The Daily Standard
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Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Needing a strong day to make a challenge for a share of the Midwest Athletic Conference boys golf title, Minster made the perfect charge. At the same time, the St. Henry girls were looking for a clean sweep.
The Wildcats, which finished second in the regular season competition, captured the conference golf tournament on Saturday at Stillwater Valley. Minster's tournament win, and regular season champ Delphos St. John's finishing third, allowed Minster to capture a third straight conference title, seventh in the previous eight years and 18th overall.
At the Mercer County Elks, St. Henry had a great day on its home course to cruise to the tournament title to claim the outright title for the first time since 2019 and the fourth conference title in program history.
Parkway's Eli Schumm putts during the MAC boys golf tournament at Stillwater Valley.
Minster shot a 320, 10 strokes ahead of runner-up Versailles. St. John's took third with 333 with St. Henry placing fourth with 337 and Coldwater taking fifth with 343. Marion Local edged Parkway 347-348 for sixth. Fort Recovery was eighth with a 357 with New Bremen (368) and New Knoxville (411) rounding out the leaderboard.
The battle for Golfer of the Year, based on points earned for finishes in regular season matches and the tournament, was another battle between the Wildcats and Blue Jays and a rematch of last year's battle when Minster's Bryce Prenger and St. John's Tyce McClain shared the top honor. Entering Saturday, Prenger held a three-point lead on McClain (92 1/2 to 95 1/2).
Minster's Bryce Prenger chips the ball onto the green during the MAC boys golf tournment at Stillwater Valley.
Prenger did enough, shooting a 3-over 75 to earn medalist honors to secure a second straight Golfer of the Year award. Versailles' Brayden Wagner was a shot back with a 74 on his home course with McClain taking third with a 77.
Minster's Andrew Wiss and Marion Local's Marcus Schwieterman tied for fourth with matching 78s. Fort Recovery's Reece LeFevre, Parkway's Eli Schumm and Coldwater's Briggs Howell tied for sixth with 79s. Minster's Max Voisard shot an 80 for ninth while 10th place was shared by St. Henry teammates Hudson Schmitz and Jack Buschur, Versailles' Ethan Phlipot and Coldwater's Lance Vian with matching 83s.
Brady Pape led New Bremen with an 87 while John Gabel led New Knoxville with a 98.
While LeFevre, who was the Division III sectional champion last week at Shelby Oaks, is off until Sept. 29 for the district, the remaining MAC teams will start sectional play this week. Versailles plays in the Division II Southwest District sectional at Windy Knoll while Coldwater plays in the Division II Northwest District sectional at Moose Landing in Ottawa on Thursday. The rest of the MAC teams will play in the Division III sectional at Colonial Golfers Club in Lima on Thursday.
St. Henry had its four scoring golfers finish in the top 15 in the tournament field, and all six golfers finishing in the top 25, to finish with a 372, 20 strokes ahead of New Bremen, which shot a 392.
Coldwater placed third with a 394, one stroke ahead of 2024 champion Fort Recovery. Minster was fifth with 397 with St. John's sixth with 403. Versailles (420), Marion Local (501) and Parkway (512) rounded out the team standings.
As Saturday began, New Bremen's Ali Trego had an 81-80 advantage over Coldwater's Alyssa Froning in the Golfer of the Year standings.
Coldwater's Alyssa Froning watches her shot during the MAC girls golf tournament at the Mecer County Elks.
Froning, a freshman, came up with a big day on her home course, shooting an 85 to earn tournament medalist honors by three strokes over St. Henry teammates Nora Moeller and Grace Beyke, who shot matching 88s. Trego finished with a 94 to tie for eighth, allowing Froning to secure the Golfer of the Year award.
Fort Recovery's Olivia Knapke finished fourth with a 91 with St. John's Megan Kerner taking fifth with 92. New Bremen's Vivian Trejo and Minster's Lauren Heitkamp tied for sixth with matching 93s. Minster's Eleanor Sommer tied Trego with a 94 for eight with Fort Recovery's Mallory Evers finishing 10th with a 95.
Parkway's Morgan Louth finished with a 104 to tie for 23rd. Brooke Keiser led Versailles with a 99. Marion Local's Elise Mescher shot a 120.
The girls' postseason gets underway this week. Fort Recovery and Versailles play in the Division II Southwest District sectional at Stillwater Valley on Wednesday. The remaining MAC teams travel to Moose Landing on Tuesday for Division II Northwest District sectional play.
St. Henry's Nora Moeller hits the ball toward the green at the MAC girls golf tournament.
