GREENSBURG — It was mostly a two-team race between Columbus North and Columbus East for the Greensburg boys golf sectional title.
The Bull Dogs have struggled playing at Greensburg Country Club the past two years, which led to runner-up finishes behind East, but Friday was when they finally turned the tide.
North finished with the edge, despite a strong finish for the Olympians, and won the sectional crown by finishing with a 300, which was nine shots better than East’s 309.
North and East advance to Thursday’s Providence Regional, which will be played at Champions Pointe. Greensburg was the third and final team to advance with a 331.
North senior Matt Vorndran earned individual medalist honors by shooting a 1-over-par 71.
“It feels really good,” Vorndran said. “I feel like Bryce (Turner) played well, and the other guys were really close to shooting a very great round as a team. I feel like we can shoot a great round as a team when we need to the most.”
Turner was one shot behind Vorndran with a 72 to finish as the individual runner-up. Drew Smith finished with a 78, and Spencer Fairbanks rounded out the Bull Dogs’ scoring with a 79. Zachary Schiavello scored an 81.
“Matt and Bryce both played great,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “For Matt to win a sectional his senior year is a super accomplishment for him. Good things are starting to come for him in the next couple weeks. Kudos to (East coach Tom) LaBarbera for getting his team ready and pushing us pretty hard on the back side. It’s going to be a tough challenge for us next week because it’s never easy at Champions Pointe.”
For East, LaBarbera said the slow start on the front nine hurt the Olympians’ chances at a third consecutive title.
“We started off a bit nervous, and it took us a few holes to get into rhythm,” LaBarbera said. “Once we got into rhythm, we were fine. For the most part, we have had stronger back nines than front nines, and that’s just the nerves of getting started.”
Thomas Ruch led the Olympians with a 76 and finished third individually. Mark Mayhew and Nathan Cesarski each shot 77. Derek Alexander rounded out the scoring with a 79. Adrian Adams had an 84.
“It wasn’t hitting the ball the greatest on the front nine,” Ruch said. “On the back nine was when I started to figure it out. All things considered, things could have been a lot worse than 76. As a team, we’ll have to play well, and I’ll get into the mentality of trying to stay at even-par, 1-over or 2-over and see if the other guys play just as well.”
Hauser finished with a 388. Justin Compton led the Jets with a 90. Owen Green had a 96, Nick Neafus carded a 97, Matt Sweet scored a 105 and Clayton Wilson finished with a 112.
South Decatur finished with a 396. Jacob Johnson led the Cougars with a 95. Alex Vannatta shot a 96, Nicholas Bales had a 102, Logan Owens scored a 103 and Nathan Benge added a 120.
