BUCYRUS — The boys’ golf dynasty at Galion High School added more hardware for the trophy case as the Tigers collected their fifth consecutive Mid Ohio Athletic Conference championship.
With a second-place finish after shooting 331 in the MOAC tournament on Thursday afternoon, the boys finished with the highest total points for the 2021 golf season.
“Not only is it the fifth straight, I believe it’s the 29th in school history. It’s the most of any sports program in the history of Galion high School,” Galion boys golf coach Bryce Lehman said.
Lehman said he knew that his team would be a much younger group this year, but the team still had bright potential.
“To win it this year is pretty incredible. We returned three varsity players from last year and a fourth that played as a freshman, but not as a sophomore,” he said. “Only having one senior in Max Longwell, it’s quite an accomplishment.”
Clear Fork captured the tournament win with a total of 326, but were four points behind Galion in final league standings. Clear Fork picked up two points. Shelby and Pleasant were each one point behind the Tigers and could have captured a league championship with a tournament win.
“We knew going into today it was us, Clear Fork, Pleasant, and Shelby paired together,” Lehman said.
Nick McMullen led the Tigers with a 79 on the scorecard. Logan Keller added an 81 of his own to the Tigers point total. Max Longwell was able to score a 85 and Nate Barre added an 86 total. To round out the scoring, Nate McMullen brought in a 89 and sixth man Braxten Hart had a 96.
“We did not go undefeated. (The winning streak) got up to 62 straight and we lost. But, we still managed a conference championship,” Lehman said proudly of his team.
Clear Fork was led by Jared Scott and Caleb Dettmer, who each shot a 79.
“I’m not a bit surprised by the Clear Fork score. They have a solid team,” said Lehman. “We knew that clear fork was definitely capable. The last three weeks of the season they really kicked it in gear. They beat Shelby at their place.”
In third place was Pleasant with a 336, barely edging the 337 total by River Valley. Shelby scored a 340 and Marion Harding totaled 352. Rounding out the league tournament was Ontario with a 357 and Highland with a 360.
Highland’s Emerson Grassbaugh and Pleasant’s Minoy Shah each shot a round of 76 to top the individual leaderboard and share match medalist honors in the MOAC tournament.
“Next week it’s us, Clear Fork, and Shelby back at it at sectionals,” said Lehman.
The Division II sectional tournament is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 30 at Thunderbird Hills Golf Club in Huron. Tee time is 9 a.m.
Galion girls finish 5th
The Galion High School girls golf team placed fifth in the team standings at the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference tournament. The Lady Tigers posted a team score of 476.
Julia Conner led the Lady Tigers by shooting a round of 109 at the Golf Club of Bucyrus on Thursday. Missi Vonhoupe carded a 119. Ellexia Ratcliff finished her day with a score of 121.
Addison Reed tallied a final score of 126. Taylor Kieffer shot 127. Izzie Willacker carded a round of 131.
Pleasant emerged as both the tournament and league champion for the 2021 season. Spartan teammates Dina Shah and Maura Murphy were co-medalists after they turned in a score of 84.
Ontario placed second (422) and Clear Fork was third (439). Highland came in fourth place (458).
Galion will play in the Division II sectional tournament on Tuesday, Sept. 28 at Valley View Golf Course. Tee time is scheduled for 9 a.m.
