District Golf Preview: state berth on Hiland's mind
It's been quite a run of success for Hiland's golf program in recent years.
And the Hawks have no plans on slowing down anytime soon.
With a mix of returnees and underclassman that have grown up quickly this fall, Hiland enters Monday's River Greens Division III District with a lot of momentum.
"The team has gone above and beyond to prepare for this moment," Hawks coach Austin Kaufman said. "They are determined to win and I know they will dig deep at districts to advance their teammates to OSU.
"I'm as confident as I have been in the past, that we will be victorious at the district tournament," he added. "We just need to go out and take care of business."
Hiland has taken care of that business as they fired an impressive 313 to win the Cambridge Sectional last week and also had a solid showing at the Eastern District Open to close the regular season with a season-best 304 in taking runner-up honors.
The key to the Hawks success has been balance. On any given day a different guy has led the team, whether its Jack Mast, Camden Bille, Andrew Beun or Monty Coblentz — all four players have averages within a shot, or less, of each other.
"They have been good enough to advance us to the state tournament and good enough to put us in contention to win the state tournament," Kaufman said of those scores. "We didn't just shoot one low round; we've been consistently low. That's the proof that we're really good and the reason we can be super confident going forward."
Here's a preview of the D-II/III district championships involving area players:
Boys
DIVISION II
EagleSticks District
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 2
WHERE: EagleSticks Golf Club (2655 Maysville Pike, Zanesville, 43701)
AREA INDIVIDUAL: Trey Baker (West Holmes, sr.)
WHAT TO WATCH: Fresh off of sharing runner-up honors at the River Greens Sectional, Baker enters his second straight district with a lot of momentum. The veteran, who tied for 15th last season at EagleSticks, has been one of the most consistent golfers in the area and that steadiness will help on this challenging layout. With one state berth up for grabs, however, Baker will need to better on his season-best 74 that he recorded at Hickory Flats earlier this month. St. Clairsville's Brodi Foster is coming off of a win, firing a 69, at the Cadiz Sectional and will be one of a handful of players that are expected to be atop the leaderboard, along with Maysville's Hoyt Dodson.
AT STAKE: Top team and top individual on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury.
Windmill Lakes District
WHEN: Tuesday, Oct. 3
WHERE: Windmill Lakes Golf Course (6544 State Route 14, Ravenna, 44266)
AREA TEAM: Smithville — Hunter Pertee (sr.), Gavin Von Almen (jr.), Jax Riggenbach (so.), Mason Shutt (so.), Owen Ward (fr.)
WHAT TO WATCH: The Smithies have been a quite a roll over the last two weeks, advancing to their district trip as a team in a nearly a decade with a sectional-winning 317 at The Elms Sectional. Von Almen carded a season-best 73 to take medalist honors at the district which, along with top-10 finishes by Pertee and Shutt, helped Smithville to a 15-stroke victory. That balanced lineup will be needed once again for the Smithies in a loaded district, headlined by Chagrin Falls and Lake Catholic. Ursuline, Poland Seminary — headlined by freshman Angelo Rinaldi — and Gilmour Academy are also expected to be in the hunt for one of state team berths. Chagrin's Charlie Pollock, Ursuline's Thomas Pesa, Coventry's Ryan Dinan and South Range's Michael Garwacki are also players to watch.
AT STAKE: Top three teams and top three individuals on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury.
DIVISION III
River Greens District
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 2
WHERE: River Greens Golf Course (2279 State Route 751, West Lafayette, 43845)
AREA TEAM: Hiland — Monty Coblentz (sr.), Camden Bille (jr.), Jack Mast (so.), Andrew Beun (fr.), Grant Bille (fr.)
WHAT TO WATCH: Another year, another district appearance for the Hawks. This time around is even more impressive as the mix of veterans and newcomers has found its balance in recent weeks to find themselves in position for another state trip. Camden Bille, who was medalist at the Cambridge Sectional — helping Hiland to a seven-stroke win over Garaway — was one of four players in the lineup to finish in the top 10. Coblentz and underclassman like Mast and Beun have been key in pacing the Hawks to a 313. That same effort will be needed again this week, against the same field, with just one spot up for grabs. Chatum Courson (Fort Frye), Trace Gibson (Garaway), Keshawn Miller (Garaway), Zander Potts (Monroe Central) and Trenton Bitikofer (Strasburg-Franklin) are among the players to watch.
AT STAKE: Top team and top individual on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at The Ohio State University, Scarlet Course.
Tannenhauf District
WHEN: Thursday, Oct. 5
WHERE: Tannenhauf Golf Club (11411 McCallum Ave. NE, Alliance, 44601)
AREA TEAM: Tuslaw — Evan Back (sr.), Andrew Smith (sr.), Lincoln Cocklin (so.), Nick Lytle (fr.), Kole Back (fr.)
WHAT TO WATCH: Behind the leadership of Evan Back, the Mustangs find themselves in the district as a team. The play of Back, who tied for third individually at the Bunker Hill Sectional, proved to be key in the team grabbing the final district spot by a single shot over Dalton. It won't be easy grabbing one of those state berths, however, as both Warren JFK and Cardinal Mooney broke shot under 300 in their respective sectional wins, while Badger, Cardinal and Independence are also expected to be in contention. Tuslaw will lean on Evan Back, Smith and Cocklin to finish in the upper half of the leaderboard for a second straight week. Badger's Ian Tricker, JFK's Andrew Fredenberg, Mooney's Rocco Turner, Lake Center's Jacob Rainieri, and Independence's Mark Pillar are all coming off of strong sectional rounds.
AT STAKE: Top three teams and top three individuals on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at The Ohio State University, Scarlet Course.
Girls
DIVISION II
Good Park District
WHEN: Monday, Oct. 2
WHERE: Good Park Golf Club (530 Nome Ave., Akron 44320)
AREA INDIVIDUALS: Abby Ankenman (Orrville, sr.), Dally Meek (Hillsdale, jr.), Madison Wade (Dalton, jr.).
WHAT TO WATCH: Ankenman is no stranger to districts. Making her fourth straight appearance, the Orrville senior, who took medalist honors by five shots at The Pines Sectional, is poised to lock up a state berth. And the local should find herself in contention for one of those three state spots as her sectional round was a couple shots off the pace of other top individuals in Siena Maschke (Laurel), Mati Zines (United) and Molly McGreal (Independence). Fellow locals, Meek and Wade, will be making their respective district debuts and will also look to advance after placing fourth and tied for seventh, respectively, at The Pines. The team race will also be an exciting one as Independence, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, Southeast, Perry and Laurel should all be in contention.
AT STAKE: Top three teams and top three individuals on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at The Ohio State University, Gray Course.
Cambridge District
WHEN: Wednesday, Oct. 4
WHERE: Cambridge Country Club (60755 Southgate Road, Byesville, 43723)
AREA INDIVIDUALS: Kylie Miller (Hiland, so.), Kenzie Woods (West Holmes, sr.)
WHAT TO WATCH: A week ago, Woods proved that she can compete with the top players in the East District. The West Holmes senior will face a similar field again this week, this time battling it out for a lone state berth. Woods, who finished five shots off the pace of co-medalists Claire Hostetler of Carrollton and Brooklyn Numbers of Garaway at the Carroll Meadows Sectional, will need to match her season-best 73 from earlier this season at Deer Ridge to get that shot a state appearance. Coming off of one of her best rounds of the fall, Miller finds herself in the mix, which also includes Ashlee Garner (Carrollton), Sammi Miller (Garaway), Olivia Immel (Garaway), Sydni Prysi (Garaway) and Olivia Baker (St. Clairsville).
AT STAKE: Top team and top individual on a non-qualifying team advanced to state championships, Oct. 13-14 at The Ohio State University, Gray Course.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: District Golf Preview: Hiland, Smithville, Tuslaw aim for state
