Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

JACKSON — Lou Holtz once said that “if you want to be happy for a day, play some golf.”
St. Joseph Flyers’ Ryan Payne and Coal Grove Hornets Jake Sites were happy on Wednesday and they get to be happy on Monday, too.
Payne and Sites both qualified for the district golf tournament as they placed among the top five individuals at Wednesday’s Division III sectional tournament at the Jaycees Country Club.
The top five teams and the five individuals not on a qualifying team advance to the district tournament Monday at the Portsmouth Elks Country Club.
The five individuals who advanced were St. Joseph’s Ryan Payne with a 47-44=91, Coal Grove’s Jake Sites with a 43-50=93, Miller’s Hunter Dutiel with a 37-40=77, Andrew Cochenour of Beaver Eastern with 48-41=89 and Miller’s Trey Hettich 47-45=92.
Dutiel shared medalist honors with Andrew Smith of South Webster as they shot identical rounds of 37-40=77.
Belpre won the tournament with a 373 team score followed by South Webster at 378, Racine Southern 381, Waterford 388 and Federal Hocking 402.
The Coal Grove Hornets were sixth at 407, Reedsville Eastern had a 416, the St. Joseph Flyers 422, Miller 459, Trimble 476, Beaver Eastern 514 and the Green Bobcats did not have a team score.
Besides Sites, Coal Grove’s Brayden Dillow had a 46-54=100, Trevor Carrey 49-53=102, Luke Jenkins 54-58=112 and Landon Johnson 59-55=114.
In addition to Payne, the Flyers’ Jimmy Mahlmeister shot a 45-52=97, J.C. Damron 56-58=114, Nick Pauley 55-65=120 and Jacob Salisbury 62-63=125.
Payne, Mahlmeister, Damron and Pauley all play soccer and Damron is the placekicker for Coal Grove in football.
Green’s Josh Hammonds shot a 48-46=94 while Nathan Weigand had a 49-59=108.
The winning team and best individual finishers at the district tournament advance to the state tournament.