SUNBURY — Last Friday and Saturday, the NorthStar Golf Club was the site of the 50th Annual Boys Division II State Golf Tournament. On hand at this season’s tournament were 12 teams from across the state and 12 individual qualifiers, totalling 72 golfers from 23 schools.
After the first day of competition on Friday, the two-time defending champions from Gahanna Columbus Academy held the lead over Kettering Archbishop Alter; 308-310. The Galion Tigers, on hand for their third consecutive state tournament appearance, sat in fourth in the field at 324, just one shot behind third-place Sugarcreek Garaway (323).
Spencer Keller led the way for Galion on Friday, firing an 18-hole round of 73. Just two strokes behind Keller was fellow junior Matthew McMullen (75). Bronson Dalenberg shot an 86 on the first day of play while Nick McMullen turned in a 90. Max Longwell rounded out the roster for the Tigers with a 93. Both Keller and M. McMullen were in action at NorthStar in the 2017 tourney and shot first-day scores of 90 and 77, respectively.
On the second day, Galion appeared poised to better their finish from last season (fifth) and the 2017 state tourney (6th). On Saturday, the leadership roles would be reversed between Keller and M. McMullen as Keller turned in an 84 and McMullen an 82. N. McMullen shot a 93 on day two, followed in the lineup by Dalenberg with a 94. Longwell shot an even 100 on Saturday.
When all action was completed after the 36 holes of play, it would once again be the team from Columbus Academy claiming the team championship, their third in as many seasons. As a team, the Vikings shot a 307 on the second day to finish with a collective, 39-over par score of 615. Following a third-place finish in 2018, Archbishop Alter would remain strong on Saturday, shooting a 331 to finish as the runner-ups at 644 (+68).
M. McMullen and Keller would tie for 10th overall in the field, turning in a 36-hole score of 157 apiece (+13). Dalenberg finished tied for 53rd, tallying a 36-over 180. N. McMullen tied for 56th at 183 (+39) while Longwell shot a 193 and came in 65th.
Mason Witt of Jamestown Greeneview qualified for the state tourney on individual qualifier criteria and would leave Sunbury as the boys Division II State Champion. Witt shot a 72 on Friday and a 78 on Saturday, totalling a 150 (+6) to hold off a host of others tying for second with a 151. Among those tying for runner-up status was Upper Sandusky’s Brett Montgomery. Montgomery turned in a 74 and a 77 to earn his 151 and second-place finish in his final high school golf match.
Rounding out the scoring in the Division II boys tourney were: 3. Sugarcreek Garaway- 655; 4. Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin- 664; 5. Dayton Oakwood- 671; 7. Genoa Area- 692; 8. Gates Mills Hawken- 695; 9. Cincinnati Indian Hill- 696; 10. New Concord John Glenn- 697; 11. Beloit West Branch- 716 and 12. Chillicothe Unioto- 735.
The girls Division II tourney was played on The Ohio State University’s Gray Course on Friday and Saturday and saw Lima Central Catholic win the title. Central Catholic turned in a two-day team score of 647 en route to the championship. Kyleigh Dull of Kansas Lakota far surpassed the remainder of the DII field, shooting a three-under par 137 over the span of the two-day tourney.
In boys Division III action, the qualifiers took to the Scarlet Course at The Ohio State University. Berlin Hiland would finish as the DIII boys champs, shooting a collective 628. Aiden Schumer of the Columbus Wellington School won the individual championship, shooting a four-over 148 over the duration of the tournament. The Seneca East Tigers qualified as a team for the tourney and claimed 11th with a team score of 726.
