Top-ranked Orioles win tri-meet

By Jake Thompson Flyer Correspondent

May 07, 2008 07:39 pm

— AVON — As the groups from the Avon, Brownsburg, and Tri-West boys’ golf teams trickled onto the outside terrace of Prestwick Golf Club following the completion of their rounds Tuesday, one member of the No. 1-ranked Oriole team — Bryan Whitt — was the center of many congratulations from parents and players alike. Whitt, who shot a two-under 34 for the day, took it all in stride before getting in the back seat of a teammate’s car and riding home.
“It feels good to get my first one of the year,” Whitt said, referring to his individual medalist title. “I hit the ball good and played with no mistakes. It also helped that I putted pretty good, too.”
Avon won handily over its two county foes with a score of 140. Brownsburg shot a 173 and Tri-West carded a 184 as they could not keep up with the hot-shooting Orioles.
Three other Avon players were within one shot of Whitt and his two birdies. Patrick Rodgers and David Janney were each one-under at 35 while Ronnie Harris shot even par with a 36.
It was unusual for the Orioles not to have Andrew Wegeng in that list, however, Avon coach Brent Sailor believes it just shows the strength of the team.
“I think it is good that a couple of our players struggled today,” Sailor said. “It is great that (the rest of the team) stepped up and took over. It was good for all of us to realize that Wegeng is human. They can take from this knowing if someone has a bad day there will be someone else there.”
Sailor said that has been the case the entire season as the team has had four different medalists. If one or two players have an off day, knowing their teammates can pick up the slack is a tremendous confidence boost for a player to have.
“It is good knowing we all shoot well,” Whitt said. “There is not a lot of pressure while we are out there because of that.”
The Bulldogs low score came from Jacob Western (42), followed by Joe Gerking (43). Brownsburg’s last two golfers, Chris Breslin and Jack Barrett, each shot a 44.
Rigel Hahn led Tri-West with a 43, followed by teammates Nate Rhodes (47), Tucker Stout (45), and Justin Kuhns (49).
Avon — winner of each invitational it has participated in this season — looks toward the final stretch of the year. Sailor said it is always hard for the athletes to concentrate when school begins to wind down, but remains confident about where the team is at mid-season.
“We are a little ahead of where I thought we would be at this time,” Sailor said. “We want to keep them in check and begin to fine-tune some things down this run to the end. We will work on mechanics, body position, putting, and hand position.”

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