ONTARIO — Nick Stehle and his Lexington teammates will need to amend their list of season goals.
Stehle shot a 74 and the Minutemen carded a 305 to win the 15 team McLean Invitational at Oak Tree Golf Club on a steamy Friday afternoon.
North Royalton was second with a 309. Ashland (317) was third.
One of Lex’s team goals was to win three tournaments this season. Friday’s title was the team’s fourth — all before September.
“We set that back in the winter and early in the season we’ve already got three wins,” Stehle said before all the final scores were posted Friday. “I don’t know if we need to readjust. We just need to keep rolling. We’ve got a lot of momentum going.”
How dominant were the Minutemen on Friday?
Benji Dreibelbis shot a 79 and his score was discarded.
“It’s awesome that we can have five scores in the 70s in one tournament,” Stehle said. “Any one of us can shoot low at any time.”
Taylor Wittmer fired a 75 for Lex, while Trevor and Jack Dials shot matching 78s. Austin Basham had an 86.
Remarkably, the 305 wasn’t even Lexington’s best team score this fall. The Minutemen shot a 304 at Legacy in Michigan.
“We have a goal to shoot 299 or better at one tournament,” Lex coach Greg Smith said. “We’re nipping at it.”
The round of the day belonged to Ashland’s Max Watson. The senior carded a steady 4 under 68 to claim medalist honors.
“I had it going tee to green,” said Watson, who tied for 17th at the Division I state tournament last fall. “This is the first time I went bogey-free in a high school tournament.
“I was really steady today. I made a couple of nice up-and-downs and other than that I hit almost every green. It was a stress-free round.”
Clear Fork finished sixth with a team total of 345. The Colts were led by Brock Dettmer, won shot a 76. Host Madison finished seventh with a 348. Ryan Chapman led the way with an 85.
Ontario was ninth with a 355. Lane Thomas shot a 79 to lead the Warriors.
Crestview tied for 11th with a 399. Hayden McMillen shot a team-best 91 for the Cougars.
Bucyrus shot a 406, while Mansfield Senior carded a 420. Reece Zeigler led the Redmen with an 81, while Tanner Harless had a 92 to top the Tygers.
