Alex Hider
The South Webster Jeeps extended their lead in the SOC I golf standings on Wednesday evening, taking the second conference match of the season with a combined score of 195 at Dogwood Hills Golf Course in Chillicothe.
The Jeeps were led by Jacob Witter, who shot a low nine-hole score of 45 for South Webster. Three of Webster’s top four golfers finished with a score below 50.
South Webster’s early-season surge comes as a surprise to the rest of the conference, as the Jeeps have struggled to field full team in the past few seasons. However, a talented group of upperclassman decided to give golf a shot before the season.
“Now they decide to come out and play,” South Webster golf coach Josh Horner joked. “Better late than never.”
Senior Levi Rawlins and junior Luke Collins, South Webster’s only two golfers from a season ago, have proven to be the Jeeps’ leaders. Rawlins and Collins sit in fourth and fifth place in the SOC I individual standings. But South Webster has also gotten strong performances out of Witter, a freshman and first-year golfers Brayden Montgomery and Zach Bressler.
“They just wanted to be part of a team, something they could compete in,” Horner said.
Elsewhere in Wednesday’s match, Eastern finished with a team score of 205, seven shots ahead of third-place Clay. That score was good enough to allow the Eagles leap-frog ahead of the Panthers in the conference standings.
Eastern was led by Cole Haislop, who shot a nine-hole score of 44. Haislop is currently in second place in the SOC I individual standings, eight shots behind Western’s Elias Montgomery. Wednesday marked Montgomery’s second medal in as many conference matches.
The Jeeps are in prime position to knock off Clay for the SOC I team title for the first time in three years, and just the second time in the last 15. However, Horner knows there’s still a lot of golf to be played.
“Most important is to not look ahead and play within ourselves,” he said. “We can’t press. We just have to take it one match a time.”
The next SOC I golf match will take place on Tuesday at Big Beaver Creek Golf Club in Piketon.
Box Score
SECOND SOC I MATCH
BIG BEAVER GOLF COURSE
SOUTH WEBSTER 195
Jacob Witter 45
Levi Rawlins 46
Luke Collins 48
Brayden Montgomery 56
EASTERN 205
Cole Haislop 44
Craig Lands 49
Quentin Alley 54
Jordan Clark 58
CLAY 212
Wyatt Large 47
Hunter Mathias 52
Hunter Armstrong 56
Tyler Phillips 57
NOTRE DAME 215
Hayden Baker 51
Truman Hash 53
Braden Bennington 54
Ethan Boerger 57
WESTERN DNQ
Elias Montgomery 38*
Donte Lightle 50
Ethan Dunn 54
SOC I Leaderboard
TEAM STANDINGS
South Webster 391
Eastern 416
Clay 422
Notre Dame 437
INDIVIDUAL STANDINGS (Top 5)
Elias Montgomery, Western 80
Cole Haislop, Eastern, 88
Wyatt Large, Clay, 90
Levi Rawlins, South Webster, 93
Luke Collins, South Webster, 95
Reach Alex Hider at 740-353-3101 ext. 1931 or on Twitter @PDTSportsWriter
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