Fighting Tigers’ golf team wins second straight sectional tourney

Published 3:26 am Thursday, October 1, 2009

WEST PORTSMOUTH — Doing something once is fun. Doing it again is an accomplishment.

After winning the Division II sectional golf championship last year, the Ironton Fighting Tigers were happy. But they had an even greater feeling on Tuesday as they claimed their second straight sectional title.

“It was a competitive match. I was pleased for the team. It’s tough to repeat at anything, so I’m proud they were able to win the sectional again,” said Ironton coach Jeff Kerns.

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“I’ve been harping on it all year, but the depth of our team is what continues to do it for us. Josh (Zornes) and Jon (Williams) played well and Andy (Holtzapfel) had a decent day. They can all play better.”

Ironton had a 321 team score to finish five strokes ahead of West Union and Jackson who tied for second. Gallipolis was fourth with a 300 total and the Chesapeake Panthers were fifth at 341.

The top five teams in the 16-team field advance to the district tournament Wednesday at Pickaway Country Club in Circleville.

Finishing sixth was Portsmouth West at 358 followed by Portsmouth at 368, Piketon 376, Fairland 378, Wellston 388, Minford and River Valley 397, Rock Hill 400, South Point 401, North Adams 409 and Northwest 434.

Ironton was led by Zornes and Williams who each first a 78. Holtzapfel came in at 81 while Mason Weisgarber shot an 84 and Josh Cooke 85.

“These were tough conditions,” said Kerns. “This is the first time we’ve had a cold and windy day. It’s a struggle to focus all day with the wind, but we did a good job staying focused.”

Jackson’s Morgan Dobbins was the medalist at 72. Besides Zornes, Williams and Holtzapfel, also among the top 10 finishers individually was Chesapeake’s Nick Duffield at 78.

Although Fairland did not advance, Dalton Froehlich shot an 84 and qualified for the district as one of the top five individuals not on a qualifying team.

Duffield was followed on the Panthers’ team by Roger Hoback with an 84. Gunner Hill shot an 89, Nathan Copley 90 and Seth Waggoner 95.

Besides Froehlich, Fairland’s total included Kyle Riley at 91, Jared Boston 98, Ryan Wooten 105 and Alex Earl 108.

Rock Hill had Drew Kidd at 96, John Schob 97, Joe Yaniko 100, Nick McGuire 107 and Clinton Barnard 108.

South Point’s quartet was comprised of Zach Taylor at 94, Wyatt Hall 95, Wes Hall 98 and Tyler Gregory 114.

In the sectional at Chillicothe, the top five qualifying teams were Logan Elm at 332, Unioto 340, Greenfield McClain 351, New Lexington 357 and Westfall 358.

Southeast Sectional Golf Tournament

At Shawnee State Park Course

Team Scores

1. Ironton 321

2. West Union# 326

3. Jackson 326

4. Gallipolis 300

5. Chesapeake 341

6. Portsmouth West 358

7. Portsmouth 368

8. Piketon 376

9. Fairland 378

10. Wellston 388

11. Minford 397

11. River Valley 397

13. Rock Hill 400

14. South Point 401

15. North Adams 409

16. Northwest 434

#-Won tiebreaker

Top 5 teams advance to district

Top 10 Individuals

Morgan Dobbins, Jackson 72

Corey Richmond, West Union 74

Tanner Huntley, West Union 75

Josh Zornes, Ironton 78

Jonathan Williams, Ironton 78

Nick Saunders, Gallipolis 78

Nick Deffield, Chesapeake 78

Andy Holtzapfel, Ironton 81

Dillan Newsome, Jackson 81

Corey Hamilton, Gallipolis 82

Individual Qualifiers

Dalton Kenyon (Portsmouth West) 83

Dalton Froehlich (Fairland) 84

Jordan Buckler (Piketon) 85

Evan Summer (Portsmouth) 86

Kyler Brandenberg (Portsmouth) 86