Chillicothe and Unioto HS golf teams headline another great year
CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — In the Scioto Valley Conference, the Unioto Shermans continued their stranglehold on the top spot of the league. For head coach Dan Drummond and Unioto, it is the 22nd conference title. Since the league started recognizing boys’ golf in the fall of 1993, Unioto has now won 22 of 30 league titles, of which 21 were outright championships. This year’s team was led by Charlie Lewis. Lewis earned conference Player of the Year honors as the Tanks rolled to the title with an 11-point cushion over second-place Zane Trace. As always, Unioto’s depth was a major factor with contributions from Keegan Snyder, Braxton Platt, Ethan Puckett, Drew Doughty, and Braxton Wolff.
“It means a lot to me to help Unioto bring home another league title,” said Lewis, who earned the POY for the second straight season. “Our team has worked really hard this year, and it’s great to see it pay off. As for player of the year, I’m proud of myself for the work I have put in this offseason to try to be the best I can be. So far the season has gone very well.”
In the Frontier Athletic Conference, it was a perfect year for the Lady Cavaliers of Chillicothe. The team posted a 35-0 league mark as they found themselves at the top of the leaderboard during every league match. The title is the first girls’ title in school history. Isabella Fischer led the way for Chillicothe as she earned POY honors in the FAC. Joining her on First Team All-FAC are teammates Julie Lemster, Meryl Haller, and Mikayla Spaulding. Addison Smith was also a contributing member of the championship team.
“Over the last four years at Chillicothe, I have had a great opportunity to coach some wonderful young ladies,” said CHS head coach Jason Fischer. “As a coach, it is a dream to have girls who have been so coachable. The team is so much fun on and of the course. I am proud to say that each year our girls’ scoring averages have improved, which in turn has given us the opportunity to challenge for the conference championship the last two years. We had the heartbreak last year of losing the conference title by just three strokes. This year our girls were set on getting the title, and in the 18-hole conference championship, they all shot career lows to seal the deal!”
The growth to championship status is always a tough, but rewarding, process, and it was a process that had the girls dreaming big early in their careers.
“Ever since freshman year (at the fall meet the team), the girls noticed that there was not a girls’ golf banner hanging in the gymnasium at Chillicothe High School,” said Fischer. In order to get a banner they would need to win the conference. They made that their goal to get one by 2022, and it was rewarding to see the smiles on their faces at the championship.”
Winning any championship is special to a coach and the players. Coach Fischer mentioned the memories his players have made in terms of time spent practicing, traveling, and eating together following a match, but it was obvious this had a personal touch for the Chillicothe coach as well.
“Personally, to have my daughter on the team and be a part of this four-year process has been amazing,” said Fischer. “Isabella had a personal goal of being Player of the Year, and for me as a coach and a dad to be able to watch her battle that last 18-hole match and achieve that goal is so unbelievably satisfying! The look on her face of personal accomplishment will never be forgotten.”
On the boys’ side of the FAC, the Chillicothe squad nearly made it a clean sweep of FAC titles for the Cavaliers. They finished as the runner-up. They were led by POY runner-up Aidan Fischer. Teammate Kaiden Koch also earned All-League honors.
Another great golf story this fall took place in Frankfort. Even with Westfall taking the team title on the girls’ side, Sydney Ater was a Player of the Year contender. At the same time, she played in all the boys’ league matches and earned All-League. She joined teammate Davis Kerns on the All-SVC list.
“The SVC is a competitive league year in and year out,” said Kerns, who hit his first-ever hole-in-one earlier this summer on Hole 3 at Jaycee (9-iron from 143). “Every year, one of my goals is to make All-League, and I have been very fortunate to achieve that goal the last three years with my best finish this year placing fourth.”
This constant growth in Kerns has also served as a mainstay in the Adena program. Kerns and Ater helped the Warriors to a top half finish this season in the SVC standings.
“Coach Depugh has coached us four seniors for the last four years and Sydney Ater the last three years,” said Kerns. It was great for all of us to crack the top half of the league after working hard throughout the summer and into the fall. Everyone’s game has improved each year thanks to the coach and all of our hard work. We have worked hard, but have also created a lot of great memories together.”
In talking to Ater, it was obvious she had some lofty goals, but it was important for her to accomplish her individual goals inside of helping the program as well. “Achieving All-League really means a lot to me,” said Ater. “At the beginning of the year, I set several goals for myself and one of those was to make All-League in both girls and boys.”
This type of effort from players such as Ater is starting to help grow the game for boys and girls in the area. Her play, along with all the girls’ team including players like Olivia Howard and her Lady Shermans, have been a huge lift in helping the sport grow. The entire program was proud of this season’s growth, both in the league as well as at Unioto.
“I feel that golf has grown a lot this past year,” said Lewis, who was described by Kerns as being very consistent and knowledgeable about the game. “Many new people are picking up the sport and realizing how much fun it is, which is a great thing to see for the future of golf. Unioto this year even has our own girls’ team, which is another great thing that will hopefully attract even more people to the game.”
With players like Ater, Howard, and girls at ZT, SE, and Huntington not only showing an interest in the sport, but also performing at a solid level, the girls’ game seems to be in good shape moving forward.
“I think it’s awesome that we were able to have a girls’ SVC league this year,” said Ater. “ It is such a great sport, and I really hope it continues to grow in the area. I would really like to see more SVC schools put together programs for younger kids to learn and gain interest in the sport.”
Coach Fischer also echoed these same remarks about the girls’ game taking off in the area. As he talked about his program watching the number of players double in the last four years and how six different SVC schools now have a girls’ team, his excitement for the growth of girls’ golf was obvious. He mentioned a special thank you to Scott Schramm (Chillicothe CC), Tom Zellers (Jaycee), and Abby Huggins (Pickaway CC) for always making his team feel welcome. He gave a special thanks to Kevin Shoults (Crown Hill) for moving the girls’ game forward with his level of success with his Westfall girls qualifying for the state tournament, as well as Kevin’s willingness to work with so many of the area players.
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