It was the first overall CBC championship for the boys, and the first divisional title for the girls. You might say it was a great day for the Knights.
“We didn’t play very well at the beginning of the year,” said veteran boys coach Steve Norris. “It was probably the third weekend before the kids really started getting it. I think they didn’t really know how close they were to being good.”
They found out quickly. Greenon, 13-1 overall, finished 8-0 in divisional play, winning 13 straight dual meets to end the regular season. It has served as a nice encore for Norris, who led the program for 12 seasons before resigning in 2012 due to health reasons. Adam Billet took the team over for three seasons, but when Greenon’s athletic director job came open this summer, Billet took it and Norris was ready for an encore.
“It was good timing,” said Norris. “I missed it more than I thought I would.”
Norris’ experience has made a difference.
“I think I’ve been able to help them with the mental side of the game,“ he said. “For the most part, I left them alone technically. Adam did a nice job with them on that.”
Mad River player of the tear Jake Richards (38.5 stroke average for nine holes) has led Greenon, followed by Chris Winters (40.2), Beau Blase (43.5), Jonathan Meese (45.7) and Brennen Kumbusky (46). All but Blase (a junior) are seniors.
The Knights boys hope the momentum carries into Tuesday’s sectional tournament at Reid Park in Springfield. They made it to district last year after finishing second in the sectional, but have never had a state qualifying team or individual, according to Norris.
What has been the difference this year?
“I think it is just a mental thing,” said Norris. “They are starting to realize we are good, that we can do something special here. They’re believing in themselves.”
The girls are 15-2 overall, 6-0 in divisional play and competed in their sectional Monday at WGC in Xenia.
Mad River player of the year Jo Wisecup (43 average) leads the team, followed by Ali Rairden (47), and Mallory Bates and Haley Webb (both 55). All are seniors, except Rairden, who is a sophomore.
“I don’t think any of us saw this coming,” said fifth-year girls coach Todd Shuttleworth. “We started out with the core group, and things got better and better every year.
“They got a little bigger and stronger each year, and we got off to a good start, too,” he continued. “We won our side of the preseason league tournament. After that, I really started to see the girls thinking, ‘Maybe we have something here.’ ”
Shuttleworth hopes the new success will translate into more interest in the program.
“Hopefully this encourages more girls to come out,” he said. “That’s the key, because we have to reload with having three seniors this year. I think the school is starting to talk about girls golf, too, and not just the boys.”
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