In a three-way playoff for two state berths, Dalton’s Zach Brahler delivered when it mattered most to earn a return spot at State next weekend at NorthStar Golf Club. In 2022, he was part of the Bulldogs squad that advanced to state and finished eighth at the same NorthStar Golf Club.
Div. III Northeast District
On the course of Tannenhauf Golf Club, Smithville just missed the cut for state by six strokes as it finished fourth with a score of 341. John F. Kennedy won the district with a 312, followed by Cardinal Mooney (321) and Badger (335).
Individually, Nick Nead took the top spot for individuals with a 76 and was fourth, while Kaden Schuette (Independence), Zach Brahler (Dalton) and Diesel Williams (Bristol) all finished tied with matching 78s. That took the three of them to a sudden death playoff for the last two state qualifying spots on hole No. 10. Schuette fired an even-par 5 to get in and Brahler followed up with the bogey putt to punch his return ticket to state.
“He was completely elated to get to state,” said Bulldogs coach Isaac Haver. “That was his goal throughout the year and being on that team that went to state two years ago, it was super important to him. I am super excited for him. He is a great kid, competitor, he has matured so much, reliable, always does the right thing and deserves this.”
Schuette finished just slightly ahead of Brahler in the playoff, but Brahler fired a bogey on the playoff hole to earn his state bid.
Div. II Northeast District
Playing the rolling course of Windmill Lakes Golf Course, Waynedale finished fifth as a team with a score of 327. Winning the district was Chagrin Falls with a team score of 305 as it was joined by Poland Seminary (312) and Bay (318) as state qualifying teams. Individually, West Geauga’s Dylan Phillips (74), Lakeview’s Jason Demonica (74) and Southeast James Morgan (74) each advanced to state.
More: Wade, Meek and Hostettler, WCAL’s first trio to advance to district
The Golden Bears were led by Jordan Miller, who finished 13th individually with a score of 77, 5-over-par 72. Hank Miller finished with an 81, Brayden Schlabach fired an 82 and Logan Troyer carded an 87 to round out the scoring for Waynedale. The Golden Bears were buoyed by a rough start that saw them fall behind early with a plus-16 after the first two holes were played by each golfer. After that though, they steadied the course and played themselves right back into the thick of things, something that wasn’t lost on their coach.
More: Marshall, Moyer and Lewis score in Chippewa’s 3-1 win over rival Norwayne
“We are disappointed obviously,” said Waynedale coach Melinda Budd. “We got off to a rocky start, but after that, you can see with the scores we finished with, we played some steady golf.
“I think we were just trying to be too perfect instead of getting good swings on it or it could have been nerves. We do have everyone coming back, so they know what it’s like here. On the positive side, we’ve had good year. We will focus on that and try to get back here next year.”
Div. I Northeast Sectional
Wooster competed in the Div. I Good Park sectional where it finished fifth in a tie with Copley with a team score of 330. Winning the sectional was Archbishop Hoban with a 3-under-par 281 while Medina (305), Highland (316) and Revere (318) all advanced out.
Individually, the Generals were led by junior Colton Lawrence, who fired a team-low 77 to take the first individual spot to districts. He opened his day with a double-bogey but followed that up with 13 pars on the day.
“I am so happy for him,” said Wooster coach Brent Dillon. “Just two years ago, he barely made the team and couldn’t break 100. It just shows how hard he has worked at crafting his game and I am so proud of him.”
As for this team’s finish, Dillon couldn’t have been happier.
“Our sectional is very talented, and we knew that going in,” he said. “It’s a little tough to finish one spot off, but overall, I am very happy with how we played. We shot much lower than our season average, which I am very happy with.”
Rounding out the Generals’ scorecard on the day were Grady Hahn with an 83 while Samuel Fleming and Aidan Cleveland both fired matching 85s.
“All of our guys fought today,” added Dillon. “It got long, it played long, and they just kept on battling. I couldn’t have asked anything else from them, they did everything that we asked them to do, and I am so very proud of all of them.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Dalton golf Zach Brahler clutch, earns return state berth in playoffs
