Boys golf: Amherst wins first sectional title behind Ryan Yoder's 74; Avon advances to district despite off day

LAGRANGE — There's more than one way to advance to a district tournament. Amherst took the easy route Tuesday, winning the Division I sectional tournament at Grey Hawk Golf Club with a round of 316. Meanwhile, Avon's path involved uncharacteristic missteps and missed shots and some later afternoon scoreboard watching as the Eagles held on for the fourth and final qualifying position. Avon shot 330, four strokes better than fifth-place Olmsted Falls. "Every year we kinda try to build towards this day," Amherst coach Mitch Gillam said. "The last several years we played well at the end of the year. We've either won our conference tournament or played well at sectionals. So we were hoping to be ready for today." Ryan Yoder led the Comets with 2-over 74, tying Olmsted Falls junior Ben Scheeff for the third-best round of the day. "I played pretty well today," said Yoder, a sophomore. "I was really consistent until the 18th hole, which I double-bogeyed. I was striking the ball well and putting well." Senior Austin Bray had a 79 for the Comets while sophomore Landen Bray and senior Joey Kramer both shot 82. The Comets had high hopes heading into Tuesday's tournament but it's safe to say they surpassed their own lofty expectations. "We talked about shooting for a 324 or 325 and we felt that would give us a good chance at getting out," Yoder said. "When we saw our scores we were really excited. We knew we could go low but we just haven't put it all together. Thankfully, today we did. This is something we've been working toward since last year so it means a lot to all of us." Avon came into sectionals as one of the favorites after shooting 311 at Grey Hawk in the early-season Keystone Invitational and setting numerous school records throughout the season. Instead, the Eagles had what was for them a subpar round and they had to wait until the final trio of players came in to make sure their score was good enough to earn them a repeat trip to the Pine Hills district tournament. Nolan King led the Eagles with an 80. "I'm a little upset personally," King said. "There's no other way to put it. It was a bad day for me and the team. I'm happy we made it through and I know we'll play better at Pine Hills." Jack Gerborg was one stroke behind King. "Personally, I just didn't play very well," Gerborg said. "I was able to scramble and save some strokes here and there. Overall it was just bad ball-striking. I was able to keep it together but it wasn't good." It was Avon's consistency up-and-down the lineup that allowed it to advance. Olmsted Falls and sixth-place Rocky River both had at least one golfer shooting in the 70s but the Eagles' third and fourth golfers, Tyler Christy (84) and Hunter McCourt (85) catapulted their team into fourth. "It was good enough today," Avon coach Jeff Stevens said. "I'm sure we wish we would have played better but I'm just glad we're moving on." Westlake finished second with a 323 and Strongsville was third shooing 327. Avon Lake (eighth) and Midview (ninth) were the only other local teams to crack the top 10 in the 17-team field. Amherst, Avon and Westlake will have an added edge heading into Monday's district tournament since all three will get to play an extra round at Pine Hills in the rain-delayed Southwestern Conference tournament Thursday. "I think it's going to be huge to have the conference tournament at Pine Hills," King said. "Not just because it's another round we'll all play on that course but, for us, it will be a chance to reset out minds and be ready to attack at districts." Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Team results (Top four teams advance to district tournament): Amherst 317, Westlake 323, Strongsville 327, Avon 330, Olmsted Falls 334, Rocky River 337, St. Edward 347, Avon Lake 350, Midview 360, Bay 360, North Ridgeville 382, Padua 385, Buckeye 391, North Olmsted 399, Berea-Midpark 409, Elyria 432, Lakewood 468 Qualifying teams Amherst (317): Ryan Yoder 74, Austin Bray 79, Landen Bray 82, Joey Kramer 82, Prince Tran 89Westlake (323): Chris Brown 72, Will Fankhauser 83, Sion Park 85, Michael Amborsino 83, Sean Ambrosino 90Strongsville (327): Dean Upholzer 71, Daniel Lee 81, Vinnie Borros 87, Connor Zitnar 93, Ethan Stross 89Avon (330): Nolan King 80, Jack Gerborg 81, Brenton Dill 89, Hunter McCourt 85, Tyler Christy 84 Individual qualifiers (Top four individuals not on a qualifying team): Ben Scheeff, Olmsted Falls, 74; Luke Dietrich, Rocky River, 78; Nick Tianello, Rocky River, 78; John Hammond, St. Edward, 80 Medalist: Dean Upholzer, Strongsville, 71 Local teams Avon Lake (350): Dan Donegan 85, Derrick McCrum 85, Kyle Ritter 87, Aneil Jantz 93, Sam Murray 93Midview (360): Bryan Stone 87, Michael Ebosh 89, Quinn Rowe 96, Steven Allen 88, Drew DiFranco 96North RIdgeville (382): Ben Lampe 84, Jake Boynar 102, Hunter Wilson 103, Sam Forristal 95, Mike Ochall 101Elyria (432): Anthony Ripley 109, Steven Ripley 105,Zachary Chavalia 102, Ryan Chavalia 116Lorain (no team score): Peter Kopronica 108Other teamsOlmsted Falls (334): Ben Scheeff 74, Dylan Sowers 92, Aaron Katitus 86, Tanner Nelson 86, Spencer Lethbridge 88Rocky River (337): Luke Dietrich 78, Nick Tianello 78, Wes Bennett 95, Owen Toole 89, Robby Lang 92St. Edward (347): Luke Godlewski 91, Gavin Hunter 90, Jack Myslenski 87, John Hammond 80, Tommy Patton 90Bay (360): Zach Rose 89, Lucas Shell 92, Josh Hammond 91, Will Clements 88, Andrew Chesterfield 100Padua (385): Jake Svadba 91, Lucas Palange 82 , Ryan Jankowski 111, Matt Hopkins 101, Nolan Reilly 114 Buckeye (391): Christian Ray 97, Michael Koeth 112, Jack Eisenhart 93, Jackson Chambers 106. Scott DiMarco 95 North Olmsted (399): Brandon Cerny 98, Dominic Pinto 96, Derrick Faulisi 101, Jacob Schneid 102, Dylan Giraldo 114Berea-Midpark (409): Mason Cook 93, Quinn McLaren 109, Kolin Daniel 102, Nick Hoff 113, Hunter Shrefler 106Lakewood (468): Jack Derethik 116, Logan Ellis 117, Leo Soneson 123, Justin Lacquement 118, Tyler Volcansek 117