Despite the departure of the state’s top golfer in Division II last season and its coach, the Buckeye Valley boys golfteam is going back to the state tournament.
The Barons dominated the district tournament Oct. 1 at Turnberry, finishing with a score of 314 to easily outdistance Northridge (340) and Johnstown (342) for the only team berth to state Oct. 11 and 12 at Firestone Country Club in Akron.
Columbus Academy (343) London (350) and Fairbanks (356) rounded out the six-team field.
Buckeye Valley has a new look at the top of the lineup after the graduation of Sam Reynolds, who earned medalist honors at state last season as the Barons finished second to Kettering Alter.
Buckeye Valley also has a new coach in Brian Daniels. Mark Paluszak stepped
down after four seasons and is now coaching Maryville College in Tennessee.
“This is all new for me,” Daniels said. “It feels wonderful to be here with the boys who achieved their goal. Their goal was to get back to state and I’m just happy for them. These boys have that opportunity. They have a strong bond, and they want to play for each other.”
Harloh Hafner was the Barons’ top golfer at district, earning runner-up medalist honors (76). Asher Gates of Caledonia River Valley was medalist with a 73, earning him the only individual state berth.
Austin Rose (77), Grayson Keller (79), Evan Bills (82) and Jace Haunhorst (89) also competed for Buckeye Valley.
Wellington secures Division III state berth
Wellington earned its first team state berth since 2019 by winning the Division III district tournament Oct. 1 at Turnberry. The Jaguars will compete at state Oct. 12 and 13 at NorthStar in Sunbury.
Wellington (325) finished ahead of Fairfield Christian (337), Grove City Christian (347), Mechanicsburg (347), Newark Catholic (372) and Granville Christian (389).
“I thought we had a chance to advance to state,” sixth-year Wellington coach Byron Viets said. “We had five seniors and a junior and all of them have been playing for the past three, four years and gotten better and have the experience at this level. I thought if we fulfilled our potential that we could absolutely be here, and we did just enough today to do so.”
Ari Kirsner led Wellington with a 77 and was runner-up medalist. He was followed by Will Myers (78), Solomon Graham (85), Griffin Martin (85) and Brayden Weaver (86).
Wellington, which will compete in its 10th state tournament, won the Division III title in 2018 and finished second in 2012 and 2019.
Grove City Christian junior Alex Edwards was medalist (76), taking the individual state berth.
“I played more consistent than I have in past years,” Edwards said. “I’m excited [for state]. I’m not really going there to win. I just want to break a certain score I have set for myself [two-day 150] and just have fun.”
Second-year Grove City Christian coach Jonathan Barker believes competing at state will be a good experience for Edwards. Barker guided the Westfall girls team to three consecutive Division II state berths beginning in 2022.
“Alex is a steady player,” Barker said. “You can’t really tell if he’s excited or upset by anything. That’s a big advantage for him over other players. Hopefully that will translate when we get to the big stage.”
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Buckeye Valley, Wellington boys golfers capture OHSAA district titles
