Canfield ready for state golf tourney

By Mark W. Miller

The Cardinals begin play in the Division I championships on Friday.

Seniors Nick Hardy, Joe Miladore, Bob Eddy and Mark Schimmel, and junior Billy Loomis will carry Canfield’s colors to the Division I state golf tournament Friday and Saturday in Columbus.

They will be joined by senior Kelsey Ozanich of Howland, who qualified for the girls Div. I tournament as an individual.

Canfield will play its rounds at Ohio State’s Scarlet course, while Ozanich will compete on OSU’s Gray course.

Mike Murphy, in his first year as Canfield’s coach, led Ursuline High to the state tournament in 2004.

“Canfield is very coachable,” said Murphy. “ The kids do drills and anything else we want them to do.”

Canfield finished fourth in both the sectional and district tournaments.

“Schimmel had the low score [77] at the Candywood sectional and he led us at district with a 77,” said Murphy. “He’s on fire right now.

“The kids played district in a driving ran up at Pine Hills and didn’t do that well on the first nine holes,” said Murphy. “We had a meeting to discuss that and then went out an rallied on the second nine and shot 155 to get to state. The kids shot 348 and took 23 points off their district score last year.”

Murphy said the Cardinals had a work for play program at Canfield’s Kennsington golf course this season. They worked before school three hours a week.

“Kennsington is the toughest course in Mahoning County and practicing there dramatically improved us,” said Murphy. “It helped our guys improve by at least a couple of strokes.”

Murphy said Dublin Jerome is the elite team in the state tournament, having won it five out of the last eight years.

“We talked about it like the movie ‘Hoosiers,’ ” said Murphy. “It’s like no one expects us to win except us.”

Miladore, who has been playing golf for 10 years, said, “It would be a great accomplishment and feeling to bring home a state title. We owe it to our coach, parents and community to do that.”

Miladore carries a 4.0 grade point average is a member of the National Honor Society and Italian Club, plays in the symphonic band and plans to go to college and YSU is his top choice.

“My grandfather [Patrick Miladore] played competitive golf for OSU and i feel honored finally to be playing at the same course,” said Miladore.

“Coach Murphy takes advantage of any opportunity to work with us on the range and if wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be going to Columbus,” said Miladore.

“Playing for a Division I state title is as high as it gets, there is nothing like it,” said Hardy. “We feel practicing at Kennsington gives us a big advantage. When we play any course in the region it seems to make it easy. It has definitely brought down our strokes, but what it really did was prepare us mentally for the tougher courses.”

Hardy has a 3.8 GPA and is involved in Ohio Reads and goes once a week to a elementary school and helps kids who have difficulty reading.

“Our goal has been the same since early August when we met our new coach [Murphy],” said Hardy. “We talked about the last match to be played on the Scarlet course and we want to win and we know we aren’t favored, but realize that we are playing against the state’s top teams.

“There are 234 Division I boys golf teams in the state and we are one of the 12 remaining and honored having come that far,” said Hardy.

Schimmel and Bobby Eddy have 3.6 GPAs. Junior Billy Loomis, who is the No. 5 player, has a 3.8 GPA.

“He works hard and has really improved,” Murphy said of Loomis.

Ozanich, who shot her best round of the season [80] in the sectional at Tamer Win, said, “It is awesome that I am going to state.

“My goal is to go there and play my best and see what happens.'

Jack Hutchinson, in his fifth year as Howland’s coach, said, “Kelsey will be the first girl golfer I have taken to the state tournament. She is one of the hardest workers I have ever been around and practices all aspects of the game.

“Kelsey is a nice girl, polite, very respectful and she excited about going to state,” said Hutchinson.

She carries a 3.5 grade average and her nine-hole average this season is 40.6.

miller@vindy.com