Dublin Jerome, St. Charles, Upper Arlington set for Division I boys golf state tourney
Blueblood programs will represent central Ohio in the Division I state boys golf tournament Oct. 21 and 22 at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, but each comes in with a twist.
St. Charles shot a 300 at district for the second consecutive year — good for first Oct. 11 at Apple Valley but only fourth a year ago — and boasts one of the medalist favorites entering this weekend in junior Leo Walling. The 67 carded at district by Walling and co-medalist Owen Cotterman of Worthington Kilbourne was the best district score statewide.
Dublin Jerome has an entirely new starting five from 2021, yet is making its 18th trip to state in the program’s 19 seasons.
Upper Arlington thrived on balance at district, with a 76 from junior Brady Catalano and 77s from its other three scorers in senior Dylan Cullman, junior Chase Bokker and sophomore Bric Baird. Catalano’s 10-foot putt on No. 18 ultimately clinched the Golden Bears’ record 56th state appearance and first since 2014.
“The gap between us (being) tied for second and fourth or fifth place, those 5-foot putts, whether you make those or not was the difference between us going to state and not,” said Cullman, the only senior in a lineup that also includes freshman Will Mangas. “It’s scary to think back about if I didn’t make a shot here or there, we might not be at state. It was really close.”
Jerome and UA both shot 307 at district, edging fourth-place Dublin Coffman (309) for the final state berths. The Celtics officially finished second on a coin flip.
“I was nervous about having five new guys on the varsity roster, but expectations don’t change,” said Jerome coach Colin Seely, whose top five consists of seniors Jackson Pollina and Preston Smith, juniors Christian Bellinger and Tyler Burnside and sophomore Zach Radtke. Radtke’s 74 led the Celtics at district.
“We said from day one that our goal was to get to Scarlet,” Seely said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this group.”
St. Charles coach Brian Unk is seeking consistency from his team, which has one senior in the top five in Will Mooney along with juniors Ted Cahill and Walling, sophomore Jonas Borland and freshman Beckham Martin.
“It’s been a weird year. We haven’t put several good rounds together (consecutively),” Unk said. “We had some bad luck the past few years, so we had good some luck coming.”
Cleveland St. Ignatius is seeking its second consecutive team title. Rounding out the field are Akron Hoban, Cincinnati St. Xavier, Mason, Massillon Jackson, Medina, Springboro, Uniontown Green and Whitehouse Anthony Wayne.
Central Ohio competitors
Teams: Dublin Jerome, St. Charles and Upper Arlington
Individuals: Ben Bridges, Mount Vernon; Owen Cotterman, Worthington Kilbourne; Vaughn Harber, DeSales
Four-time defending champion New Albany highlights Division I state girls field
Led by standout freshman Mia Hammond, New Albany will seek its fifth consecutive state championship at Ohio State’s Gray Course.
Ohio University commit Anna Coccia is the only senior in a top five rounded out by junior Emerson Purcell, sophomore Ceci Coccia and freshman Elle Furrow. The Eagles shot a 297 at district Oct. 10 at the Links at Echo Springs, best among all state-qualifying teams, and seemingly have not lost a step despite graduating two Division I golfers in Kary Hollenbaugh (OSU) and Anna Ritter (Illinois).
“To build this group and have them be where they are has been fantastic,” coach Rich Ritter said. “Every year is a little bit different and this team is definitely different than last year. Last year every time we teed it up, we figured we’d have two scores under par, which would change the equation. We’re fortunate to have Mia playing the way she is playing, but it’s definitely been a group effort.”
Hammond shot a 67 to win district, tying Perrysburg’s Sydney King for the lowest district score statewide.
The area boasted three of the top four scores among qualifying teams. Jerome (308) and Olentangy (315) were second and third at district, and Centerville shot a 304 to win the Southwest District.
Other teams in the field are Cincinnati Sycamore, Lexington, Macedonia Nordonia, Medina Highland, North Canton Hoover, Rocky River Magnificat, Springboro and Toledo St. Ursula.
The Celtics are led by defending state champion Audrey Ryu. She is the only senior in Jerome’s lineup, followed by juniors Medha Pothuru and Addie Yarbrough and sophomores Alexa Prettyman and Ellie Ryu.
Audrey Ryu admitted an excitement to repeat as the Celtics try to catch New Albany.
“I feel like it’s less of everybody wanting to beat somebody than everybody just wanting to win,” she said. “It will just come down to who has the better days. I’ll try to have fun and play my best.”
Olentangy, which is making its first appearance at state, benefited from the extra state berth awarded to the district this year. The Braves have their own freshman leader in Meadow Tian, along with senior Olivia Drankwalter and juniors Kimmy Archer, Navisha Soni and Elizabeth Wang.
“That changed the trajectory of our season,” Olentangy coach Micah Conley said. “Jerome and New Albany have been so good for so long, but I knew that could be our spot. I knew the potential that we had. A lot of the teams that were hanging right there had that potential, too, but I knew we had the grit to do it.”
Central Ohio competitors
Teams: Dublin Jerome, New Albany and Olentangy
Individuals: Bella Anderson, Worthington Kilbourne; Skylar Dean, Olentangy Orange; Ellie Lim, Dublin Coffman
dpurpura@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekDave
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Columbus teams ready for Division I state golf tournament
