ZANESVILLE - New Lexington nearly ended its Muskingum Valley League title drought in 2014.
The
Panthers rectified the situation Friday, securing the school's first
league title since 1990 after Friday's MVL postseason tournament at
par-71 Jaycees.
New Lexington came in
second (320), Sheridan third (336) and Tri-Valley fourth (351).
The
Panthers finished 21-3 in the league to claim the MVL crown, while the
Muskies, Generals and Scotties tied for second at 19-5.
Brayden Metzger and Caleb Barnette shot 79, Kolten Foraker had an 80 and Tyler Brown added an 82 for the Panthers.
New Lex coach Tim O'Hare credited his team's balance in capturing the elusive title.
"This
was our goal coming into the season," he said. "Brayden and Kolten have
been a good 1-2 and deserve some credit, but we have six kids who can
score any time."
Foraker added winning makes up for some disappointing finishes in recent seasons.
"We
had the team in 2014, and it didn't happen that day," he said. "We knew
we had the team this year, and it was about playing strong for 18 holes
today. This was the toughest I've seen the course. The pin placements
were unreal. You had to throw darts at the green, but we came in and got
the win."
This is the first step for the Panthers, who aim to reach state after making it there in 2014, Metzger noted.
"We've
been so close so it's awesome to finally win it," he said. "Even if
someone shoots bad, someone else can step up. This gives us a lot of
energy (entering the tournament) because we want to get back to state."
The same 3 players made the all-tournament and all-league teams, including Foraker (154), Metzger (161) and Barnette
(161).
The rest of the league
standings were Philo (9-15), Maysville (8-16), West Muskingum (7-17),
Morgan (6-18) and Crooksville (0-24).