Final Four

MIAMISBURGH, Ohio — The Tribe didn’t have its leader for the district meet.

Still three Indians shot season lows as four golfers that saw the most team success got to have their swan song.

Four athletes competed for the final time on Wednesday as the Fort Recovery High School golf team finished eighth with a 407 at the OHSAA Division II Southwest District tournament at PipeStone Golf Club.

The Indians’ score tied with Roger Bacon, while Madeira (332) and Bishop Fenwick (333) clinched the state berths out of the 12-team field. The two individual berths went to Sophia Fink of Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, who shot a one-under-par 71 and Mariemont’s Charlotte Soller, who carded a 77.

While the Tribe’s top five golfers hit the links, FRHS coach Jeff Vaughn couldn’t make the trip due to a funeral.

“It’s a fun group of girls and to come out here on a nice day and get to see them compete at the district level is an honor,” said principal Ryan Steinbrunner, who filled in for Vaughn alongside athletic director Aimee Pottkotter. “At this point, Jeff’s done all the coaching and I was able to just come out here with Aimee and watch the girls play, give them a little advice here and there, but let them go out there and have some fun.”

 Fort Recovery High School’s Mallory Evers chips onto the third green at PipeStone Golf Club during the district tournament on Wednesday. Evers, who led the Tribe with 94 strokes, is one of four seniors along with Olivia Knapke, Evvie Briner and Georgia Wenning were the other three seniors that gave Fort Recovery its first Midwest Athletic Conference championship and second district appearance. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

The Tribe’s best score came from Mallory Evers, who shot her season best 94 to place 28th. (Her previous best 18-hole score of 95 came at both the sectional and Midwest Athletic Conference championship.)

Evers shot a bogey and two double-bogeys during the opening crawl before finding her groove. She finished the back nine with five straight bogeys and a par on the 403-yard, par-5 18th hole.

At the turn, Evers picked right back up where she left off with the more bogeys. On hole No. 1, a 302, yard, par-4, the senior aimed her drive off to the left to land in the center of the fairway on the dogleg left.

Sitting 100 yards away, Evers overshot the green to land on the back fringe. Her first putt traveled just over half of the 25-foot distance to the cup and a second put her within inches before tapping in for bogey.

“I was actually proud that I hit my drive somewhat straighter than I had all day,” Evers said. “I chipped it on and I ended up three putting, but again, the greens were up-and-down and side-to-side, so it was hard to read, but I just kept going.”

Evers had two more hiccups in her round, but otherwise played bogey golf.

Olivia Knapke posted the second best score for Fort Recovery with 101 strokes. The senior had an up-and-down match with highs that included five pars and a birdie on the 413-yard, par-5 and lows that included a double-par on hole No. 2 and a 10 on the par-4 10th hole.

“I really credit their mental fortitude,” Steinbrunner said. “Olivia goes out there and has a rough hole one, puts two of them out of bounds to start and takes a 10, and is able to back that up with a par and a birdie.

“That girl can go out and just play every stroke like she’s having the most fun in the world. That’s what golf’s about and that’s what all these girls are about.”

Joining Evers with season lows in 18-hole contests were Evvie Briner with a 103 and Cora Pearson, who shot a 109.

Briner put up a 51 on the back nine that included a par on the 13th hole and a bogey on No. 12, while five bogeys led to a 52 on the front.

Pearson’s day started slower with three bogeys on the back line, leading to a 56 and three pars on the front to net the sophomore a 53. One of those pars came on the final hole of the day, a 269-yard, par-4.

She striped her tee shot on the ninth hole down the right rough about five yards off the fairway and 125 yards to the green. Her approach shot put her on within nine feet of the cup and she two putted to make par.

FRHS senior Georgia Wenning finished just behind Pearson for a 110 that didn’t impact the final score. The highlight of her round was a par on the first hole.

While the Tribe wasn’t able to make a run to state, the four seniors, who were all a part of the 2024 squad that earned the first Midwest Athletic Conference title in program history and earned the second trip to the district tournament in program history. (The first trip to the district came in 2020, when the Tribe competed in the northwest.)

“It was definitely really exciting and I think we’ve really been through so many fun things together and we just appreciated it,” Briner said. “We’ve had a lot of opportunities and the fact that we made it this far was crazy to us and MAC champions last year, that was really awesome. We still talk about it and how unexpected it was.”

Photo Gallery

Fort Recovery girls golf at district tournament (10/1/2025)