Boys golf: Olmsted Falls takes SWC preview; Amherst, Avon just behind

HINKLEY TWP. — While most eyes were fixed on another epic battle between Avon and Amherst, it was Olmsted Falls that snuck up and stole the spotlight. The top three teams were separated by six strokes Monday at the Southwestern Conference Preview at Pine Hills Golf Club. With medalist Cole Odon, who shot a 3-over-par 75, leading the way, the Bulldogs shot a 313 to finish ahead of runner-up Amherst (317). Avon was two strokes back in third with a 319. Comets senior Alek Kissane shot a 5-over 77, as did Avon's Ethan Olszowy. They were the top two golfers from Lorain County and tied for third place overall in the 42-man field. "The wind all day today was really hard to judge," Kissane said. "There were a lot of good teams and good players today. It was tough. "I hit a lot of greens, I was hitting the ball pretty straight off the tee. There's five different teams in the mix this year. We're going to have to play well every time we come out to repeat as conference champions." Avon Lake was just off the pace of the top three teams, shooting a 326. Midview's Wyatt Frank led his team with a 78. The Middies senior said the course conditions started out rough but got better as the day progressed. "The greens were really wet and damp to start, so it was really rough," Frank said. "I had a hard time figuring out what the green were doing but as the day went on our group figured it out. We haven't had rain in like 11 days so I expected the green to be dry. It definitely caught me off guard." Avon's Jacob Arnold also shot a 78 to give the Eagles two of the top five individual scores. "I kept the ball in play off the tee. I went to the range last night to work on that and it turned out to be pretty clutch today," Olszowy said. "The course conditions were fair. If you're hitting it in the fairways and hitting greens, you're going to have a pretty solid day. This was my first time playing the course and I can tell you it's not easy." At Friday's LCAAA Invitational, Avon won based on the performance of its fifth golfer after both teams shot a 296. On Monday, the Comets edged the Eagles for second because they had three golfers shoot in the 70s as Jordan Miller and Liam Puhalla both posted rounds of 79. "I'm not sure how it happens, it's weird, but it seems like we're always right there with Avon and there's usually a couple of other teams up there as well," Kissane said. North Ridgeville finished sixth with a team score of 338. Ethan Crevda led the Rangers with a 338. Monday's results count for 20 percent of the league standings along with the dual meet results and the Midview Invitational and SWC championship meets in September. Odon and teammate Quade Hess, who shot a 76, gave Olmsted Falls an early leg up in the standings. "My driver was working today, I hit a lot of fairways," Odon said. "The greens were firm and the wind was up a little bit, but it wasn't too much of a factor. It's good we can be in front in the first conference tournament and build some momentum going into the year." Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. TEAM STANDINGS: Olmsted Falls 313, Amherst 317, Avon 319, Avon Lake 326, Berea-Midpark 337, North Ridgeville 338, Midview 354. MEDALIST: Cole Odon, Olmsted Falls, 75. OLMSTED FALLS (313): Odon 75, Quade Hess 76, Connor Lehmann 78, Cameron Bond 84, Logan Korek 87, Ryan Henderson 90. AMHERST (317): Alek Kissane 77, Jordan Miller 79, Liam Puhalla 79, Jaxson Yoder 82, Ben Taylor 88, Landon Wolf 99. AVON (319): Ethan Olszowy 77, Jacob Arnold 78, Cameron Ocepek 81, Jack Hecei 83, Zack Snyder 83, Samuel Griffiths 84. AVON LAKE (326): Chase Cartwright 80, Benjamin Santo 81, Kollin Nilson 81, Kooper Nilson 84, Tyler Fenton 84, Maximos Prohaska 88. BEREA-MIDPARK (337): Gavin Wagner 82, Luke Nedoma 82, Caden Davis 83, Thomas Harrington 90, Oliver Marcelo 90, Luke Higgins 93. NORTH RIDGEVILLE (338): Ethan Crevda 80, Logan Ponting 83, Mason Limpert 87, Matthew Luca 88, Joshua Behlke 91, Teddy Greenfield 93. MIDVIEW (354): Wyatt Frank 78, Jonathan Klooz 87, Sam McCulley 94, Lucas Hendershot 95, Patrick Dolin 98, Kellen Sykuta 101.