Jerome boys, Orange girls grab state titles
The weight of a man the size of John Daly might as well have been sitting on the shoulders of the Dublin Jerome boys and Olentangy Orange girls when the second round of the Division I state golf tournament began Saturday morning.
The Celtics boys had won six championships, but none since 2013. The Pioneers girls were trying to become repeat winners.
That’s why players and coaches from both teams were excited but also relieved when holding their gold trophies on the awards stand at the Ohio State Golf Club.
Jerome shot 607 to top Olentangy Liberty by nine strokes on the par-72 Scarlet Course. Orange shot 602 for a 10-stroke victory over Centerville on the par-70 Gray. Jerome was fourth with 622.
“This means everything because it’s something we’ve been working for all year,” the Celtics’ Blake Solomon said. “Finally having the championship back feels great. We actually had (former players) Adam Stephens and Jack Herceg talk to us the night before the tournament about strategy and how we should be thinking to prepare for a tough two days.”
Solomon tied for second among individuals with 71-76-147 and was followed by Jackson Chandler (150), Mason Wagner (153) and Davis Root (157). Chandler was sixth overall.
First-year coach Taylor Harle was proud like a parent.
“I’m so excited for the kids — they were the ones who put in the hours of work,” he said. “Golf has been their life, and credit to them. We always remind the kids how hard it is to get here and to win it.”
Orange was expected to win, and No. 1 player Ashley Au said that made things tougher. Au tied for sixth overall (73-72-145) and was followed by Riley Dean (152), Natalia Sompolvorachai (152) and Alyssa Kim (153).
“I’m just relieved the round is over. It was so mentally draining,” Au said. “We are happy to live up to expectations. I saw our players tee off, and they were laughing, talking with coach and pretty loose.”
Coach Cari DeAngelis had a good feeling during the round.
“There was a lot of pressure throughout the season,” she said. “Today, they just stepped up and hit it out of the park. I’d ask them on the course, ‘How is it going?’ and they all said that it felt good. That calmed me down. I told them play their games and to look for pars.”
The Liberty boys made their third appearance in the state tournament in four years special with a runner-up finish. Senior Trey Rath shot 74-73-147 for second overall with Solomon and was supported by Cole Corder (154), Grant Smeltzer (156) and Jacob Hickman (160).
Rath, a senior, was proud leaving the program in such great shape. He had four birdies and one eagle.
“This is pretty exciting playing my last high school tournament and getting runner-up and the team finishing runner-up,” he said. “There have been a lot of great memories. Next year, there will be a lot of players stepping up.”
It was an outstanding day for individuals from central Ohio with Caleb Davern of Central Crossing (75-73-148) placing fourth among the boys and New Albany freshman Morgan Spiess finishing third (75-67-142) and Taby Robinson of Jerome (75-73-148) 10th among the girls.
Davern had three three-putts and a four-putt.
“It was a grind and I didn’t play well at all,” he said. “I need a lot of work on putting and chipping.”
Spiess got help from a family member. Brother Logan finished in the top 10 as a senior in last year’s tournament.
“I made a few birdies — on three, four, five and 12 — and getting them early really helped,” she said. “It was pretty stressful. I played with my brother this week, and he told me to relax because there was no pressure being a freshman.”
Robinson used the experience of playing in her fourth state tournament.
“I tried to stay calm, in the moment,” she said. “It was nice to have that experience. This was my last high school round, and it was emotional at the end.”