Golf team wins league tournament, breaks school record

The Wildcat boys golf team has had a strong showing on the green this season. Shown in back (from left) are Ryan Hobbs, Matt Schultz, Head Coach Terry Kelley, Keaton Cleland and Jacob Sharpe. In front are Dean Petersen, Hayden Durant, Ryan Hall, Tommy Ottoy and Adam Gillespie. Photo provided.
The Wildcat boys golf team has had a strong showing on the green this season. Shown in back (from left) are Ryan Hobbs, Matt Schultz, Head Coach Terry Kelley, Keaton Cleland and Jacob Sharpe. In front are Dean Petersen, Hayden Durant, Ryan Hall, Tommy Ottoy and Adam Gillespie. Photo provided.

The Varsity Wildcat boys golf team has had a strong showing on the green this season and, on May 21, it broke the Oxford High school record during a league tournament.

The Cats took first-place at their second league tournament with a score of 294, putting Birmingham Groves in second-place.

The Cats broke OHS’ previous school record of 296 that day.

Petersen and Cleland both shot a 74 that day while Schultz and Ottoy both scored 73 points.

“I think our last match kind of said it all… It was very tense but our five and six came through with the scores that won the match and I think that says something about our team and that was to keep their undefeated league season,” said Head Coach Terry Kelley.

Now that their regular season has ended, the team touts a 7-2 overall score and stands undefeated in the league in dual matches.

Among the team’s top Cats are co-captains junior Keaton Cleland and senior Tommy Ottoy, according to Kelley.

“They have both definitely been the leaders of the team, both athletically and by example. They had excellent seasons and they had our two leading scoring averages,” he said.

Kelley said that sophomore Matt Schultz and senior Dean Petersen have also played well for the team this season.

“Matt was a starter last year and has continued to play well for us this year. He would probably be our third-leading scorer. Dean is a senior who came up from JV and has really been a solid anchor for us,” Kelley added.

Throughout the 2018 season, Kelley said his team’s “cohesiveness” has served as their greatest strength as members have supported one another and worked to better one another.

“In golf, it’s more of an individual sport, but they still stick together,” Kelley said.

While the Cats have been a force to be reckoned with throughout the season, there is always room for improvement according to Kelley.

“We still work on basic skills every week. We don’t get very many kids who come directly from their country club with six years of professional help so it takes them a while to develop those skills. But the team has managed to keep bogeys to a minimum and that’s helped them score well,” said Kelley.

Overall, Kelley said this season’s group of golfers have been a “fun bunch to work with” and that he’s proud to say they’ve “just kept on winning.”

“This team is kind of special,” Kelley said. “They tied our school record earlier this season at our first league tournament and then they broke that record last week at the second league tournament. They finished in the top five in half a dozen different tournaments. They had an excellent tournament record. They were undefeated in the league in dual matches.”

On Thursday, May 31, the team is scheduled to compete in the Oakland Activities Association Boys Varsity Golf Regionals competition.

 

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