in 2 years and finished 4th out of 6 players in MA40. His goals for 2022 are to win his first Pdga tournament and earn enough points for the 2023 Am Masters in Flagstaff Arizona
Starting his Disc Golf journey in March of 2018, Patrick Ribertone Continues to work to improve his game in all aspects. 2021 being his most improved year yet; moving up a division, winning his first MA1 tournament shortly after, and surpassing previous personal best records at different courses, he’s eager to see where his passion for the sport will take him in the coming years.
Home course: Doc Cramer
Favorite disc: Sexton Firebird
Brandon Forguer resides in the Sunshine State in which his disc golf career started at the age of 15. He has played in a few tournaments and has strived to be great. On his down time you will always find him on the course... helping fellow players or playing a round himself. His goals for the 2022 season are to improve playing time, enter more tournaments and work to get his rating closer to a 1000. Brandon is honored and excited to be part of Team Bria and everything they have to offer.
Zach Tesone is an Ultimate Frisbee player turned disc golfer towards the end of 2020. Zach had an explosive first year of tournament play, with 8 C-tier wins, 3 B-tier wins, and a 10th place finish at USADGC. His goals for 2022 include developing and committing to weekly putting and throwing regiments for more consistency as well as continuing to develop his mental strength for high level tournament play.
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Gabe Galvão is an MA1 player from Aberdeen, NJ. He started playing disc golf in 2019 and his best accomplishment recently has been to be able to competitive in the MA1 field. Gabe’s goals for the 2022 season is to improve his rating, to travel and play in some bigger amateur tournaments, and to host 2 of his own tournaments.
Favorite disc: Latitude 64 Explorer
Home course: Joe Palaia Park