Boys golf: Amherst's Jacob Sprinkle sees hard work pay off in first Lorain County Golfer of Year award

Amherst's Jacob Sprinkle never set out to be the Lorain County Golfer of the Year. In fact, when he started golfing three years ago the award didn't even exist. After leading the Comets to the Southwestern Conference and Division I sectional tournament championships, Sprinkle wrapped up his high school career by being named the top golfer by the newly formed Lorain County Golf Coaches Association. "It means a lot. I put in a lot of hard work this year and the outcome was amazing," said Sprinkle, who was also the Southwestern Conference Player of the Year. "This season was a lot of fun. Throughout the year we played well in most tournaments, some others we didn't do so well but I wouldn't trade any of those experiences because I loved playing on this team." Sprinkle, who had an 18-hole average of 78.2 this season, and was medalist at the SWC Preview, was one of four Comets to be named first-team All-County, joining Prince Tran, Alex Kissane and Mike Haddix. Tran had a 77.3 18-hole average and was co-medalist, along with Haddix, at the Keystone Invitational when the Comets set a school record with a team score of 295. Kissane had a 79.3 18-hole average and was runner-up at the Norwalk Invitational. Amherst coach Mitch Gillam, who previously coached basketball and golf at Oberlin College before taking over the Comets program six years ago, was named the first Lorain County Coach of the Year. "It feels pretty good from the standpoint that it brings recognition to everyone on our team," Gillam said. "And it shows all of the coaches in the county recognize that our team had a pretty good run." Because the high school golf season is so short — there were just 57 days between the Comets' first tournament of the year and sectionals — Gillam said players are really responsible for doing much of their work in the offseason so they come in ready to win. "We've been fortunate to be blessed with some good players but also the players really go out and work," Gillam said. "You don't get good without working. All of our guys put in the time and work that was needed, they listened to what I said they needed to improve on and they came back improved." Sprinkle's brother got him started playing golf when he was a sophomore and he's been working on his game ever since. "Once I got started I really liked it and started to get good," Sprinkle said. "It made me want to work hard and be the best I could be. Every day when I would have something go wrong with my swing I would always go out to the range and try to fix it. I would put a lot of work in to make sure I was dialed in. I was constantly putting in work." Sprinkle is undecided how far he hopes to take his golf career. "I've thought about talking to some colleges but maybe I'll just have fun with golf and play in some scrambles and stuff," Sprinkle said. After finishing second in the SWC, Avon had a trio of golfers earn first-team honors. Tommy Urbancic and Tim Mai were also first-team SWC selections. Urbancic was the SWC tournament medalist while Mai had six rounds of 78 or better this season. Ethan Olszowy's best round of the year came at the Mustang Invitational where he shot a 76. No one was golfing better at the end of the season than Avon Lake's Mark Behrend, who secured his spot on the first team with rounds of 74 at sectionals and 77 at districts, better than any Lorain County or SWC golfer. Midview's Wyatt Frank and North Ridgeville's Kyle Urban both locked up a spot on the first team with 18-hole averages of 81 and 82, respectively. The coaches association didn't forget about the Division II and III schools as Elyria Catholic's Alex Meecha and Open Door's Will Giesbrecht rounded out the 12-man first team. Meecha finished fifth at the inaugural North Coast Conference tournament and lost a playoff at the Division II sectional for the final district qualifying position. Giesbrecht, a two-time Division III district qualifier, had an 18-hole average of 82. Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Lorain County Golf Coaches Association All-County TeamsFIRST TEAM: Mark Behrend, Avon Lake; Wyatt Frank, Midview; Will Giesbrecht, Open Door; Mike Haddix, Amherst; Alek Kissane, Amherst; Tim Mai, Avon; Alex Meecha, Elyria Catholic; Ethan Olszowy, Avon; Jacob Sprinkle, Amherst; Prince Tran, Amherst; Kyle Urban, North Ridgeville; Tommy Urbansic, AvonSECOND TEAM: Josh Behlke, North Ridgeville; Aaron Bement, Firelands; Max Blewitt, Elyria; Brace Dillinger, Elyria Catholic; Ryan Kemer, Midview; Cooper Lodge, Avon; Logan North, Columbia; Brody O'Boyle, Keystone; Quinn Otto, Keystone; Zack Snyder, Avon; Ethan Taylor, Midview; Jaxson Yoder, AmherstHONORABLE MENTION: Jordan Miller, Amherst; Ryan Younglas, Keystone; Wyatt Austin, Avon; Patrick Dolin, Midview; Grady Pellegrini, Avon Lake; Ethan Crevda, North Ridgeville; Charlotte Falson, Black River; Chris Hanmer, Oberlin; Alex Henry, Columbia; Evan Reed, Open Door; Andrew Peacock, Elyria; Julian Hamman, Vermilion; Tyler Suhie, Elyria Catholic; Zach Kehl, Wellington; Josh Schwarck, FirelandsPLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jacob Sprinkle, AmherstCOACH OF THE YEAR: Mitch Gillam, Amherst