BOWLING GREEN — Kalida head coach Ken Schnipke was left a little speechless when asked about his team going to the state tournament after his squad posted a second-place finish at the Northwest Division III district tournament but the big smile on his face expressed more than enough joy and satisfaction of what the Wildcats accomplished Thursday at the Stone Ridge Golf Club.
“I really don’t know what to say, it has been so long that we have gone to state as a team,” Schnipke said. “It started out rough. The guys didn’t play very good on the front nine. We shot a 176 but they pulled it together and shot really well on the back nine and shot a 159 so they didn’t give up and they kept fighting and clawing and it worked out.”
The last time Kalida made it to state was in 2003.
Kalida’s Trent Siebeneck led the Wildcats with a low score of 76. The senior Wildcat’s score was also tied for second overall for the tournament. Arlington’s Cole Thomas was the medalist with a 72. Lincolnview’s Joshah Rager is also going to state after posting a 78 and then earning the No. 3 qualifying spot in a playoff.
Wildcat sophomore Christian Nartker came through with an 85 for the second best score on the Kalida team followed by Jeff Knueve (86), Collin Nartker (88) and Josh Klausing (95)
“I’m just proud of the way they hung in there and fought back and they played a lot better on the second nine. It was good to see.”
Schnipke added that after being so close the last several years with fifth and sixth place showings at district the last couple of years probably helped this team because it understood what it took to get over the hump.
“You always want to see them play better but we finally made it over the hump so we will go down there and see what happens down there,” Schnipke said. “It is a whole different ballgame down there.”
Kalida’s 335 was good enough for second as it placed behind Van Buren which shot a blistering 318 for the day. Miller City was third with 342 and Ottawa Hills was fourth with a 346.
Miller City was led by Davis Lammers, who tied for 16th overall with an 82. Teammate Luke Lammers finished tied for 20th with an 83. Jacob Schimmoeller (88) and Boyd Vance (89) all contributed to Miller City’s team total.
As much as it was elation for Kalida and Miller City, it was somewhat of a heartbreaking day for Temple Christian which shot a 348 and missed qualifying for state by two strokes, finishing fifth. Minster finished seventh with a 351 and Delphos St. John’s ended up 12th with a 362.
The top four teams qualify for state.
“We came in fifth and we were just a little off and it is just one of those things you have to deal with,” Whitman said. “We were hoping for a little more. We were hoping for a little better but sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.”
Not only was it heartbreaking for the Pioneers to just miss going to state, but Temple Christian’s Judah Whitman shot a 79, leaving him one stroke from being a part of the playoff to determine the last two individual qualifying spots.
Pioneer Seth Hohlbein shot an 82 to finish tied for 16th overall and teammate Adrian Williams shot an 89. Ty Callahan shot a 98 for the day and Micah Craig finished with a 108.
“This is a little bit hard to swallow but we had a fantastic season,” Coach Whitman said. “We were league champions, tournament champions and sectional champions and we have to take everything we’ve done this season and it is awesome. At the moment it is frustrating but you learn to deal with it and move on.”
Blue Jay Austin Lucas led his team with a score of 81. Derek Klausing was second on the team with an 84, followed by Grant Csukker with a 98, Adam Gerker with a 99 and Robert Buescher with a 105.
Perry’s Logan Dray had an 82, Bluffton’s Aaron Belcher and Minster’s Jordan Brackman and Ben Stubbs were among those who shot 83s and Upper Scioto Valley’s Brady Hipsher shot an 85. Sam Vetter led Fort Jennings with a 93.
Division II district
FINDLAY — Shawnee’s fifth place was the area’s best showing as no team or individual advance to state at Red Hawk Run Golf Course.
Shawnee shot a 365 on the day. Toledo Central Catholic won the event with a score of 319. St. Marys finished seventh with a 375.
Shelby’s Brock Kehres was the tournament medalist with a 73. Roughrider Jacob Hollman tied for eighth with an 82. Teammate Austin Cook finished tied for 14th with an 83. Shawnee’s Keaton McKinley turned in the Indians’ best score with an 85. Paulding’s Ethan Dominque shot 85, Van Wert’s Jared Hernandez had an 89 and Bath’s Isiah Bolon finished with a 91.
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