Hayden Clingaman fired a 77, and Austin Frisbee backed him with an 83 to lead the Stryker Panthers to a second place finish at the 2016 Division III Golf Sectionals at Ironwood on September 29. The Panther Pack closed out the day with a cumulative team score of 343, advancing them to the D-III Districts at Stone Ridge in Bowling Green on October 6.
While no other local team was able to advance, three area linksmen qualified as individuals to move on to District play. The first qualifying spot was claimed by David Pinc of North Central, whose round of 80 punched his ticket to Bowling Green. One stroke behind Pinc was Edgerton’s Drew Hug in the second qualifying spot. The third and final spot was settled in a three-way playoff between Finn Haughn of Liberty Center, Travis Mersing of Evergreen, and Tharyn Colegrove of Fayette, all of which left the course with rounds of 84. The first hole saw Mersing bowing out, with Haughn and Colegrove advancing to a second elimination hole. The decision came down to the short game, as Colegrove drained a three-foot putt to take the final District qualifying spot by a stroke over Haughn.
In team competition, Edgerton placed fourth, missing the qualifying cut by three strokes with a score of 349. North Central was a close fifth at 350, and Fayette was sixth with a score of 359. Evergreen finished eighth at 384, with Hilltop five strokes back in ninth place. A short-staffed Edon Bombers squad took eleventh with 412, and Montpelier took fourteenth with a score of 434.
Timothy Kays can be reached at tim@thevillagereporter.com