ASHLAND — The course and the elements may have gotten the better of Lexington, but Ashland Golf Club’s tight layout and the blustery conditions didn’t seem to bother the host Arrows.
Max Watson and Tyler Sabo shot matching 76s and the Arrows took runner-up honors at the Weiss Invitational on a wet and windy Thursday afternoon.
Ashland finished with a team total of 322, six strokes behind champ Chardon Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (316). Lexington (344) was a distant eighth in the loaded 17-team field.
“The tree-lined fairways and the wind blowing sideways hurt us today,” Lex coach Greg Smith said. “It was a real challenging day for us.
“Our team is not made up of a bunch of ball strikers. We’re grinders but today the course got the best of us. That’s golf.”
Playing with its top five players for one of the few times this year, Ashland didn’t have any trouble making its was around its home course. Tate Wick and Nathan Mohney each had 85s, while Aiden Baker carded a 99.
“We’ve not really hard our top five together until just the other day,” Ashland coach Dave Chapman said. “To shoot a 322 against a very good field, I’m pleased with the way our guys played.
“We left some strokes out there, but I’m really happy with the kids.”
Lexington was led by Nick Stehle, who carded an 82. Trevor Dials had an 85, while Cayden Durchik shot an 86. Benji Dreibelbis (91) and Taylor Wittmer (93) rounded out the field for the Minutemen.
Lexington and Ashland will likely duke it out for the top spot in the Ohio Cardinal Conference this fall.
“We love playing Ashland. They have great players in their program,” Smith said. “You want to play your best when you are playing against the best players and we didn’t do that today.”
In addition to Lexington and Ashland, OCC challengers Mount Vernon and Wooster were also in the field. The Yellow Jackets were 10th with a 359, while Wooster *(368) was 13th.
“The conference is tough,” Chapman said. “You can never rule out Lex, Wooster or Mount Vernon. It will be a battle.”
