Burritt cruises to her second consecutive Metropolitan title
When you hear Alyssa Burritt played on the boys golf team at Bellbrook High School, you might expect to see something other than a girl who is 5 feet 2 and weighs about 120 pounds.
Those are the dimensions of the extraordinary young lady who won her second straight Miami Valley Metropolitan Women’s Championship last week at Sugar Valley Country Club.
Burritt, who is going into her junior year at the University of Cincinnati, won the 54-hole Metro by seven strokes over runner-up Ellie Cronin of the University of Dayton. That was seven strokes better than her winning total last year at Heatherwoode.
So consistent was Burritt that her card showed 44 pars, five birdies, four bogeys and one double bogey.
Burritt, who had the lowest scoring average when she was captain and most valuable player of the Bellbrook boys team two years ago, can be counted upon to have one of the highest averages in the classroom no matter what the subject.
She was president of the BHS National Honor Society while a member of the Key Club and Spanish/International Club. She was founder of the school’s Food Forward program and brought so many AP credits to UC she practically entered school as a sophomore. Oh yes, and she has had 13 years of classical piano training.
“She is really, really smart,” said Brad Smith, the golf instructor at Heatherwoode who serves as an assistant coach at UC. “That really helps her. We’ve seen her blossom at UC. The mental part of her game has gotten real good.”
Smith said Burritt is such a perfectionist that in the past she allowed the inevitable bad shots to bother her.
“She has learned to stay focused,” he said. “She plays one shot at a time.”
Burritt began playing golf when she was 5, but she says she got serious about the sport when she was 13. She has taken lessons from Jim Rue.
Chip Shots
The City of Dayton Men’s Stroke Play and Senior Stroke Play Tournaments, originally scheduled in August, have been moved to Sept. 15 and 16 to accommodate a larger field than was expected in August.
Dayton Country Club, which hosted the first Dayton area championship in 1919, has agreed to host the 100th anniversary of the event now known as the Metropolitan Championship. It will be held July 25-28, 2019.
The fourth Miami Valley Masters (senior) event of the year is scheduled for Monday at Sugar Valley. “They’re becoming quite popular,” said Steve Jurick, executive director of the Miami Valley Golf Association.
We sit here in Dayton and complain about the weather. Too hot. Too cold. Not enough rain. Too much rain. And so on.
Whenever I get in one of those moods, I think about folks who have suffered through hurricanes, tornadoes and other catastrophic storms. Now the country is once again facing huge and tragic wildfires.
As these fires become established, the call often goes out to other states for help. Ohio is on the top of the list. A 20-person Ohio wildfire crew from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources left July 20 to travel to Redmond, Oregon. They were then assigned to the Timber Crater 6 fire at Crater Lake National Park.
Additionally, an ODNR Division of Forestry wildfire crew consisting of three people left July 20 to relieve a crew who had been working with the department’s off-road wildland fire engine to assist wildfire suppression efforts in Texas. A Division of Forestry wildfire crew consisting of two people and a bulldozer is also assisting in Texas. In addition, the 20-person Ohio wildfire crew who had been assigned to the Dollar Ridge Fire in northeastern Utah for several weeks, returned home July 24.
The Division of Forestry has also provided a single operator to serve as a support dispatcher at the Lake Christine fire near Grand Junction, Colorado.
I think it’s great the Division of Forestry trains ODNR, federal and private natural resource agencies, as well as fire department personnel from across the state, for fighting wildfires and other emergencies. They have assisted with hurricanes, floods and wildfire incidents since 1986. Last year crews responded to wildfires in West Virginia, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico and Montana.
For more information, visit forestry.ohiodnr.gov/ wildfire.
Controlled deer hunts: In a continuing effort to control deer populations, specifically those affecting native plant communities, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will coordinate special deer hunts at nine state nature preserves across the state. Three of the hunts are in the area. They are:
■ McCracken Fen (Logan County) the archery hunt drawing will be held Sept. 1, at 10 a.m. at the McCracken Fen State Nature Preserve parking area located at 4140 Township Road 32 South, Bellefontaine.
■ Davey Woods (Champaign County) the archery hunt drawing will be held Sept. 1, at 1 p.m. at the Davey Woods State Nature Preserve parking area located at 7661 Lonesome Road, St. Paris.
■ Gallagher Fen (Clark County) the archery hunt drawing will be held Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. at the Buck Creek State Park office located at 1976 Buck Creek Lane, Springfield.
For information on all three hunts, contact Michelle Comer at 937537-6173 or michelle. comer@dnr.state.oh.us.
Hunters must possess a valid 2018-2019 hunting license to purchase tickets.
Names will be randomly drawn, and those selected will be assigned a specific time to hunt. An orientation will be conducted immediately following the drawing.
Hunters will be permitted to hunt with a partner; however, the partner is not required to attend the drawing or orientation.
Outdoors