Boys golf: Amherst rises to occasion, repeats as SWC champs; Avon's Tommy Urbancic wins individual title

LAGRANGE — Early in the season, Amherst's odds of repeating as Southwestern Conference champions looked bleak. The Comets decided to defy the odds. Led by senior Michael Haddix, who shot a 4-over 76, Amherst posted a round of 313 Thursday at the SWC tournament at Grey Hawk Golf Club to win the event by six strokes over Avon. That win, coupled with Amherst's 6-1 record in dual meets, allowed the Comets to repeat as league champions despite starting the year with second-place finishes behind the Eagles in the league preview and Midview Invitational. "I don't think we were disappointed coming in second a number of times, I think it just fueled us more," said senior Prince Tran, who shot a 78 and was one of three Comets to break 80. "Those finishes were a reason why we came in first today. They pushed us to be better." Consistency was the key to the Comets' win with four golfers shooting 80 or better — Jacob Sprinkle, the current leader in the SWC Player of the Year standings, shot a 79 and sophomore Jaxson Yoder had an 80. "Early in the year I mentioned our depth was a concern and we needed to build on that," Amherst coach Mitch Gilllam said. "Today our No. 5 golfer, Jaxson Yoder, put up a top-10 score and that was the difference for us." Avon senior Tommy Urbancic was medalist with a 2-over 74 but Ethan Olszowy, who carded a 78, was the only other Eagle to shoot better than 83. "My driver wasn't doing too well today but luckily this course plays pretty short," Urbancic said. "My wedge was pretty good and my putting was pretty good and I just kinda went from there. "There was a lot of pressure today. You play all year to get a chance at this and we didn't come through. But, honestly, Amherst played great. This is a great way for me to go out individually, as a team we now just have to lock in and get ready for sectionals. We've won here before so we know in our head we can do this." All eight SWC teams will be back at Grey Hawk on Sept. 30 for the Division I sectional tournament. A quartet of juniors — Olmsted Falls' Cole Odon (76), Avon Lake's Kollin Nilson (77), Midview's Wyatt Frank (79) and Berea-Midpark's Luke Nedoma (79) — were the only other golfers in the 47-man field to break 80. With a chance to repeat as league champions on the line, Gillam said most of the Comets made the decision on their own to head to Grey Hawk on Wednesday for a practice round. The extra work paid off. "We needed to come out to prepare for today, to know the green speeds and where to play the ball," Haddix said. "it really helped a lot." "It's amazing to win conference again and I know my team is pretty excited by it," Haddix said. "In the SWC Preview we got second place so we were fighting for first today and we put it together and made it happen." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. TEAM RESULTS: Amherst 313, Avon 319, Olmsted Falls 326, Avon Lake 331, North Ridgeville 336, Berea-Midpark 338, Midview 344, Elyria 387 MEDALIST: Tommy Urbancic, Avon, 74 AMHERST (313): Michael Haddix 76, Prince Tran 78, Jacob Sprinkle 79, Jaxson Yoder 80, Alek Kissane 86, Jordan Miller 87 AVON (319): Tommy Urbancic 74, Ethan Olszowy 78, Cooper Lodge 83, Tim Mai 84, Zack Snyder 85, Wyatt Austin 86 OLMSTED FALLS (326): Cole Odon 76, Rowan Seymour 80, Quade Hess 85, Connor Lenmann 85, Ryan Henderson 86, Owen Timura 96 AVON LAKE (331): Kollin Nilson 77, Mark Behrend 80, Chase Cartwright 86, Kooper Nilson 88, Will Schnabel 88, Grady Pellegrini 89 NORTH RIDGEVILLE (336): Kyle Urban 80, Mason Limpert 81, Joshua Behlke 87, Ethan Crevda 88, Nick Forristal 93, Tyeson Carter 97 BEREA-MIDPARK (338): Luke Nedoma 79, Oliver Marcelo 82, Andrew Greger 87, Landon Krek 90, Gavin Wagner 91, Reid Shrefler 105 MIDVIEW (344): Wyatt Frank 79, Ethan Taylor 86, Patrick Dolin 86, Chase Harper 93, Ryan Kemer 95, Jonathan Klooz 96 ELYRIA (387): Max Blewett 87, Ryan Chavalia 96, Andrew Peacock 96, Naylan Boddy 108, Christian Jenkins 139