Russia’s Felix Francis chips out of a sand trap during the Shelby County Athletic League tournament on Thursday at Arrowhead Golf Club. Francis shot a 73 and won a playoff to earn a first-place finish.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
MINSTER — A first-place finish in the Shelby County Athletic League tournament on Thursday at Arrowhead Golf Club earned Russia the league title.
Russia finished first with a 309 team score, and senior Felix Francis won a playoff to finish first individually after shooting a 73.
Fort Loramie finished second on its home course with a 327. Botkins finished third with a 332, Houston finished fourth with a 338, Anna finished fifth with a 362, Jackson Center finished sixth with a 370 and Fairlawn finished seventh with a 382.
The SCAL title is decided both by regular season and tournament finishes. Botkins beat Russia last week and finished regular-season play undefeated. But a third-place finish in Thursday’s tournament dropped the squad to second in overall standings behind Russia.
Fort Loramie finished third in overall SCAL standings; Houston, Anna, Jackson Center and Fairlawn finished the same in overall standings as they did in Thursday’s tournament.
Francis beat Botkins junior Ross Dietz (who also shot a 73) in a playoff.
Aside from Francis, Russia sophomore Leo Counts shot a 77, junior Braylon Cordonnier shot a 78 and senior Jude Counts shot an 81.
Fort Loramie junior Beau Schafer finished third by shooting a 74. Noah Mannier, a senior, and Jack Cotner, a junior, each shot an 81. Chase Barhorst, a sophomore, shot 91.
Aside from Dietz, Botkins senior JJ Meyer shot a 76, sophomore Carson Heuker shot an 80 and sophomore Elijah Schuller shot a 103.
Houston senior Ethan Lukey shot a 77, junior Tanner Voisard shot an 81, sophomore Luke Crim shot 85 and junior Reagan Steiner shot 95.
Anna senior Seth Hegemier shot an 80, junior Jose Pulfer shot an 89, freshman Reece Pettit shot a 94 and freshman Rhylan Platfoot shot a 99.
Jackson Center senior Blake Noble shot an 89, senior Lucas Hartle shot a 93 and junior Jackson Davis and sophomore Tristan Woolley each shot 94.
Fairlawn junior Josef Bernardi shot a 93, sophomore Maddox Abke shot a 94, freshman Garret Maddy shot a 97 and senior Aaron Maddy shot a 98.
Dietz named SCAL player of the year
All-SCAL selections are based on scores from regular-season matches and Thursday’s tournament.
Dietz finished as the league’s player of the year with an even par. Meyer (three strokes over par), Lukey (14), Schafer (16), Hegemier (24) and Heuker (31) were first team selections.
Cordonnier, Francis, Jude Counts, Leo Counts, Cotner, Mannier and Voisard were second team selections.
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
