In the Division III sectional tournament, West Union senior Matthew Griffis shot n 81 to help lead the Dragons to the sectional championship. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
West Union also headed to state
Manchester sophomore Parker Hayslip shot an 80 in the Division III sectional tournament, helping the Greyhounds qualify for district play. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
For Coach Carl Schneider and his West Union Dragons boys golf squad, a hill that once seemed insurmountable no longer stands in their way. For the past couple od seasons, the Dragons have been lurking in the shadows of the North Adams Green Devils, bnut they have now stepped out of the shadows and into the light, and in a big way. On September 27 at the Boys Division III Sectional Tournament, West Union broke through and finally got past North Adams on a big stage, outdistancing the Devils by six strokes to crown themselves as sectional champions and move on to the Division III district tourney.
(Update: The Dragons also got past North Adams, by just a single stroke, in the district tournament on Monday, punching their ticket to the OHSAA State Golf Tournament in Columbus. Read about the exciting district competition in next week’s People’s Defender.)
In their sectional win, the Dragons were led by senior Matthew Griffis, who shot 43 on the front nine, then dropped that to 38 on the back for an 81 overall. West Union also got rounds of 83 from sophomore Tegan Knox, 84 from sophomore Adam Cooper, 91 from freshman Landon McIntosh abd 116 from sophomore Carsen Francis. The top four scores there added up to a total of 339, six strokes ahead of North Adams’ 345.
“This team has been imoriving each match this year on their course management and it really showed in the sectional,” said Coach Schneider. “We are a young team so we will have our highs and lows and everything finally clicked. They will still have to play much better in Monday’s district if they want to move on to state. When they combine sections for the district, there will be several good teams competing for that one spot at state.”
For North Adams, their second place finish overall also qualified them for the districit tournament. The Devils were again paced by junior Breestin Schweickart, who continued his outstanding season bu shooting a 79 overall (37-42), good for third overall on the individual leader board. Senior Ethan Taylor shot an 89 at sectionals, with the team also getting an 88 from freshman Cash Hupp, 89 from junior Caleb DeAtley, and 94 from junior Connor Young.
Five teams come out of the sectional tournament and move to the districts, and the fourth spot in those standings went to the Manchester Greyhounds. The Hounds made it to the district tourney behind a strong round from sophomore parker Hayslip, who went 42-28 for an overall score of 80, which put him in the top five overall as an individual. Hayslip was backed up by senior Drew Kennedy, who shot a 90 (45-45) and sophomore Ryan Mack, who carded a 97. Sophomore Joel Blythe shot a 101, with freshman Thomas Barnhart coming in at 104.
From the sectional tournament, the top five individuals who are not on qualifiying teams also earn a ticket to the districts and one of these spots was claimed by Peebles senior Keltin Robinson. Robinson finished in the top 10 in the indivdual standings. shooting 46 on the front and improving to 37 on the back for an 83 overall and a trip to the district tourney.
As mentioned earlier, the Division III district tournament was played on Monday, October 2 at the Portsmouth Elks with West Union earning a trip to the state championships. Look for a full report in the Occtober 11 edition.
2023 Division III Sectionals (Chillicothe Jaycees)
West Union: Matthew Griffis-81, Tegan Knox- 83, Adam Cooper- 84, Landon McIntosh-91, Carsen Francis- 116
North Adams: Breestin Schweickart- 79, Cash Hupp-88, Ethan Taylor-89, Caleb DeAtley- 89, Connor Young- 94
Manchester: Parker Hayslip- 80, Drew Kennedy- 90, Ryan Mack- 97, Joel Blythe- 101, Thomas Barnhart- 104
Peebles: Keltin Robinson- 83, Peyton Mason- 102, Garrett Shiveley- 106, Colt Seaman- 134, Andy McFarland- 137
Division III Sectional Team Scores: West Union 339, North Adams 345, Lynchburg-Clay 354, Manchester 368, Lucasville Valley 368, Huntington Ross 374, Adena 386, Leesburg Fairfield 399, Western Latham 413, Southeastern 423, Peebles 425, Crooksville 426, Whiteoak 436, Portsmouth Notre Dame 443
Individual Champion: Cameron Phillips, Lucasville Valley (66)
