L-B wins first BVC meet of season

Liberty-Benton got an early jump in its bid to claim a third straight league title on Monday when the Eagles won the first of three meets that will decide the 2021 Blanchard Valley Conference boys golf championship. With Austin Hanni-Wells shooting a 78, Brice McDaniel a 79 and Joe Gerken an 80, consistency was a key for L-B in the meet held at the Findlay Country Club. An 87 by Noah Miles gave the Eagles a 324 team total and a 10-shot advantage over Pandora-Gilboa (334). Van Buren, which shared the 2020 BVC title with Liberty-Benton, was third (340), followed by Arcadia (395), McComb (415), Riverdale (439), North Baltimore (483) and Arlington (529). Van Buren's Carson Foltz carded a 78 of his own to tie L-B's Hanni-Wells for medalist honors. Weston Heitkamp added an 86, Hayden Carr an 87 and Isaac Dyer an 89. Pandora-Gilboa's Grant Farthing led the Rockets, firing as 79 to tie L-B's McDaniel for second in the medalist standings. Eli Huffman (83), Sam Norton (85) and Ryan Johnson (87) also contributed to one of P-G's best-ever finishes in BVC golf. Three tournaments will replace the dual- and tri-match play that the BVC used, in conjunction with a season-ending meet, to determine its league champion in golf. A mid-season BVC tournament will be held Aug. 24 at Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green. The final BVC tournament will be held Sept. 22 at Kalida's Moose Landing Golf Club. BVC GOLF TOURNAMENT TEAM STANDINGS: 1, Liberty-Benton (Hanni-Wells 78, McDaniel 79, Gerken 80, Miles 87). 2, Pandora-Gilboa (Farthing 79, Huffman 83, Norton 85, Johnson 87) 334. 3, Van Buren (Foltz 78, Heitkamp 86, Carr 87, Dyer 89) 340. 4, Arcadia (Evan Lieurance 92, Grant Boes 96, Logan Hartsel 99, Brayton Hindall 108) 395. 5. McComb (Bo Tooman 92, Carter Welty 104, Grady Schaublin 106, Zach Romero 113) 415. 6, Riverdale (Gauge King 94, Ben Riddle 111, Carter Koehler 116, Mason Guckes 118) 439. 7, North Baltinmore (Owen Clark 107, Josh Fennel 110, Don Courtney 133, Colin Coykendall 133) 483. 8, Arlington (James Meikle 105, Landon Smith 119, Evans Crooks 140, Clay Hurt 165) 529. Trojans card 355 POWELL – Nick Feighner carded an 81 on Monday and Zach Harris posted an 84, but Findlay posted a 355 total and finished 20th in an elite field of teams competing in the Olentangy Liberty Invitational at the Kinsale Golf Club in Powell. Feighner went 39-42 on the day and Harris 43-41. Sam Swisher (46-47) added a 93 and Will Morman (46-51) a 97 for Findlay's total. Matt Pinski (51-51—102) completed Findlay's lineup. Seventeen-time state champion Upper Arlington and Columbus St. Charles tied for the tournament title with scores of 306. OLENTANGY LIBERTY INVITATIONAL TEAM SCORES: 1, (tie) Upper Arlington and Columbus St. Charles, 306. 3, Dublin Coffman 307. 4, Olentangy Liberty 310. 5, Dublin Jerome 312, 6, (tie) Olentangy Liberty 'B' and Hilliard Davidson 317. 8, Pickerington Central 323. 9, Cin. St. Xavier 324. 10, Olentangy Orange 325. 11, New Albany 327. 12, Hilliard Bradley 336. 13, Thomas Worthington 338. 14, Berlin 339. 15, Olentangy 342. 16, Westerville Central 343. 17, Worthington Kilbourne 344. 18, (tie) Col. Bishop Watterson and Dublin Scioto 346. 20, Findlay 355. FHS girls fifth ARLINGTON – Led by an 88 from Casey Tate, Findlay High's girls golf team placed fifth on Monday in the Lady Trojan Invitational played at Sycamore Spings Golf Course. Libby Holman added a 93, Ava Metz posted a 95 and Abby Powell a 97 for Findlay's 355 team total. Baylee Shoemaker (108) competed Findlay's lineup. Ashland (353) nipped Lima Central Catholic (355) to win the event. Lexington (361) edged Van Buren (364) for third, with Findlay, Tiffin Columbian (421) and Margaretta (463) completing the field. Claire Recker shot an 80 to place third in the overall medalist standings and lead Van Buren. Ashland's Klaira Paramore was the tournament medalist with a 71. LADY TROJAN INVITATIONAL TEAM STANDINGS: 1, Ashland 353. 2, Lima Central Catholic 355. 3, Lexington 361. 4, Van Buren (Recker 80, Joslyn Hunt 92, Maggie Bishop 98, Taylor Stewart 109) 363. 5, Findlay (Tate 88, Holman 93, Metz 95, Powell 97) 373. 6, Tiffin Columbian 421. 7, Margaretta 463. O-G boys second DEFIANCE – Bryan was a run-away winner of the Defiance Invitational on Monday, but Ottawa-Glandorf won a heated race for runner-up honors at the Eagle Rock Golf Club. Bryan's 328 team was 15 strokes ahead of any other team in the 16-school field. O-G got a 78 from medalist runner-up Carson Fuka and an 80 from Carter Schimmoeller in posting a 343 score that was two shots better than Napoleon (345) and three ahead of Lima Bath (346). Josh Walls added an 89 and Hunter Stechechulte a 96 for O-G. DEFIANCE INVITATIONAL TEAM STANDINGS: 1, Bryan 328. 2, Ottawa-Glandorf (Schimmoeller 80, Fuka 78, Walls 89, Stechschulte 96). 3, Napoleon 345. 4, Lima Bath 346. 5, Van Wert 351. 6, Defiance 352. 7, Paulding 363. 8, Fairview and Ayersville 370. 10, Wayne Trace and Antwerp 373. 12, Celina 374. 13, Tinora 375. 14, Patrick Henry 390. 15, Defiance 'B' 423. 16, Stryker 448. LOCAL SPORTS Monday's Results Prep Girls Tennis CELINA 5, BLUFFTON 0 SINGLES No. 1 – Amy Hartings (Cel) def. Brooke Camper, 4-6, 7-6, 10-3. No. 2 – Alex Yaney (Cel) def. Caitlyn Couch, 0-6, 6-2, 7-5. No. 3 – Lauren Muhlenkamp (Cel) def. Alyssa Hoffman, 6-0, 6-1. DOUBLES No. 1 – Kaylyn Saunders/Whitney Jones (Cel) def. Ellie Nickel/Libby Frazier, 6-1, 6-2. No. 2 – Michelle Elston/Audrey Albers (Cel) def. Lean Klingler/Genevieve Gatchel, 6-2, 6-0. RECORDS: Bluffton 0-1. Tuesday's Schedule Prep Boys Golf Findlay at Olentangy Liberty Invite, 8:30 a.m. Arcadia, Arlington, Liberty-Benton, McComb, North Baltimore, Pandora-Gilboa, Riverdale, Van Buren in BVC pre-season tournament at Findlay Country Club, 10 a.m. Van Buren, Bluffton, Carey at Colonial Golf Course Columbus Grove, Allen East at Colonial Golf Course Elmwood, Gibsonburg at Birch Run Golf Club Fostoria at Lakeland Golf Course Ottawa-Glandorf at Defiance Invite, Eagle Rock Golf Course Upper Sandusky, Bucyrus at Golf Club of Bucyrus Prep Girls Golf Findlay, Van Buren in Lady Trojan Invitational at Sycamore Springs, 9 a.m. Upper Sandusky, Wynford at Lincoln Hills Golf Course Prep Girls Tennis Findlay at Perrysburg, 4:30 Bluffton at Celina, 4:30 Fostoria at Toledo Scott, 10 a.m. Tuesday's Schedule Prep Boys Golf Arcadia, Elmwood, McComb, North Baltimore, Fostoria at Birch Run Golf Club, 8 a.m. Liberty-Benton, Van Buren at Warrior Jaguar Classic, Sunbury Leipsic, Ada at Pike Run Golf Club Riverdale, Wynford at Golf Club of Bucyrus Prep Girls Golf Findlay at Colonial Golfers Club Invitational North Baltimore at Kenton Memorial Golf Course Carey, Upper Sandusky at Lincoln Hills Golf Course Elmwood at Colonial Golf Course Prep Girls Tennis Defiance at Findlay, 4:30 Lima Shawnee at Bluffton, 4:30 Clear Fork at Upper Sandusky, 10 a.m.