JEFFERSONVILLE — Columbus East looked like it could have been a contender to capture the Hoosier Hills Conference boys golf championship Saturday.
A slow start, however, ended those hopes in a hurry. Many mistakes and errors proved costly, and the Olympians finished with a 326 at Elk Run Golf Course.
The weather cooperated for most of the day, but late in after 6 p.m., rain rolled in and it suspended play. East was in the first wave of foursomes and was able to complete its rounds.
Jennings County, however, was unable to complete its rounds. The No. 1 golfers in that wave were on No. 18, and the No. 5 golfers were starting No. 16.
The HHC athletics directors will decide today whether they need to finish the full 18 holes. If they decide to not finish the 18, a decision will be made whether to call it after 15 holes or after nine holes.
Floyd Central leads the field with a 314. Bedford North Lawrence is in second at 318, and Jeffersonville is third with a 322.
Jay Williams of Jeffersonville is currently leading a 1-over-par 73. Dylan Zink of Floyd Central was second with a 74, and Ethan Stanley of Bedford scored a 76.
For East, Thomas Ruch and Derek Alexander led the way with each shooting 78. Alexander finished strong on his round with a 36 on the back nine after a 42 on the front.
“There is still a possibly I can make All-Conference, and that was a goal of mine all year,” Alexander said. “I just had to fight, and it was perfect weather out there today and I thought I could go low.”
Rounding out the East scoring were Mark Mayhew with an 82 and Avery Foist with an 88. Nathan Cesarski scored a 95.
“We got off to a rough start on the front nine, but they rallied and came back nicely on the back,” East coach Tom LaBarbera said. “They played much stronger on the back once they got their feet under them a bit. I’m proud that they made the comeback.”
Jennings County coach B.J. Bingham said his golfers had a great start to their rounds.
“We had our best performance on the front nine than what we’ve had this year,” Bingham said. “We could have had a couple great rounds turned in, and it is disappointing with how things ended and the weather not cooperating. In general, I am happy about the performance. I have a young team, and I think we will get nothing but better.”
