Boys golf: Avon finishes second, advances to district tournament

AVON LAKE — All season, Avon counted on having multiple golfers shoot in the 70s to lead the team to tournament victories and a Southwestern Conference title. On Monday, the same formula sent the Eagles soaring into the district tournament. Avon shot 314 to finish second at the Division I sectional tournament at the Sweetbriar Legacy Course. The Eagles were led by sophomore Brenton Dill, who shot a 4-over 76. "We're all so happy, we've been looking forward to this day since last year when we sadly didn't make the cut as a team," Dill said. "We worked hard every single day, even in the offseason, for this day so we could advance." The Eagles' three juniors rounded out the scorecard with Nolan King shooting 77, SWC Player of the Year Jack Gerborg posting a 78 and Tyler Christy finishing with an 83. "I'm really happy for the team that everybody gets to go this year. Last year, we got to take two. It was a very exciting day," Avon coach Jeff Stevens said. "This is a great group of kids. They work hard, they like to practice together and the results show out on the course." Avon will be joined at next week's district tournament at Pine Hills by sectional champion St. Ignatius, which shot 293. Strongsville, led by Greater Cleveland Conference Player of the Year Michael Lee (73), finished with a 319 and Great Lakes Conference champion Rocky River totaled 326. Wildcats junior Topher Reed, an Ohio State commit, was medalist with a 1-under 71. St. Ignatius freshman Bradley Chill, a Columbia Station resident had the second-best score of the day, an even-par 72. Avon and St. Ignatius were the only teams with three or more golfers shooting under 80. "We have a lot of confidence after today," Dill said. "Some of the teams here today put up great numbers all season and we proved we can hang with them." Despite getting a hole-in-one from senior Jackson Powell on the 166-yard seventh hole, St. Edward (329) missed out on a qualifying berth by three strokes. Lorain County golfers took three of the four individual qualifying positions to districts, led by Amherst freshman Ryan Yoder, who shot a 4-over 76. "I started off really rough," Yoder said. "I was 4-over through four holes. I managed to clean it up from there, hit a lot of good shots and gave myself a lot of opportunities for birdie. It feels really good to advance, especially after that start. I hit my irons well today. I had a lot of birdie putts I barely missed but, otherwise, I thought I played well today." After shooting 84 at the sectional tournament each of the last two years, North Ridgeville junior Ben Lampe qualified for districts for the first time with a round of 79. "This round was a lot different than my round at conference. It was just making pars and keeping steady," Lampe said. "The course was playing longer today. It was wet. It was really playing hard today. I've been close the last few years and I'm really happy I get to go to districts. This has been a goal of mine since freshman year. It shows how I'm improving and how hard I'm working." Avon Lake junior Danny Donegan's par on the first playoff hole broke a four-way tie between him, teammate Derrick McCrum, North Ridgeville's Kolin Matej and Olmsted Falls' Aaron Katitus for the final ticket to district. All four had rounds of 81. "Getting up on the green, I had a pretty good idea I had two putts to win," Donegan said. "I told myself just to get it within a foot. I did that and it worked out. I was nervous standing over that final putt. I was like if there was ever a time not to miss a one-footer, it's right now." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Team Results: 1. St. Ignatius 293, 2. Avon 314, 3. Strongsville 319, 4. Rocky River 326, 5. St. Edward 329, 6. Avon Lake 332, 7. Amherst 332, 8. Olmsted Falls 336, 9. Westlake 339, 10. North Ridgeville 342, 11. Bay 343, 12. Pauda 368, 13. Midview 370, 14. Berea-Midpark 402, 15. North Olmsted 428, 16. Elyria 432, 17. Lakewood 474. Medalist: Topher Reed, St. Ignatius, 71. Individual qualifiers: Ryan Yoder, Amherst, 76; Ben Lampe, North Ridgeville, 79; Colin Myslenski, St. Edward, 80, Danny Donegan, Avon Lake, 81* *Won four-person playoff for final qualifying position. Individual results: St. Ignatius (293): Topher Reed 71, Nick Pieen 73, Connor Malicki 80, Nick Longano 77, Bradley Chill 72. Avon (314): Jack Gerborg 78, Nolan King 77, Brenton Dill 76, Tyler Christy 83, Hunter McCourt 89. Strongsville (319): Michael Lee 73, Dean Upholzer 76, Daniel Lee 80, Connor Zitnar 90, Ian Furgason 93. Rocky River (326): Will Bennett 80, Luke Dietrich 84, Nick Tianello 83, Hayden Weaver 79, Aidan McDonald 88. St. Edward (329): Colin Myslenski 80, Max Morgan 84, Jackson Powell 82, Luke Godlewski 96, Jack Myslenski 83. Avon Lake (332): Sean Laverty 82, Danny Donegan 81, Sam Murray 88, Cole Cartwright 90, Derrick McCrum 81. Amherst (332): Ryan Yoder 76, Austin Bray 98, Brent Baumgartner 83, Nathan Harmych 89, Joey Kramer 84. Olmsted Falls (336): Ben Scheef 88, Matt Hall 90, Aaron Katitus 81, Dylan Sowers 82, Carson Balfour 85. Westlake (339): Will Fankhauser 83, Sean Ambrosino 82, Mason Maynard 89, Chris Brown 95, Michael Ambrosino 85. North Ridgeville (342): Ben Lampe 79, Greg Codner 90, Kolin Matej 81, Zach Richardson 95, Sam Forristal 92. Bay (343): Jack Nagoette 82, Andrew Chesterfield 89, Lucas Shell 98, David Banks 85, Zach Rose 87. Padua (368): Dan Fisher 92, David Olson 102, Jake Svadba 89, Cameron Short 100, Holden Oddo 87. Midview (370): Bryan Stone 82, Michael Ebosh 87, Quinn Rowe 91, Chaz Yates 110, Cole Pugh 110. Berea-Midpark (402): Logan Cook 100, Mason Cook 100, Justin Peabody 114, Andrew Petkac 88, Johnny Reilly 122. North Olmsted (428): Justin Christ 97, Dominic Pinto 104, Brandon Cerny 101, Fletcher Hughes 134, Nathan Mortensen 126. Elyria (432): Jeremy Barley 122, Zachary Chavalia 110, Anthony Ripley 99, Steven Ripley 118, Gavin Bowe 105. Lakewood (474): Jack Derethik 102, Sean McHugh 118, Gavin Fulmer 125. Cole Dockus 129.