High school golf: Preston Trumpler, Medina teammates take in experience at state tournament

For senior Preston Trumpler, getting the opportunity to play the Ohio State University Golf Club's Scarlet Course with the rest of the Medina boys golf team was the perfect way to close his high school career. Over two days at the Division I state tournament, Trumpler shot a 21-over-par 163 to tie for 39th with Springboro junior Bradley Hinkel in the 72-golfer field. "I've dreamt of going to the state tournament since my freshman year, and to be able to do it my senior year was great," Trumpler said. "I don't have any regrets and won't be wondering, 'What if?' It was amazing to have this experience, especially with my whole team." The state trip was Medina's 15th, a county record. The Bees finished 12th out of 12 teams with a score of 646 after shooting 326 Saturday. Behind Trumpler, freshman Cam Stafford finished 53rd with a 170, sophomore Eli Zimmerman ended up in a three-way tie for 56th with 172, junior Ethan Cole finished tied for 69th with a 185 and sophomore Coen Miller finished 72nd with a 190. "We had a lot of fun," Trumpler said. "Our score may not have reflected that, but we went down there to have some fun, and that's exactly what we did. We made a lot of great memories down there." St. Ignatius repeated as champion — its fourth title overall — by holding off a hard charge by runner-up Mason, 610-613. The Comets shot the best round of the weekend at 294 Saturday, while St. Ignatius shot 303. Senior Nick Piesen led the Wildcats by winning the individual championship with a 6-over 148. Trumpler improved on his Friday round by three strokes when he shot an 80. He made up two strokes on the 542-yard No. 12 when he turned a bogey on Friday into a birdie on Saturday with a great second shot out of the trees to set up a 70-yard wedge and 15-foot putt. Trumpler was even through the seven holes but carded double bogeys on the last two holes before making the turn. "It's a difficult course," Trumpler said. "You can go low out there, but you have to play almost to perfection. Saturday started off really great. I had one bad hole and that led to another one, but I got back on track." Stafford shot 85s in both rounds. He carded seven pars on Saturday to give him a team-leading 16 for the weekend and birdied the 401-yard seventh Friday. "The dream is to be back next year, but nothing is guaranteed, so I just tried to have fun," Stafford said "To play a course of that caliber is an honor, so I really wanted to take that in. There's lots of schools that didn't get to go and our team had the privilege, so I wanted to cherish every moment." Zimmerman shot 88 Saturday, recording five pars to finish with 11. Cole carded 97 Saturday, notching three birdies to finish with nine. Miller shot a 93 in the final round with five of his six pars for the weekend. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results at par-71 Ohio State University G.C. Scarlet Course Standings: 1. St. Ignatius 307-303-610, 2. Mason 319-294-613, 3. Cincinnati St. Xavier 310-314-624, 4. Archbishop Hoban 318-308-626, 5. Columbus St. Charles 321-320-641, 6. Whitehouse Anthony Wayne 320-321-641, 7. Dublin Jerome 620-625-645, 8. Upper Arlington 336-317-653, 9. Springboro 337-335-672, 10. Massillon Jackson 336-336-672, 11. Green 345-336-681, 12. Medina 340-346-646. Medina (646): 39. Preston Trumpler 83-80-163, 53. Cam Stafford 85-85-170, 56. Eli Zimmerman 84-88-172, 69. Ethan Cole 88-97-185, 72. Coen Miller 97-93-190.