Undisputed: Dalton finishes perfect WCAL season with tourney title
Dalton waited patiently, or perhaps impatiently, for the moment they experienced Thursday afternoon at Hawk's Nest Golf Course.
After a few years of knocking on the door, finally, the Bulldogs were the champions of the Wayne County Athletic League.
The 'Dawgs finished off a dominant year of league play by winning the WCAL tournament, taking the title with a commanding 26-shot victory. Waynedale's four-year run atop the league ended with a runner-up finish at the tournament, with Northwestern and Smithville close behind.
"The kids feel good that they finally won," Dalton coach Jeff Feller said. "They went back-to-back years in second place. And this year they finally put it together."
Dalton effectively had the league title — which considers combined regular season and tournament performance — wrapped up heading into Thursday, barring a disastrous performance. There was no such disaster.
An undefeated regular season ensured the 'Dawgs could finish anywhere inside the top four and emerge a champion, but they made sure there was no question.
On a day when the conditions made scoring difficult, Dalton's top four of Jaden Schlabach, Brendan Lehman, Zach Brahler and Todd Brahler didn't seem fazed. While most of their scores didn't flirt with any records, each of the four grinded out scores that proved elusive for many of the other golfers at Hawk's Nest, finishing with a combined 329.
"We've been pretty fortunate with weather the whole season," Feller said. "This was probably the worst weather we've had, even though it wasn't too bad. They haven't played with wind like this. That was a factor."
Schlabach, who has been the WCAL's top golfer all year, once again limited his mistakes and churned out a 78 to take home medalist honors in the seven-team field (Rittman does not have a varsity golf team). Nobody else in the field broke 80, with Waynedale's Jordan Miller placing second as an individual with an 80.
Dalton's quality depth came through with Lehman firing an 82, Zach Brahler shooting an 83 and Todd Brahler carding an 86.
Lehman and Todd Brahler came into the season as proven high school golfers, each playing in last season's Div. III state tournament, but the younger Brahler didn't have the same resume. His play, especially as the season has progressed, is a big reason for Dalton's team success.
"Last year he was mid to low 50s on average," Feller said. "This year, starting out he was mid to high 40s. But recently he's dropped down to the low 40s consistently. Today he shot an 83 and that's his best 18-hole score yet. That's been really nice to see because that was the question coming in (to the season) — are we going to get the fourth score that we need?"
After an up-and-down regular season, Waynedale (355) saved some of its best for Thursday, putting up quality scores despite the wind altering normal shot distances. Trey Barkman joined Miller in the 80s, shooting an 86.
Northwestern (359) and Smithville (363) were behind Waynedale, with multiple players putting together solid scores, led by Smithville's Gavin Von Almen (83) and Northwestern's Joe Buchholz (84), Kylee Purdy (85) and Luke Walton (85). Buchholz hit one of the best shots of the day, coming within inches of a hole-in-one on the par 3 15th hole.
Chippewa (374), Norwayne (375) and Hillsdale (383) rounded out the scoring, with Gavin Ferguson (Norwayne, 83), Matt Yeager (Chippewa, 85) and Byron Bickel (Hillsdale, 85) leading the way individually.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Golf: Dalton captures WCAL title with tourney win
