Braves returning to state tournament

Logan Elm repeats as district champions with 322

By BRAD MORRIS
SPORTS EDITOR

Published: Thursday, October 7, 2010 10:12 AM EDT

    CIRCLEVILLE — Rob Griffith normally counts strokes the Logan Elm boys golf team gave away in tight tournaments.

    On Wednesday, the Logan Elm coach was counting strokes the Braves saved and cashed in for a spot in the state tournament.

    The Braves managed their home course effectively to shoot 322, and earned their second straight state tournament appearance and district championship at the Pickaway Country Club.= 1217462400) && (nAdsysTime <= 1533081599)) { aAd = new Array('+instory01', '140430-1280160953', 'jpg'); aAd[3] = 'http://www.aim-ocu.com/'; aAd[4] = '1'; aAd[6] = '1'; aAd[7] = 10; aAd[8] = 0; aAd[9] = 1636; aAd[10] = 0; aAd[11] = 0; aAds[aAds.length] = aAd; } adsys_displayAd('http://adsys.townnews.com', 'circlevilleherald.com', aAds, aCampaigns); // -->

[adsys_ad::instory01]

-->    "I was really proud of how steady all our boys were," Griffith said. "They stayed cool, didn't press and didn't allow a bad hole to carry over into three to four bad holes.

    "Our team was consistent. Normally, I'm counting the strokes we gave away as a team, but in this tournament I've been counting the strokes we saved that was the difference."

    Logan Elm is slated to travel to The Ohio State University's Scarlet Golf Course on Oct. 15 to open the two-day state tournament.

    The Braves entered the season having to replace the production of No. 1 player Blaine Hardin, who graduated off of last season's history making team.

    Logan Elm has answered the challenge with the emergence of Derek Greenlee as a bonafide No. 1 golfer and consistent play down the rest of the lineup, that has translated into a Mid-State League Buckeye Division championship and more district hardware to add to the high school trophy case.

    "Our team wanted to keep things going even though we lost our top player," Griffith said. "They were very determined to repeat what we did last year."

    Greenlee shot 30 on the front nine holes and finished with 68 to lead the Braves and take district medalist honors.

    "I was feeling pretty good and relaxed," Greenlee said. "My driver was working well.

    "I'm really happy to see us all going back to the state tournament."

    Kyle Schecter shot 36 on the front nine and finished with 84. Luke Caudill and Brandon Hemming each shot 85.

    Also playing for the Braves was Josh Arnold with 86.

    Unioto followed a stroke behind Logan Elm with 323 to claim the last state qualifying team spot.