MOUNT VERNON — Ben Bridges nearly missed the cut during the first two rounds of the Division I postseason.
By the time the curtain fell on his senior season, Mount Vernon’s left-handed ace was standing on the podium at The Ohio State University Golf Club.
The newly-minted All-Area Player of the Year, Bridges tied for ninth at the Division I state tournament at OSU’s rugged Scarlet Course. He followed his opening-round 79 with a 75 and a two-day score of 154.
“Finishing here just feels great,” Bridges said at the time. “Just being a freshman, dreaming of being here, and then finally being here at Scarlet, it just feels really good. And then getting to the top 10 made it feel way better.”
The Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year, Bridges tied for eighth at the Denison sectional with a 77. He won a playoff to secure the second of three individual district-qualifying bids up for grabs.
A week later, Bridges fired a 73 at the Apple Valley district to grab the third and final state-qualifying berth.
“There are very few people that get to finish their career, no matter what sport it is, on a high note,” Mount Vernon coach Anthony Savage said. “He’s gonna be one of those few players in the state … that feels like, ‘Hey, I finished my career on the up-and-up.’
“It’s awesome.”
Bridges is joined on the All-Area team by a pair of Ohio Cardinal Conference rivals and two members Galion’s Division II powerhouse program.
Kamden Mowry, Ashland: A senior, Mowry was runner-up to Bridges in the Ohio Cardinal Conference Player of the Year chase. He tied for first at the Sycamore Springs sectional tournament with a 74 and finished ninth at the Shawnee Country Club district with a 79.
Nick McMullen, Galion: A senior, McMullen helped lead the Tigers to a seventh-place finish at the Division II state tournament. McMullen fired a two-day 164 at OSU’s Scarlet Course, finishing alone in 20th place. He tied for fourth with a 77 at the Woussickett sectional and tied for fourth with a 75 at the district tournament at Eagles Landing.
Logan Keller, Galion: A junior, Keller joined McMullen on the Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference first team. He tied for 30th at the state tournament with a two-day 171. Keller tied for seventh with a 78 at Woussickett and tied for eighth with a 78 at Eagles Landing.
Trevin Smith, Lexington: The senior earned a spot on the Ohio Cardinal Conference first team and nearly grabbed the only state-qualifying berth available at the Shawnee district. Smith tied for fifth at Shawnee with a 77, two strokes behind Elida’s Carson Harmon. Smith tied for ninth at the Sycamore Springs sectional with an 85.
