The North Adams Green Devils boys golf team concluded a very successful season with an appearance last weekend in the OHSAA Division III State Golf Tournament. (Photo provided)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
The results weren’t ideal but the experience was invaluable. On October 14 and 15, Coach Jamie Hall and his North Adams boys golf squad competed in the OHSAA Division III State Golf Tournament at Northstar Golf Course north of Columbus. Coach Hall and his team knew going into the tourney that the odds were stacked against them and they managed a 12th place finish over the 46 holes of play.
The state tournament was just the icing on the cake that saw the Devils win the Adams County Cup, win the Southern Hills Athletic Conference championship, and then won the Division III sectional and district tournaments.
Coach Hall described the experience for this team at last weekend’s state tourney.
“The first day of the tournament (Friday) was tough,” said Coach Hall. “We had 40-45 miles an hour winds to deal with and had a good first nine but then the winds picked up and I think our boys’ nerves did too. Christopher (Hall) hit a good tee shot off of the first tee but when I walked over to him, he said, ‘Dad, I mean Coach, I’m still shaking’ and I think all the boys felt the same way.”
“The greens were very fast on Friday and even faster on Saturday. All the team scores were up but we all had to play the same course. We were 12th after day one and on Saturday the weather wasn’t much better, 59 degrees with winds at 20-25 miles an hour. , but we shot 16 strokes better. “
“I’m very proud of the boys,” Hall continued. “I told them to just have fun and that there were only 72 golfers here and they were five of them and you never know if you will make it back to state. We only had one senior this year (Wyatt Applegate), one junior (Ethan Taylor), three sophomores (Connor Young, Breestin Schweckart and Caleb DeAtley) and two freshmen (Christopher Hall and Robbie McClellan). I know the boys weren’t happy with their scores but it was a long course and the conditions were really rough at times. We were one of the 12 teams there and I think we had a great year.”
“I’d like to thank all our parents and grandparents and Mrs. Ragan, our Athletic Director , Principal Karl Boerger, the North Adams Athletic Boosters and everyone else who helped and supported us. Most of all I want to thank my players. They have made me so proud and they got a lot of compliments from the other coaches at the state tournament on how well they handled themselves. Also, a big thanks to Assistant Coach Hannum Taylor for all his hard work.”
NAHS Final Scores-OHSAA State Tournament
• Ethan Taylor- 186 (92-94)
• Breestin Schweickart- 192 (100-92)
• Wyatt Applegate- 194 (99-95)
• Christopher Hall- 195 (101-94)
• Connor Young- 200 (100-100)
Seven Hills Christian Academy out of Cincinnati was crowned the Division III state golf champions.
