Chagrin Falls and Independence extended their seasons by at least another week after capturing sectional titles on Tuesday.
The Tigers shot 318 to win a second straight Division II Quail Hollow sectional tournament, finishing five strokes better than second-place Lake Catholic.
“Our goal was to go out and make sure we qualified for the next (step),” said Chagrin Falls coach Anne Caja. “If we won, we won, but obviously, we wanted to score our best, but we weren’t going out to get super low and just wanted to get hot at the start and build on it.”
Charlie Pollock led the Tigers with a 73, good enough to claim a second straight individual medalist honor. Lake Catholic’s Jimmy Hoose finished second with 77 strokes.
Sven Nielsen (79), Oliver Tepper (83), and John Catney (83) rounded out Chagrin Falls’ scorecard. Jack Watson also competed and finished with an 86.
“I was very pleased with how they played,” Caja said. “Charlie’s round was exceptional even though he was a little disappointed. He had bogeys on his last two holes, and he had a goal in mind of 71. The rest of them did very well. The course had a lot of difficult pin positions, and it was windy. It played a lot harder than they were usually accustomed to, so it was a good challenge today.”
The Tigers could potentially have posted a lower score, but Watson tweaked his back and that contributed to a few extra strokes on his scorecard.
“He went eight over (par) on his last three holes,” Caja said. “He was playing super well but without the tweak, he probably would have been sub-80.”
Next week, the Tigers will swing away in the Windmill Lakes district tournament with the hopes of returning to the state tournament.
Chagrin Falls placed fourth at the Division II state tournament last fall.
“They had a taste of (state) last year and with Charlie and Sven returning after playing at states, and my four and five today were my six and seven last year and they came down to watch them, so even they got a taste of it,” Caja said. “A lot of this is on their drive and work ethic to work on their game since last season with the goal of getting back to state this year, but we’re taking it one day at a time.”
Edgewood’s Mason Feather qualified for the district tournament as an individual after shooting an 80, good for seventh place overall. The top three teams and top three individuals not on a qualifying team advanced to the district tournament.
Hawken’s Jack Zeid shot an 87 to tie for the third individual district berth but lost a playoff hole.
Independence won its second straight Division III Bunker Hill sectional title by shooting a 335 at Bunker Hill. Mapleton finished in second place, 16 strokes behind the Blue Devils.
“It was an awesome experience for everyone,” said Independence coach Kyle Kovach. “Words can’t describe how proud I am of our players. They played well and did not let any negative result change their attitude. Everyone was upbeat and that positive energy resonated in their scores today.”
Mark Pillar led the Blue Devils with a 71, good for his third straight sectional crown.
Kaden Schuette (81), Landon Eichler (91), and Johnny Walsh (92) rounded out the Independence scoring.
The Blue Devils will complete at the Tannenhauf district tournament in Alliance on Oct. 5.
“I think we will do the same as we have all year,” Kovach said of how he plans to prepare his team. “We will have practice Thursday this week, and a few more practices next week. While practicing, I just want them to have a good time and want to get better. I don’t want the fear of failing to stop them from trying to get better. Every player today said they could have done better today in some area of their game. They were not down about it; they were actually excited for the next opportunity to get better. That drive is why they played better as the season went on. I can’t wait to see what next week holds.”
Kirtland’s Nick Nead shot an 84 and missed a district qualification by two strokes. The Hornets finished in eighth place.
