MANSFIELD — The race for the Ohio Cardinal Conference boys golf championship just got very, very interesting.
On Thursday, the second round of the three-round tournament was held at Twin Lakes Golf Club and an already tight race got even tighter which makes Lexington coach Nick Durchik and Madison coach Steve Farley very happy that the it is a marathon and not a sprint.
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The Rams came away with a first-place team finish on Thursday after finishing fourth in Round 1. Each team is awarded points with seven going to first place and six to second and so on. After taking just four points in the first round, the Rams grabbed seven huge points in Round 2 and now just sit one point behind Lexington and Ashland with one round to go.
“That first round at Riceland, we actually shot very well with a 313 for our team score,” Farley said. “I cannot be upset about that. Falling in fourth showed us just how good the league actually is. Coming into the second round, we just preached relaxation. We wanted to block out the pressure but we also needed some urgency because we knew we had to pick up some spots if we wanted to give ourselves a chance.”
The Rams did just that. They were led by Liam Stone’s 76 while Landon Goad and Nick and Josh Maglott fired matching 80s to give the Rams a team score of 316 and the low score for the round. Lincoln Shepherd’s 86 and AJ Studer’s 92 were the drop scores. Despite shooting a higher team score on Thursday than they did in Round 1, the Rams still came away with the seven points for first place.
The Rams are hitting their stride after winning their host tournament on Friday bringing a close to a first half of the season that went by in a blur.
“The week the season started, we played in 18 hole tournaments the first four days and some were an hour and a half away,” Farley said. “We spent a lot of time together, but once we slowed down, it turned into a control thing. We control what we can and that means we spend a lot of time putting and chipping. We play nine holes when we can. We try to find a part of the game and focus on that.”
The Rams battled a tough Twin Lakes course and embraced the grind to pull off the victory. They now have 11 team points through two rounds and despite only have one senior on the roster, the Rams handed pressure extremely well on Thursday.
“It all comes down to experience,” Farley said. “I have been rotating my 5 and 6 spots with my younger players just to get them some experience in high-pressure situations so when they get up next year, they have that confidence of what they are capable of.”
The Lexington Minutemen were the winners of Round 1 when they fired an insane 295 at Riceland Golf Course headlined by overall low scorer Jackson Durchik’s 69. On Thursday, Lex shot a 319 as Durchik and Nate Dawson shot 79s while Bailey Carmichael added an 80 and Griffin Hughes carded an 81. Dawson Dreibelbis’s 82 and Daulton Mangas’s 87 were the drop scores.
The third-place finish netted them five team points giving them 12 for the two rounds sitting them in a tie for first overall with Ashland and one ahead of Madison. Nick Durchik was happy his team gets one more chance to possibly clinch the league title despite not playing their best on Thursday.
“Even before the first round, the message was that we couldn’t win the OCC title after the first round, but we could put ourselves out of it,” Durchik said. “Our goal going into the first round wasn’t to get first place, but to remain in the hunt. We were fortunate to win it and put ourselves in position. The goal in Round 2 was the same and we achieved that today and now we are in position to go into Round 3 with a chance.”
The Minutemen will look to clinch the title in Round 3 on Sept. 19 at Shelby Crossing. It would add a bookend to a great start to the 2024 season.
“We have had a great year up to this point,” Durchik said. “There are four teams in this conference that are very, very good and very close. My message was to just do your job. Whatever man you are, do your job in that position and it will all take care of itself.”
Like Madison, Lexington got out to a blazing start to the season that included wins at the Galion Invite, Round 1 of the OCC tournament and solid showings at the Chapel Hill Invite and the Weiss Invitational. Lexington played four tournaments in five days during the first week of the season and three more the following week and have entered a portion of the schedule where things spread out a bit. Something Durchik is embracing.
“It has been tough,” Durchik said. “It helped that we were playing every day and getting better but I think we got burned out a little bit so this break has been good for us. We practice a lot now and our matches and tournaments are spread out which allows us to build a routine of school, homework and golf. We want to peak in the last half of the season so we will get right to where we want to be.”
The Ashland Arrows took second at Round 2 headlined by Reed Emmons’s 75 while Landon Dreibelbis added a 77, Ryan Eberling carded an 82 and Ty Ellis rounded out the scorers with an 83. Ty Bates and Kale Durig shot matching 86s for drop scores.
They will be locked in a tight race with Lexington and Madison for the OCC crown.
Ashland Arrow girls in cruise control
The Ashland Arrows girls golf team took first in Thursday’s second round matching their first-place finish in Round 1 to give them a commanding lead in the team standings with 14 points. Kyah Huckleberry carded a 77 while Elleni Miller added an 88, Haylee Bond shot a 93 and Carly Wyatt chipped in with a 97. Chloe Crunkilton’s 102 and Natalie Kohler’s 107 were the drop scores.
The Lexington Lady Lex sits in second place after the two rounds with 12 team points. Thursday’s performance was highlighted by Makaree Chapman’s low round for the day of 75 while Lauryn Nupen had a 93, Willow Roberts carded a 95 and Aniyah Monica added a 96. Kyler Lamb’s 97 and Libby Newland’s 112 were the drop scores.
The Mansfield Senior Tygers shot a 545 on Thursday. Marissa Witte had a 129 while Alyssa Turner added a 130, Chelonta Phillips carded a 131 and Caroline Martin added a 155.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ohio Cardinal Conference golf championship will be photo finish
