Starfires beat Patriots, Jets

Four matches.
Six wins for the Starfires.
The South Adams High School girls golf team earned two Allen County Athletic Conference victories Tuesday at Portland Golf Club.
The Starfires shot a 202 — its highest score for a nine-hole match this season — but still beat Jay County and Adams Central.
Jay County was second with 216, and Adams Central totaled 234 for third.
“We have some people that are going the wrong way on the scorecard,” said SAHS coach Seth Sprunger, whose team is 6-0 (2-0 ACAC) this season. “This is a good time for that, I suppose, early in the year.
“Hopefully we have some that will use it to amp it up a little bit and work things out.”
Senior Sydney Willis appeared as if she was going to join her teammates in posting a score that was higher than normal. She started her round Tuesday with a double bogey on the 260-yard, par-4 11th hole and a bogey on the 420-yard, par-5 12th to sit at 3-over par after two holes.
She was even on the par-3 13th before bogeying back-to-back holes to be 5-over par through five.
“I just had to stay positive,” said Willis, who birdied two of the final four holes to finish with a 39. It was the sixth time this year she’s won match medalist honors. “I really wanted to get frustrated with the way I was playing, but I would just tell myself at the beginning of the hole that I could finish out well.
“I don’t score that bad, so I have to make (the frustration) up somewhere.”
Willis chipped it in on the par-4 10th to save her round in the 30s — only once in four matches has she shot in the 40s — and Sprunger said that changed the whole mindset of her evening.
“It’s amazing how one stroke can change things,” he said. “For her, 39 is one thing (and) 40 is a vast difference. It’s interesting to deal with that.”
Jaci Gorrell, a senior, and junior Amy Schwartz shot 54 and 57 respectively, their highest of the season, for the Starfires. Gorrell had to take an eight twice, but did make par once, on No. 13.
Gorrell’s sister Kaiti had a 52 for the Stars’ No. 2 score behind Willis, and Becah Schwartz tied Amy Schwartz with a 57 to complete the team total for South Adams.
“I know it bothers them to play this way,” Sprunger said. “Again, you get wins you can’t be grumbling too much. I know what the girls’ personal goals are and some of them really want to do better.”
Jay County senior Sydney Robbins led all of her teammates with a career-best 49. She was one of three Patriots to make par on the 13th hole, and managed to stay out of trouble for the most part. She had four bogeys, two double bogeys and two triple bogeys.
“She is just doing it by staying out of trouble,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray, whose squad moved to 4-3 (2-1 ACAC) on the season. “She’s hitting it, not long, but keeping the ball in play, getting up and down and playing for bogeys.”
Rachel Antrim and Abby Saxman, both Jay County seniors, followed Robbins with matching scores of 53. Saxman shaved two strokes off her season-best that she set Aug. 13 on the same course.
Junior Kendra Dodd shot a 51 to round out the Patriots’ team score. Brooke Sanders also competed and finished with a 66.
“We have to get consistent,” Gray said. “(We’ve) got to work on scoring, keep our head and keep our tempo. It’s all going to come down to that.”

Junior varsity
Junior Cassie Reno led all players with a 47, helping Jay County to a 247-296 victory against South Adams.
Adams Central did not qualify for a team score.
Olivia Braun shot a 61, and Maddy Garringer had a 69 for the Patriots’ second- and third-lowest scores respectively. Madison Brown completed the team score with a 70.
Caitlynn Muhlenkamp (72) and Sierra Caster (77) also competed for the Patriots.
 Allyson Schwartz paced the Starfires with a 70. Clair Sutton and Selina Jones both shot 75, and Mallory Zurcher finished with a 76.