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Rapp’s ace gets Poland to state
By aLEXIS BARTOLOMUCCI
Alex Rapp helped secure a state-tournament berth for Poland with a hole-in-one Tuesday in the Division II boys district golf tournament.
Rapp’s ace came on the 163-yad No. 14 at Windmill Lakes Golf Course and was the difference as the Bulldogs edged Hawken by one shot to take the third and final team qualifying spot for the D-II state tournament.
Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin took first place with a score of 300, Ursuline came in second with 327 and Poland came in third with 331.
“It was kind of crazy,” Rapp said. “I didn’t think it was going to go in.”
Rapp said he is ready to continue to move on to the State Tournament and compete against Ursuline. He and his teammates are friends with several players from Ursuline’s team and enjoy going head-to-head with them.
“Playing against Ursuline is always fun and competitive,” Rapp said. “I look forward to being with my team and playing golf.”
Leading the Bulldogs were Rapp with a 78, Zach Howard with an 82, Jake Snyder with an 84 and Luke Nord with an 87.
“It’s not every day that a hole-in-one propels a team to the state championship,” said Matt Morgan, Ursuline’s boys and girls golf coach.
Ursuline’s Carl Ross had a score of 76 and was fifth among individuals.
“Carl has said for four years that Windmill is one of his favorite courses, and he was an absolute beast on the course today,” Morgan said.
This is the first year Morgan has made it to state as coach and he and his team are happy to make the trip and to compete against Poland.
Ross led the Irish with his score of 76, Seamus Chrystal had a 79, Drew Murphy shot 82 and Colin Faloon 90.
Morgan said the break-through performances from Ross and Chrystal really made a difference in how the match played out. He said the boys played as a team and earned it as a team.
“The one thing that stood out about today to me is how classy the coaches and players from Mooney and South Range were,” Morgan said. “Those are the types of things you remember as a coach for years.”
South Range (334) was fifth. Cardinal Mooney (358) was ninth.
The D-II state tournament is Oct. 13-14 at North Star Golf Club in Sunbury.
DIVISION II GIRLS
No Mahoning Valley girls teams or individuals qualified for state out of the D-II district at Tam O’Shanter in Canton.
Independence (345) and Laurel (354) took the team qualifying spots. Allison St. Clair of Northwestern shot a 77 and finished second among the individuals to qualify for state. Nikki Selzer (80) of Keystone took the second individual qualifying spot.’
Among local teams, Cardinal Mooney (387) placed fourth, Champion (416) took seventh and Lakeview (434) was 11th.
The D-II state tournament will be at Ohio State on Oct. 13-14.
diviSION i BOYS
Boardman’s Cole Christman shot a 73 and finished second among individuals in the sectional at Tannenhauf Golf Club in Alliance. Bryan Kordupel (76), Cade Kreps (77) and Brian Terlesky (82) also helped the Spartans (308) finish second as a team and clinch a district berth next week. Green (296) won the team title. Massillon Jackson (316) was third and Uniontown (333) was fourth.
The D-I Districts will be held on Oct. 11 at Pine Hills Golf Club in Hinckley.