Eaton boys golf finishes 7th at SWBL, 13th at Sectional

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EATON — Eaton’s boys golf team finished their season with a seventh place finish at the SWBL Tournament on Sept. 24 and a 13th place finish at the OHSAA Sectional Tournament on Sept. 30.

At the SWBL Tournament, the Eagles finished with a team score of 400, led by Henry Kochensparger with an 80, followed by Travis Pittman (93), Kameron Sandifer (103), Ty Crammer (124), Jacob Erbaugh (132) and Derek McCoy-Dudas (133).

Kochensparger earned Second Team All-SWBL honors after his performance throughout the season and in the SWBL Tournament.

Eaton coach Derek Lucas said that the finish wasn’t what they were hoping for, and that they struggled with managing the course.

“We let some bad shots hurt us much more than they should have,” Lucas said. “Pittman’s 93 was impacted with a stretch of three bad holes. He played much better than a 93. Kochensparger’s 80 was his best 18-hole round to this point, which included a 39 on his front nine which is also a career best. Henry’s 80, as well as his regular season play, earned him Second Team All-SWBL honors.”

At the OHSAA Sectional Tournament, Kochensparger led the Eagles again with an 89, followed by Pittman (90), Crammer (117), Erbaugh (136) and McCoy-Dudas (146) for a team score of 432.

Lucas said he was pleased with how the Eagles played considering the conditions.

“There’s a different pressure playing in this tournament and I thought we handled it well,” he said. “The weather played a big factor as it was constant wind gusts throughout the day. Kochensparger had one bad hole that really put him off track, missing districts by five strokes. Pittman battled his short game to shoot a 90. He struggled with his swing throughout the round trying to find a groove. I was impressed with Ty Crammer and his 117. He really stuck it out and managed to keep a decent round together.”

Overall, the Eagles finished with a 1-9 record, but Lucas said he is proud of the growth his team saw this year.

“The early success of winning the Preble County Tournament was exciting,” he said. “That really gave us a great boost to start the year. I felt we were able to compete in most matches. We just lacked a consistent fourth score. We had to take some higher fourth scores which put us behind most teams.”

He added that it is going to be different next year with the loss of Pittman and Sandifer to graduation.

“They have both been great assets to the Eaton Golf Program and I could not be more proud of them as they move on,” he said.

Lucas said Eaton’s future is bright with Kochensparger returning for his senior season.

“Second Team All-SWBL is no joke when you compete with teams like Oakwood and Bellbrook,” he said. “He puts an unbelievable amount of work into his game and I expect big things from him in 2021. With four varsity players to return (Kochensparger, Crammer, Erbaugh, McCoy-Dudas), we will be looking for much more improvement next year.”

By Braden Moles

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Reach Braden Moles at 937-683-4056 or on Twitter @BradenMoles

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