Boys sectional golf: Amherst is champion at Grey Hawk once again

LAGRANGE — Three times this year Amherst has walked off the course Grey Hawk Golf Club as champions. Monday, the Comets took home their biggest prize of the season. Amherst shot 307 to win the Division I sectional tournament and keep its dream of qualifying for the state tournament alive. Senior Prince Tran led the way with a 2-over par 74, but the biggest story for the Comets was four golfers — Tran, Jacob Sprinkle 76) , Michael Haddix (78) and Jaxson Yoder (79) — all shooting under 80. "We have four guys in the 70s and another guy who should have been in the 70s, except for a couple of minor hiccups along the way. That's the consistency we've been striving for all year," Amherst coach Mitch Gillam said. "Any time you get four scores in the 70s, you're going to get a very good team score." In their second event of the year, the Comets set a school record, shooting 295 at Grey Hawk in the Keystone Invitational. Earlier this month, they won their second consecutive Southwestern Conference championship on the same course. "All year, we've talked about just going out and having fun and enjoying the fact you're playing golf," Gillam said. "We have some very competitive players who want to hit every shot perfectly, but in golf that's not going to happen. We've done a good job of accepting bad shots and being able to grind it out." From the first day of the year, Tran said his goal in his final year was to go out and enjoy playing golf. Even knowing Monday could have been the final round of his high school career, he never changed his approach. "I was just really calm today," he said. "I wasn't really thinking about the future, that's what got me through today. We all have that hustle mentality and we stay strong throughout the round. We know every stroke matters and we stay true to that." The Comets finished five strokes ahead of second-place Westlake (312). The Demons were led by medalist Matthew Brown, who shot a 1-over 73. Avon Lake is also headed to Hinkley for next week's district tournament at Pine Hills. The Shoremen finished third with a round of 318. Avon Lake was led by seniors Mark Behrend and Grady Pellegrini, who shot 74 and 80, respectively. "I had some ups and downs. I had some bogies, but I came back and made some birdies," Behrend said. "I feel like we all came in confident today. We were all ready and excited about playing today," The Shoremen also had rounds of 82 from Chase Cartwright and Kooper Nilson. Avon Lake coach Matt Perry said his team prepared for the wet conditions by coming out and playing a practice round Sunday. "They were all able to get a practice round in the rain. That shows you their dedication and what they want to accomplish," Perry said. "I think that experience helped them score well today." St. Edward and Berea-Midpark were tied for the fourth and final qualifying positions with scores of 319. Avon senior Tim Mai shot 77, to finish one stroke out of the final individual qualifying position. The Eagles finished seventh as team. Midview was ninth and North Ridgeville rounded out the top 10. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. (Top four teams and top four individuals not on a qualifying team advance to district tournament) Team results: Amherst 307, Westlake 312, Avon Lake 318, St. Edward 319, Berea-Midpark 319, Rocky River 321, Avon 322, Olmsted Falls 330, Midview 338, North Ridgeville 339, Strongsville 347, North Olmsted 371, Lakewood 384, Elyria 391. Medalist: Matthew Brown, Westlake, 73 Individual qualifiers: Nolan Toole, Rocky River, 75; Luke Nedoma, Berea-Midpark, 76; Oliver Marcelo, Berea-Midpark, 76; Cole Odon, Olmsted Falls, 76. Individual results: Amherst (307): Prince Tran 74, Alek Kissane 81, Jacob Sprinkle 76, Michael Haddix 78, Jaxson Yoder 79. Westlake (312): Peyton Wolf 88, Matthew Brown 73, Mitchell England 76, Cooper Albers 78, Blake Jensen 85. Avon Lake (318): Grady Pellegrini 80, Kollin Nilson 84, Mark Behrend 74, Chase Cartwright 82, Kooper Nilson 82. St. Edward (319): M.T. Polca 76, Vinh Lai 83, Sean Curran 79, Nicholas Yonadi 85, Carson Torek 81. Berea-Midpark (319): Luke Nedoma 76, Oliver Marcelo 76, Landon Krek 82,Gavin Wagner 990, Andrew Greger 85. Rocky River (321): Caden Lawrence 81, Nolan Toole 75, Finn Potts 82, Max Lehmann 83, Angelo Fiutem 84. Avon (322): Tim Mai 77, Cooper Lodge 85, Ethan Olszowy 92, Tommy Urbancic 81, Zack Snyder 79. Olmsted Falls (330): Rowan Seymour 85, Cole Odon 76, Connor Lehmann 83, Quade Hess 86, Owen Timura 101. Midview (338): Wyatt Frank 83, Ethan Taylor 81, Ryan Kemer 85, Patrick Dolin 89, Sam McCulley 100. North Ridgeville (339): Kyle Urban 80, Joshua Behlke 83, Ethan Crevda 88, Mason Limpert 88, Matthew Luca 92. Strongsville (347): Harrison Labahn 85, Nicholas Colagiovanni 88, Owen Smith 89, Paxton Karabaic 85, Luke Trzebuckowski 96. North Olmsted (371) Landon Graff 90, Jake Schneid 95, Kody Schneid 93, Jake Perkins 97, A.J. Ryant 93. Lakewood (384): Aidan Smith 106, Logan Ellis 101, Justin Lacquement 87, Chris Hanna 94, Ronan Johnson 102. Elyria (391): Maxwell Blewett 90, Andrew Peacock 94, Naylan Boddy 108, Ryan Chavalia 99, Christian Jenkins 134. Max Hayes (no team score): Joseph Maida-Evans 176, Meguel Kline 161, Phillip Cole 133