AKRON — Gavin Gress more than held his own at his first state tournament.
River View’s star freshman shot 3-over-par 75 to sit tied for sixth among 72 players after one round in the Division II tournament on Sunday at Firestone Country Club’s North Course. The top 10 players earn All-Ohio, with the top five making first team.
Gress, playing as an individual, is tied with Upper Sandusky’s Brock Montgomery at seven shots back of Cincinnati Wyoming senior Finley Bartlett, who is pacing the field at 68. No other player shot better than 74.
Chad Gress, his father and River View head coach, said Gavin’s ball striking was on point throughout.
“He putted well but didn’t make much — he had 34 putts,” Chad Gress said. “That was the main difference between him and (Bartlett). He is only one shot back of second place. For (Monday), we just need to execute the game plan and hopefully roll in more putts.”
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He said Bartlett, who was All-Ohio as a junior at Ohio State Scarlet, will need to make some mistakes for the field to catch up. Gavin Gress tees off at 10:10 a.m.
“I’m not sure what to expect with so many people close together from second place back,” Gress said. “We’re going to enjoy the experience and learn from it.”
John Glenn senior Noah Dever, who battled Gress for Player of the Year honors in the Muskingum Valley League-Big School Division, is tied for 11th with 77 as John Glenn sits seventh of 12 teams in the team event.
C.J Dolan made the turn at 37 but struggled to a 46 on the back and carded 83 to sit tied for 31st. Cooper Briggs turned at 40 and had 48 on the back and is at 88; J.T. Orecchio finished at 89 and Hayden Gensor 95.
Kettering Alter leads the event at 308, with Toledo Ottawa Hills at 309, Springfield Northwestern 321, Chagrin Falls 326 and St. Clairsville 326. The Muskies sit 11 shots out of the top five at 337.
John Glenn, which played the back nine first on Sunday, has never finished better than fourth in a state tournament. They again will tee off on the back nine first, with the first group off at 9:20 a.m.
“We need to start fast (on Monday) and try to jump a few spots on the leaderboard,” John Glenn coach Chad Orecchio said. “The weather looks a little shaky tomorrow, so we need to grind a little and be more mentally tough than the other teams. Top five would be a good finish.”
Twenty-two players — roughly a third of the field — shot 80 or better. Three were from Alter’s T.J. Kreusch (74), Matthew Kreusch (74) and Andrew Gochenouer (77). Wyoming also had Jack Webb shoot 74.
The Muskies are seven shots ahead of Bay Village Bay and Poland Seminary, the next-closest teams at 344.
sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: D-II state golf: See how Gavin Gress and John Glenn fared at Firestone
