Colten Skaggs shot a round of 45 to pace Galion to a 30-stroke victory over North Union in Mid Ohio Athletic Conference boys golf action on Tuesday. The Tigers defeated the Wildcats, 186-216, at a rain-soaked Mill Creek Golf Club in Ostrander.
Skaggs, a sophomore, won the match medal with his career-best round. This is his first full season of varsity golf. He played four varsity matches in 2014 and spent the rest of the season with the junior varsity squad.
“Colten played pretty steadily, obviously,” said Tigers head coach Bryce Lehman. “That’s his best varsity round in two years.”
In addition to Skaggs’ low round, Jack McElligott, Mitch Dyer and Brevin Owens each carded 47. Nick Kruger finished with a score of 50 and Kaleb Harsh shot 53 for the Tigers.
“I’m definitely happy with four scores once again in the 40s,” said Lehman. “Ball striking is getting a lot better. Our decision-making is getting better, but still needs to come around a lot more. Everybody had a point in time today where they could’ve saved some strokes by playing a little bit smarter. But it’s going to come with experience. It was a good day, overall, and it’s always good to pick up a win.”
Lehman said the 45 and three 47s is a step in the right direction for the Tigers, but he believes the team can continue to improve.
“If we can start with that and build from there, I’d really like to see a couple of guys — really all of them — in the lower 40s,” he said. “I’d like to get to the point where our drop scores are in the upper 40s to no more strokes than 50.”
The rest of this week’s schedule features some of the toughest competition the MOAC has to offer with matches involving 2014 Red Division champion Pleasant as well as River Valley (second place in 2014) and Buckeye Valley (third place a year ago).
Galion competes in a tri-match Wednesday with Buckeye Valley and River Valley at Whetstone Golf Course in Caledonia. Tee time is 4 p.m.
On Thursday, the Tigers will be back at home for a match against Pleasant at the Galion Country Club. Tee time is 4 p.m.
