Sidelines: Golfers set to challenge at state tourney

10/15/2009

Browarsky

Area golfers will shoot for state titles this weekend as the Division II girls and Divisions II and III boys play tomorrow and Saturday.

In the boys competition, Bryan and Genoa each qualified as teams for the D-II state tournament set for North Star Resort in Sunbury.

Bryan, the district team champion, is represented by seniors Zach Davenport, Erik Bebernes, and Mike Ross, junior James Steel, and sophomore Adam McBride.

The Golden Bears won last week's district tournament at Sycamore Springs Golf Course in Arlington as Berbenes fired a 79 and all five Bryan golfers carded an 82 or better.

Genoa, which finished second at the district, just seven strokes behind Bryan, sends seniors Nolan Eli, Kyle Simmons, Dustin TenEyck, and Jake Winters along with sophomore Andrew Goeckerman.

Eli led the Comets at the district tournament with a 77, while Simmons was close behind after shooting a 79.

In the Division II state girls event set for the Gray Course at Ohio State, seniors Yang "Sunny" Li of Maumee Valley and Eastwood's Alyssa Shimel each seek to match or improve their state finishes of a year ago, when Li tied for fourth individually with a two-round 150, and Shimel tied for eighth at 156.

At last week's district competition at Sycamore Springs, Li's 73 earned medal honors, and Shimel's 74 was good for second place. Also competing individually will be Shimel's teammate, junior Makayla Young.

Welch

In the D-III boys tournament at the OSU Scarlet Course, local hopes rest with two individual quaifiers, senior Louis Fahrbach of Northwood and freshman Connor Dudley of Fremont St. Joe.

Dudley fired a 78 in the district tournament held at Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green, while Fahrbach carded a 79.

The remaining D-I field compete today at the district level, with the boys tourney set for Red Hawk Run Golf Course in Findlay, and the girls scheduled to play at Heather Downs Golf Club.

Qualifying for district out of last week's sectionals were the boys teams from Findlay, Anthony Wayne, St. Francis, St. John's, and Maumee, which placed in that order. St. Ursula, Findlay, and Notre Dame, which placed 2-3-4 at last week's girls sectionals, also advanced as teams to the district event.

Ottawa Hills standout Eliot Browarsky has verbally committed to play soccer at Division I Elon (N.C.) College.

"I chose Elon primarily because of their excellent academics, but their soccer program is on the rise," Browarsky said. "I like the coaching staff, the size of the school - everything there is a great fit for me."

Browarsky is expected to sign a national letter of intent on Feb. 3. By NCAA rule, Elon coach Darren Powell is not allowed to comment on Browarsky's commitment until he has officially signed with the program.

Browarsky is a two-time All-Ohio performer in soccer, having earned third team honors as a sophomore and first-team honors last year after helping the Green Bears earn the Division III state title.

This season Ottawa Hills is 13-1 and ranked first in Ohio in Division III.

League cross country championships will be featured around Ohio this weekend, including five area league meets Saturday.

In the City League, St. John's Jesuit bids for its sixth straight boys team title, while Notre Dame goes for its eighth girls championship in succession and 12th in 13 years.

The girls race at Ottawa Park is scheduled for 10 a.m., and the boys are set to run at 10:45 a.m.

St. John's, ranked No. 6 in the Ohio Division I coaches poll, returns three top-10 runners from the 2008 CL meet, and Notre Dame, ranked No. 9 among D-I girls, has four runners back who placed in the top 10 a year ago.

The area's top-rated boys and girls teams will defend their crowns in the Northern Lakes League meet at 1 p.m. at Bowling Green State University.

The Northview boys chase a fourth team crown in a row and the Wildcat girls focus on a second straight title.

Northview's boys have four top-10 NLL finishers back from last fall, including senior and defending individual champion Jacob Barnes. They are ranked second in D-I. Northview's girls, ranked No. 6 in D-I, are led by the returning league individual champion in senior Meredith Wagner.

The Suburban Lakes League race will be at Walsh Park in Fremont starting at 1 p.m. Elmwood boys are defending champions, while Woodmore eyes a second straight girls team title.

Elmwood returns three top-10 placers from the 2008 league meet, including junior Nick Goebel, last year's winner. Woodmore returns three top-10 finishers for 2008, incluing champion Lacy Nagy, a junior.

In the Northwest Ohio Athletic League, the Delta boys and Wauseon girls each bid for fourth straight team titles at the Archbold Reservoir beginning at 10 a.m.

Last year Delta placed all seven of its runners among the top 10 in the boys meet, even though only the top five counted in scoring.

Five of those Panthers are back, including defending individual champion Colin Fisher. Fisher, a junior, recently topped a strong field at the Clay Eagle Invitational at Pearson Park, posting a 16:04 in the D-I race.

The Wauseon girls return three runners who placed in the top-10 at last year's league meet. The Indians will be challenged by Liberty Center, which is ranked ninth in Division III.

The Toledo Christian boys and girls each look for a fourth consecutive team title in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference meet, which starts at Maumee Bay State Park at 11 a.m. The Eagles' Krista Wood was first in last year's girls race as a freshman.

Archbold has taken command of the Northwest Ohio Athletic League race thanks in large part to a four-set win over Delta last week.

The Blue Streaks, currently ranked second in Ohio in Division II, are 21-0 overall and 7-0 in the NWOAL.

A win at home over Evergreen tonight would give Archbold the outright title. If the Vikings win, the two teams would share the crown with Delta should the Panthers win a home match against Liberty Center tonight.

Findlay has continued its domination of the Greater Buckeye Conference, sewing up its seventh consecutive league title by knocking off Napoleon Saturday.

The Trojans, who won their 70th straight GBC match Tuesday by beating Marion Harding, are ranked 10th in Division I thanks in part to a 17-2 season record.

And it looks as if Findlay's success won't change any time soon. This year the Trojans also were undefeated in league play on the junior varsity and freshman levels.

Eastwood's two-time Division II state discus champion, Justin Welch, has verbally committed to a track and field scholarship offer from the University of Georgia.

Welch, a senior and Ohio's premier thrower, won the Division II state discus with a toss of 188 feet, 7 inches as a sophomore in 2008. He repeated his title with a 196-1 effort last June. Each time, Welch's efforts were the best at the state meet in all three divisions.

Competition moves to Sandusky and Port Clinton high schools for the district stage in divisions I and II of girls tennis, with state berths on the line Saturday.

In D-I, first and second-round play is set for Sandusky today, with quarterfinal winners in both singles and doubles moving to Port Clinton for Saturday's 10 a.m. semifinals. In D-II, which held its first two rounds in singles and doubles yetserday at Port Clinton, the quarterfinal winners in each bracket advance to Saturday's 10 a.m. semifinals.

Championship matches begin no sooner than 45 minutes following the conclusion of the latest finishing semifinal match. The top two individuals in each singles and doubles bracket in both D-I and D-II qualify for the state tournament in Columbus Oct. 23-24.