Orange fires 327 to win district championship

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Ashley Au and Alyssa Kim paced the Pioneers for the second straight week, finishing with respective rounds of 74 and 78 to lead the Olentangy Orange girls golf team to a district championship at the Division I event Tuesday in Groveport.

The duo, which also shot in the 70s to lead the Pioneers to a sectional title last week at Royal American, were joined by teammates Riley Dean (81), Brittany Miller (94) and Emily Fisher (97) on their team’s cumulative scorecard. Au’s 74 was good enough for the second-lowest round among the 54 girls in action.

Orange finished with a combined 324 to win its sectional by 29 strokes. Things were a little tighter at districts, but the end result was the same: a championship.

The Pioneers finished with a combined 327 on the Links at Groveport course, edging runner-up Dublin Jerome by three strokes. Upper Arlington finished third with a 331 to smooth out the top three — a trio which will compete for a state championship at the OHSAA State Tournament at The Ohio State University Gray Course Oct. 21-22.

Olentangy freshman Leila Raines will join the Pioneers and the rest of the Central District qualifiers, nabbing medalist honors and punching a ticket to the state showcase as an individuals with a 72.

The Braves nearly qualified as a team, missing out on the third and final spot by eight strokes. Other Olentangy contributors who saw solid seasons come to an end included Alex Cardi (80), Kara Raines (84), Sierra Cardi (103) and Madison Gwinn (109).

Other area standouts in action included Liberty’s Kavya Manocha, who finished tied for 25th with an 86; and Hayes’ Bailey Hager, who carded a 96 to finish tied for 40th.

BOYS GOLF

Liberty and Olentangy saw successful seasons come to an end, finishing fourth and sixth with respective rounds of 309 and 316 at Tuesday’s Division I district tourney at Apple Valley.

The Patriots’ Trey Rath nearly maneuvered his way to the state tournament as an individual, but was beaten out in a four-way playoff for the second and final individual qualification spot. He finished with a 74 — a mark good enough to tie him for third-lowest among individuals.

Other Liberty scorers included Cole Corder (75), Kyle Mitchell (79), Ronnie Foth (81) and Jacob Hickman (84).

Olentangy was boosted by Matthew Homza and Cameron Casto, who finished with 77s. Garrett Varanelli (78), Garrett Leckrone (84) and Ben Nash (86) also chipped in for the Braves.

Buckeye Valley’s Jake Kehoe and Orange’s Alex Cabungcal, meanwhile, competed as individuals. Kehoe finished tied for eighth with a 75 while Cabungcal was tied for 36th with an 80.

Olentangy’s Leila Raines medals, advances as individual

By Ben Stroup

[email protected]

Follow Ben Stroup on Twitter @delgazette_ben.

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