Donnelly, O’Connor, Ewerson earn All-Press honors

At the Ohio State University Gray Course, Dublin Jerome golfer Audrey Ryu shot a two-under par 71-67—138 to win a Division I state girls golf individual championship.

In second place was Aurora golfer Brooklyn Millard, who shot one-under par71-68—139 to finish second. It is hard to compete against high school golfers who are shooting under par.

St. Ursula junior Payton Donnelly, a Curtice resident, was the only local golfer, boys or girls, to qualify for this year’s state tournament, shooting 78-87—165 to finish in 44th place out of 72 golfers. Donnelly is the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Girls Golfer of the Year.

Donnelly shot an 41-40—81 at the district meet to lead St. Ursula to a district championship and a spot in the state tournament, where the Arrows shot 674 to finish ninth out of 12 teams. New Albany won the state title, shooting 588.

Donnelly, the Three Rivers Athletic Conference champion and golfer of the year, was joined by junior Hannah Chung (84-85—169), freshman Emma Myers (81-88—169), sophomore Sophie Antypas (79-93—172) and senior Lexie Murphy (95-92—187) in Columbus. The Arrows are coached by Jim McGowan.

As a freshman at the Division I state tournament, Donnelly was part of an Arrows’ team that finished 10th out of 12 teams. Donnelly shot 91-88—179 to finish 62nd individually out of 72 golfers and her team shot 666. 

Donnelly was hoping to make it to the state meet last year, but fell short, even though she upped her game. Donnelly was also named TRAC Golfer of the Year her sophomore year after shooting a 76 and her team shot a 331 to win a league tournament championship.

McGowan, who will only lose one golfer to graduation, believes next year could be even better. That is because of the work ethic Donnelly provides as a team leader.

“Her game has come around in every aspect. She works at it non-stop,” McGowan said. “She is totally committed to the game. She’s a 12-month a year golfer. She practices all the time.”

From the mens’ tees, you could say, there were no state qualifiers from the Eastern Maumee Bay community, but two cousins are making sure there game continues to improve.

Clay golfer Jason O’Connor and Northwood golfer Eli O’Connor are cousins and Northwood coach Reese Snyder says they play together during the summer.

Jason O’Connor, a senior, reached the Division I district tournament and he is joined by Genoa golfer Jake Ewerson, the Northern Buckeye Conference Golfer of the Year, as the boys All-Press Co-Golfers of the Year.

O’Connor, who averaged 84.5 strokes while earning All-Three Rivers Athletic Conference honors, shot 39-42—81 at Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green to qualify for the district tournament.

Jason made the most of his four years,” Clay coach Rob Belegrin said. “We play in a tough league, and getting all-conference honors is not easy, but he fought through some injuries and made the most of his Clay golf experience.”

In the TRAC, competing against some of the best prep golfers in the Toledo metro area, you almost have to shoot even par or better on a regular basis to compete. But the Eagles were able to hold its own

“We played well this year.  There were really three groups of teams; the elite 280-315, then Clay 325-340, then really bad teams 350 and up.  We were consistently in the middle, but still in a good spot,” Belegrin said.

At the Division I sectional, Clay finished sixth out of 14 teams, scoring 337 points. Other Clay golfers were sophomore Vinny Gallaher (41-43—84), sophomore Brock Fussel (41-44—85), senior Aden Vriezelaar (40-47—87) and senior Spencer Fortier (47-43—90).

Genoa golfer Jake Ewerson, who averaged 40.8 strokes per nine holes in league play, had to dig down deep to finish strong, qualifying for Division III district play as an individual. 

“Jake has had a nice season so far. He put together an impressive league run. In the four league shootouts, he finished second, fifth, 10th, and first,” McPherson said. 

“One thing that stands out the most about Jake is his drive. He has been internally motivated to get better at golf since he came out as a freshman and it obviously has shown in his successes this year. He is gritty, works hard, and shares his experiences with his teammates. He is a great student-athlete on and off the course.” 

Ewerson was fourth at sectionals, the Lakeland Invitational medalist, top five at the Rossford invitational, and a first team golfer at the Ottawa County Invitational.

“He is an ideal student-athlete,” McPherson said. “Obviously, he is in Indiana right now for FFA, so he is just a good all-around young man who represents Genoa well presently and will continue to represent Genoa when he leaves our halls. We are blessed to have him back leading and competing with the golf team next year.”  

There are a dozen or so of other golfers, and coaches, who set their goals high and reached them this year, such as Eli O’Connor, who was a second team All-Toledo Area Athletic Conference golfer and on the All-Press honor roll.

Clay girls oach Kevin Crosson was the All-TRAC Co-Coach of the Year, the Gibsonburg girls team won a third straight Division II sectional, Lake won a Northern Buckeye Conference boys championship, and Lake girls golfer Alexis Feather was the NBC Girls Player of the Year.

The Clay girls, Gibsonburg girls, and Lake boys, qualified for district play. Golfers on the All-Press honor roll qualified for the district tournament or were all-league honorees.