Monroe Central Wins M-OVL Golf Crown; Barnesville Places 2nd
Seminoles’ Potts Is Medalist; River Girls Prevail
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WHEELING -- The Monroe Central boys' golf team advanced to the Ohio Division III District Tournament last fall and is looking for bigger and better things this season. The Seminoles are off to a good start.
Wednesday at the sun-splashed Crispin Golf Club, Monroe Central fired a 4-player total of 328 to win the Mid-Ohio Valley championship by seven strokes over second-place Barnesville's 335, which was a shot better than Buckeye Local. Shadyside was fourth at 358, with Frontier fifth at 395 and River sixth at 419. Bridgeport only had two entrants.
On the girls' side, River won a 2-team battle with Monroe Central, 463-493.
"This feels good," Monroe Central head coach Jared Highman said. "We've got a good bunch of kids this year. I'm pretty excited about this group. We went to the district tournament last year and only lost one player to graduation.
"We've got two seniors that really make this team go."
This is Monroe Central's second league title. The other came in 2020.
Monroe Central's Zander Potts earned medalist honors despite not playing to his full potential, he admitted.
"Zander is one of those two seniors that make this team go," Highman said of his leader.
"He is a heck of a kid and an outstanding athlete."
Potts shot an 8-over par 78 for a one-shot victory over Barnesville's Hayden Treadway.
"Getting lucky," he said when asked what was the key on Wednesday. "Nothing really went well but I just didn't let playing bad get to my head. I didn't putt well but I started hitting my driver better late in the round and that put me in a better position to score.
"Everybody on the team played well, but we still haven't played our best."
Buckeye Local's Kamden Kinyo and Monroe Central's Owen Weckbacher tied for third with 81s. Buckeye Local's Gavyn Romanyak and Barnesville's Brady Gallagher both fired 82 for a fifth-place tie. The Seminoles' Lane Demchak and Shadyside's Luke Bell carded 84 for a seventh-place stalemate.
All of the above earned all-M-OVL honors and received certificates.
A scary moment occurred late in the round as a male golfer from River suffered a medical emergency while still on the course. According to officials, he was transported by ambulance to a local hospital for observation.
River's Kiera Saksa and Barnesville's Kennedy Little both shot 100 to tie for co-medalist honors in the girls division. No playoff was held. Monroe Central's Abie Kinney was third at 112. They were presented certificates for making the all-M-OVL all-conference team.