BELLVILLE — To win their first league championship since 2015, River Valley’s boys golf team went on the road to their closest rival’s home course.
Leading the standings by three points heading into the fourth and final in-season tournament in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference, the Vikings beat Clear Fork by six strokes at at CF’s Deer Ridge Golf Course and earn the trophy Sept. 17.
“To win it outright is pretty special,” RV coach Josh Gast said, “It was a lot of fun today. It was a tough day out here. We came through. Clear Fork definitely plays (Deer Ridge) better than everyone else. To beat them out here is special.”
River Valley recorded a 340, while Clear Fork shot 346, Galion 347, Pleasant 353, Shelby 354, Ontario 359 and Highland 366. Marion Harding did not field enough golfers for a team score.
The Vikings went 6-1 in dual matches, plus won the first in-season tourney at the Marion Country Club and the third at Shelby Crossing. They were third Valley View. River Valley ended with 58 points based off the points earned with those achievements.
Clear Fork was the runner-up with 53 points followed by Galion’s 43, Pleasant’s 42, Shelby’s 24, Ontario’s 21 and Highland’s 11.
“We’ve been playing really well. We had a really good scramble last week where we shot 17-under,” Gast said. “We’ve had a couple other matches this week where we played really well. Our guys had a lot of confidence heading in. We’ve played this course one other time this year, so I think that helped with course experience.”
River Valley freshman Asher Gates won the tournament with a 79. No. 5 golfer Silas Lill put up a key 84 for the Vikes, while Chase Smith produced an 87, Leyton Thrush a 90, Elijah Weber a 95 and Hunter Blankenship a 98.
“We just grinded it out. It wasn’t pretty at times today, but we found a way to get it done. All of our guys contributed, which is really cool to see,” Gast said.
Smith, who has been a part-time golfer this year due to being the quarterback on the football team, is the lone senior for RV. Everyone else playing Wednesday was a freshman or sophomore.
“It’s a great feeling to win it as a team,” Gates said. “That’s all you can ask for. Golf isn’t usually a team sport but winning as a team makes it even better.”
Pleasant’s Jack Seckel shot an 84 followed by teammates’ Matt Murphy with an 86, Dylan Moore with a 90, Jett Bowers and Nolen West with 93s and Mason England with a 97.
For Highland, Jayden Collins led with an 85, while Carter Merckling had a 92, Hunter Ebner a 94, Braidin Havice a 95, Rhett Russell a 103 and Gannon Fitzpatrick a 109.
Marion Harding’s Jameson Holland had a 117, Blake Gibson 124 and Tanner Smith 153.
Three golfers shot 82 to finish behind Gates: Ontario’s Jaxson Tinkham, Galion’s Cullen Hart and Shelby’s Grady Schroeder.
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This article originally appeared on Marion Star: How did River Valley claim its first MOAC boys golf championship since 2015?
Reporting by Rob McCurdy, Marion Star / Marion Star
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