Barons win NU Invitational

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By Ben Stroup

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Buckeye Valley’s boys golf team didn’t take long to pick up tourney win No. 1, taking top honors at the North Union Invitational, the first tournament of the season, Thursday at Glenross.

BV and River Valley shot 325s to headline the event’s Big School Division, with the Barons securing the title thanks to a better fifth-man score.

Jake Kehoe led the way with a 76 — the second-lowest round among individuals — while Zach Thomson (81), Grant Kelly (83), Cody Free (85) and Nick Hyatt (93) also chipped in.

“They just stayed with it,” Buckeye Valley coach Kyle Ellwood said. “They knew they could compete and didn’t let bad shots or anything else get in their way. I like where we’re heading. This is the first varsity win these guys got to experience as a team … and I’m sure, after this, they’ll be hungry for more.”

Westerville Central Invitational

Junior Garrett Varanelli, the only Brave in the season opening top five without a varsity letter, paced Olentangy with a 79 during Thursday’s Westerville Central Invitational at Little Turtle.

The Braves finished third with a combined 328 — a mark good enough to put them in a third-place tie with Westerville Central’s “A” team at the end of regulation. They were awarded third, though, thanks to a better fifth-man score.

Olentangy’s Jake Gerard (80), Nick Scott (83), Matthew Homza (86) and Ryan Wright (87) also contributed.

Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller won the event with a 306 while Watterson finished second with a 323.

New Albany Tournament

The Olentangy Liberty boys golf team, seeing its first varsity action since finishing sixth at last year’s OHSAA Division I State Championship, finished fifth with a 313 during Thursday’s New Albany Tournament at Longaberger.

“I’m pretty happy with it,” Patriot coach Ryan Snivley said. “The guys weren’t excited about it when they were coming off the course, though. Over half of them hadn’t seen it before and there were quite a few penalty shots.”

Kyle Mitchell led Liberty with a 75 while Trey Rath and Ronnie Foth fired 78s and Cameron McCloskey carded an 82.

Cincinnati St. Xavier won the event with a 298 while Orange finished tied for 11th with a 346 and Big Walnut closed 13th out of the 23 teams in action, firing a combined 345 at what was a lengthy course.

Freshman Alex Cabungcal paced the Pioneers with an 83 while John Mikulec (86), Connor Cummins (89) and Zach Mahon (89) also contributed.

Austin Schone led the Golden Eagles with an 82 while Trevor Dew (84), Michael Ford (89) and Parker Imertreijs (90) smoothed out the team’s top four.

“Longaberger was a long and very challenging course,” BW coach Chuck Workman said. “For our first match, and with an inexperienced team, I was pleased with our effort and our result. We were competing against some of the best teams in the state.”

Hayes, the final Delaware County team in action, was led by Grant Godfrey’s 78. The Pacers finished 23rd with a 389.

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

Fire 325 in season-opening tourney

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