Boys golf: In first year in Division I, Buckeye qualifies to districts

AKRON — The Buckeye boys golf team advanced to the district tournament for the first time as a Division I program on Tuesday. Led by Blaise Bir's 7-over-par 78, as well as 79s from Luca Violi and Michael Valus, the Bucks shot 318 to finish third at the J.E. Good Park D-I Sectional and advance to the Pine Hills District on Monday. The last time Buckeye advanced as a team past the sectional was in 2012, when the team was D-II. "The whole entire year, our coach (Bob Miller) said that teams don't really think they have to worry about us," Bir said. "We really wanted to change that this year. I think we did. Hopefully, we can keep it going in the future." Medina (315) also advanced behind a 76 from Trent Riedel and a 77 by Declan West. The Bees finished second to Archbishop Hoban (301). Wadsworth (327) finished one stroke behind the final team district qualifier, North Royalton. Because of the fifth-player tiebreaker, the Grizzlies actually were two strokes from advancing to their second district in four years. Wadsworth senior Michael Fahey advanced as an individual for the first time in his career after carding a 75 for the second time in less than a week at Good Park. Advancing to the district was a sweet validation for Fahey, who finished second individually to Hoban's Ben Berridge (68) after he was in contention last year before fading. He birdied the 353-yard 15th hole, which led to playing the final eight holes even. "I'm exhausted, more mentally than physically," Fahey said. "It was a fight. I was struggling out there for a little bit. I held it together and made some putts. My putting was amazing today." Also advancing was Highland freshman Michael Caza, who carded a 79 to finish as the third of four individuals. Teammate and classmate Noah Krietemeyer (82) was one stroke from forcing a playoff with the final individual qualifier, Chase Filomena of Copley. Caza birdied the 15th hole and had eight pars to highlight his round. "I'm a freshman, so it's pretty cool to be here and doing well," he said. "It was pretty hard, but I got up and down a lot and putted pretty well." Riedel finished strong to lead the Bees. He birdied the 292-yard 12th and the 523-yard, par-5 No. 14, sandwiched around a par. After a bogey on No. 15 he finished with three straight pars to come in 1 under over his last seven holes. West was incredibly steady on the back, parring eight straight holes before a double bogey on No. 18. The Bees also got an 80 from Cam Stafford and an 82 from Elliot Morgan. Making its ninth straight district appearance, Medina has the experience to know that it has to find places to shave a few strokes off if it is to make a third trip to the state tournament in four years. Last season Medina was the last team out of the district with a 305. "We definitely have some things to work on," Riedel said. "We can't be shooting this at district if you want to go to state. There's definitely strokes we can make up." Bir was consistent with 12 pars, six on each side, and avoided anything higher than bogey until taking a double on No. 18. "I played some practice rounds out here and they were both pretty good," he said. "That gave me a lot of confidence coming in. I changed up my game plan and went driver off every par 4 and par 5. I think that helped a lot and led to me shooting the 78." Violi had 11 pars and also only had one hole worse than bogey, a double on the ninth. Valus, a freshman, birdied the 138-yard fourth and added nine pars. Benjamin Lange rounded out the Buckeye scores with an 82. He birdied Nos. 12 and 13 and had five of his six pars on the front. Contact John Urchek at jurchek@medina-gazette.com. Results at par-71 J.E. Good Park G.C. Standings (Top 4 teams advance to Pine Hills District): 1. Archbishop Hoban 301, 2. Medina 315, 3. Buckeye 318, 4. North Royalton 326, 5. Wadsworth 327, 6. Revere 332, 7. Highland 333, 8. Padua Franciscan 336, 9. Copley 338, 10. Brunswick 344, 11. Wooster 370, 12. Normandy 373, 13. Barberton 394, 14. Valley Forge 422. Individual qualifiers: Michael Fahey (Wa) 75, Tommy Kinder (Re) 76, Michael Caza (Hi) 79, Chase Filomena (Co) 81. Medina (315) — Trent Riedel 76, Declan West 77, Cam Stafford 80, Elliot Morgan 82, Colin King 90. Buckeye (318) — Blaise Bir 78, Luca Violi 79, Michael Valus 79, Benjamin Lange 82, Andy Kost 87. Wadsworth (327) — Michael Fahey 75, Ajay Hill 83, Chase Otradovec 84, Bennett Nichols 85, Colten Patrick 92. Highland (333) — Michael Caza 79, Noah Krietemeyer 82, Hayden Hoyt 86, Austin Valore 86, Jun Kim 90. Brunswick (344) — Connor Wokoun 85, Luke Stella 86, Liam Cooney 86, Braedon Sopko 87, Ethan Kovacs 90.