Academy golf looking for more DII success at state
Central Ohio boys golf competitors expect to be in contention for Division II and Division III state championships this weekend.
The Division II tournament will be played at Northstar and the Division III event will be held at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course. Both are Friday and Saturday.
In Division II, Columbus Academy will make its seventh consecutive state appearance and 37th overall. The Vikings are seeking their 12th state title, second overall to Upper Arlington’s 17.
Fredericktown senior William Streby earned central Ohio’s individual state berth by capturing district medalist honors (70) on Oct. 4 at Turnberry.
In Division III, Newark Catholic will make its fourth consecutive state appearance and ninth overall. The Green Wave will attempt to win their first state title.
Delaware Christian junior Gabe Scherer earned the individual berth — and a return trip to state — by carding a 71 at district Oct. 4 at Turnberry.
Here are some storylines heading into the state tournaments:
● Fang looks to help lead Academy: As his team’s lone senior, Columbus Academy’s Matthew Fang knows he needs to provide leadership on the course.
Last season, the Vikings saw their state championship streak end at five as they finished second (634) behind Kettering Alter (618).
Fang, who finished 11th (158), helped lead the Vikings to this year’s district title by tying for third (74). He also was Player of the Year in the Central Buckeye League.
“This doesn’t get old,” Fang said. “Our expectations are going to stay the same (as district). We came into (district) trying to have fun, trying to do the best we could on every shot. We weren’t thinking about our scores or the results. We’ll do the same thing at state and hopefully it will work out the best for us.”
Sophomore Jack Woods (75 at district) and juniors Gavin Munster (80), Alex Stein (85) and Ethan Baker (90) will join Fang at state. Academy (314) edged Jonathan Alder (317) for the district title.
● Scherer seeks better outcome at state: Delaware Christian’s first state qualifier, Scherer turned in a strong performance on the second day of last year’s tournament. After carding a 19over par 91 on the first day, Scherer shot a 1-under 71 to tie for 11th place (162).
He’s hoping to put together two strong rounds to improve on that finish.
“That’s been my motivation all year,” Scherer said.