CIRCLEVILLE - Tee up the golf ball and drive it north toward Columbus.

The Ironton Fighting Tigers have extended their golf season one more match: The Division II state tournament.

Ironton finished second in the Div. II district golf tournament Monday at Cook's Creek Golf Course to earn a berth in the state tournament Oct. 14-15 at the Foxfire Golf Club in Columbus.

"This has been our goal from day one and we've achieved that goal," Ironton coach Jeff Kerns said. "We didn't play our best overall, but we played pretty well.

"We thought we'd have to shoot 315 or better to qualify and that's what we did. I am really proud of these kids. They've worked hard for this and they earned it."

Piketon, the sectional champion, took the district title with a 302 team score. Ironton, runner-up in the sectional, was second again with a 313 score, three strokes better than the Portsmouth Trojans.

The top two teams qualify for the state tournament.

Dennis Gagai led the Fighting Tigers with a 74 over the 18 holes. Seth Christian was next with a 79 while Gavin Harbolt and Nathan Kerns each shot an 80.

"We struggled a little early, but we stepped up and played well when we had to have it. We showed a lot of character. Our guys were determined to get to the state meet," coach Kerns said.

Rounding out the eight-team field were Athens at 320, Unioto 321, Huntington Ross 336 and Logan Elm 346.

In the Division III tournament, the Chesapeake Panthers finished third and just missed making their second trip to the state tournament in school history.

Racine Southern had a 334 score to win the event followed by Portsmouth Clay with a 337. Chesapeake was next with a 353.

P.J. Rase shot an 82 to lead the Panthers. Tyler Angle was one stroke back, Andrew Copley shot a 91 and Kyle Rase a 97.

The remaining team scores had Manchester 354, Leesburg Fairfield 359, Adena 364, North Adams 374 and Southeastern 377.

Division II

District Golf Tournament

Piketon 302: Crace 72, C. Robbins 73, A. Robbins 81, W. Robbins 83.

IRONTON 313: Dennis Gagai 74, Seth Christian 79, Gavin Harbolt 80, Nathan Kerns 80.

Portsmouth 316: C. Doll 76, S. Doll 78, Bedard 79, Chabot 85.

Athens 320: Brooks 77, Crabtree 77, Frame 83, Cowie 83

Unioto 321: Hammond 76, Brown 79, Burchett 83, Walls 83.

West Union 321: Schneider 76, Lawler 80, Richmond 80, Hacker 85.

Huntington Ross 336: Butler 77, Oates 85, Flack 86, Freeley 88.

Logan Elm 346: Arnold 74, DeLong 88, Hedrick 91, Greeno 93.

Division III

District Golf Tournament.

Racine Southern 334: Crouch 80, Johnson 81, Harris 83, Smith 90.

Portsmouth Clay 337: Hines 78, Thoroughman 79, Pelpfrey 88, Keaton 92.

CHESAPEAKE 353: P.J. Rase 82, Tyler Angle 83, Andrew Copley 91, Kyle Rase 97.

Manchester 354: Flora 92, Colvin 85, D. Keysor 91, B. Keysor 96.

Leesburg Fairfield 359: Hughes 84, Lawwell 91, Woods 92, Henson 92.

Adena 364: Mays 79, Zur 83, Pierce 98, Muntz 104.

North Adams 374: Sparks 89, Young 90, Copas 97, Platt 98.

Southeastern 377: Prater 89, Stauffer 94, Francis 95, Stauffer 99.