Bull Dogs topple Olympians in golf

In their second meeting of the year and playing through wet conditions, the Columbus North golfers edged out Columbus East once again 303-327 Thursday at Harrison Lake Country Club.

Playing their final home meet of the season, the Bull Dogs were led by senior medalist Spencer Fairbanks, who finished with a 1-under-par 71, while seniors Bryce Turner and Matt Vorndran shot 75 and 78, respectively. Drew Smith carded a 79, senior Zachary Schiavello added an 81 and Henry Kiel had an 82.

“I think coming out today and shooting a good score in these conditions was good for us,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “Hopefully, we see these scores continue for the next three weeks, which I really think we can do.”

Thomas Ruch and Derek Alexander led the Olympians, both with scores of 78. Avery Foist and Mark Mayhew each finished with scores of 85, while Ryan Singer added an 86 and Nathan Cesarski had an 88.

“One of the things I try to impress upon my guys in golf is that we’re not playing North or Greensburg or whomever; we’re playing against the course,” East coach Tom LaBarbera said.

Playing on an unfamiliar course, LaBarbera said he thought the Olympians started the afternoon off slowly and were lacking confidence.

“A couple of guys struggled early, but were able to right their ships. But what we talked about afterwards is that we have to come out playing with more confidence to start,” LaBarbera said. “That way, we aren’t chasing scores from the get-go, and we are more competitive when we play them in sectional.”

With a senior-heavy team, Bieker stressed how proud he was of them for their performance.

“We played six seniors tonight, including (Jonathan) Ward and Walker (Thomas). It was good to see them in there and get the experience to play East, which they hadn’t before,” Bieker said. “I’m proud of this team top to bottom, and it’s really a good group of kids who have been a lot of fun to coach.”

The dual match was the second between the two teams this year. The Bull Dogs won 144-169 two weeks agao at Otter Creek.