Boys golf: Freshman Trent Riedel leads Medina to third-place finish in Brunswick

HINCKLEY TWP. — The Medina boys golf team hopes that Wednesday is a sign of things to come. Led by freshman Trent Riedel's sterling 2-under-par 70 that tied for third individually, the Bees shot 294 to finish third in a stacked Brunswick Tee-Off Classic field at Pine Hills Golf Club. It was the best score by the Bees since shooting 293 in 2011. Medina finished just four shots behind champion St. Ignatius (290) and one behind Green. Medina's second round under 300 in three events this season carried a little more weight because the Bees hope to be back in two months for the Division I district tournament. "We have it in us," Riedel said of the Bees' ability to go low. "Losing to Ignatius by four strokes isn't bad at all. Ignatius is very hard to beat this year, and to beat so many of the other big schools that are here right now is special." Austin Valore carded a 78 to lead Highland (329) to 12th out of 19 teams. Valore birdied a pair of par 5s — the 481-yard fifth and the 483-yard No. 15 — to turn in his best score of the season, six strokes better than the previous day at the Walker Jones Classic hosted by Shale Creek Golf Club. "Well, after (Wednesday), I knew I had to kind of turn it around, especially my tee shots," he said. "I went to the range (Wednesday), and that really helped me with my round to keep it in the fairway. I started making some putts after I figured out the pace of the greens, and that really kind of secured my round." The 18th-place host Blue Devils (360) were led by senior Braedon Sopko's 89. Sopko got hot near the end of his round, parring four straight holes, beginning with the 402-yard 13th. Medina got contributions from all over its lineup. Cam Stafford turned in a 72 that included six birdies, as he recorded four of them in a six-hole stretch to start the back nine. Fellow senior Colin King posted a career-best 75 that included three birdies. He was 2 under through five holes and under par again after a birdie on No. 15. King did not go over par until a double bogey on No. 18, with five holes left to play. "It was feeling great," he said. "I started off strong with a two-putt for par. I tried out a new putter today, and it did me great. I hit a lot of greens, didn't put myself in big trouble and got a couple breaks, too." Sophomore Declan West rounded out the Bees with a 77 that included birdies on the 430-yard sixth and 511-yard seventh, his second and third holes. He added birdies on No. 15 and the 406-yard first hole. Back-to-back late birdies put Riedel in position to challenge St. Ignatius' Jackson Sommer (67) for medalist, but a bogey on the 310-yard third, his final hole, dashed those dreams. Still, Riedel tied with Hudson's Jerry Du and Massillon Jackson's Raffaele Scassa, one stroke behind runner-up Silas Kirkpatrick of Green. After a bogey on his first hole, No. 4, Riedel got back to even with a birdie on No. 7 and was 1 under after a birdie on No. 10. He got back to 1 under with a birdie on No. 15 and stayed there the rest of the round. "I'm feeling good," Riedel said. "I didn't like how I ended with a bogey, but it's whatever. I left a couple out there, but still got 70 on a difficult course, where we're going to have districts. It was good to get the feel for the course at this time of the season." Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results at par-72 Pine Hills G.C. Standings: 1. St. Ignatius 290, 2. Green 293, 3. Medina 294, 4. Massillon Jackson 300, 5. Hudson 301, 6. Uniontown Lake 304, 7. University 306, 8. Archbishop Hoban 307, 9. New Albany 313, 10. Stow 317, 11. North Royalton 327, 12. Highland 330, 13. Mentor 340, 14. Nordonia 344, 15. Padua 348, 16. Massillon Perry 352, 17. Willoughby South 354, 18. Brunswick 360, 19. Strongsville 381. Medina (294) — Trent Riedel 70, Cam Stafford 72, Colin King 75, Declan West 77, Elliot Morgan 83. Highland (330) — Austin Valore 78, Hayden Hoyt 82, Michael Caza 84, Jun Kim 86, Tyler Bell 86. Brunswick (360) — Braedon Sopko 89, Connor Wokoun 90, Liam Cooney 90, Colton Sulima 91, Luke Stella 92.