Photo by
Seth Staskey
Magnolia’s Alex Parker tracks his tee shot on the fourth hole of the MOVL Championship held Tuesday. Parker won the medalist crown with a round of 81.

BEALLSVILLE — Monroe Central head coach Jared Highman had some nervousness Monday evening as he thought about the upcoming Mid Ohio Valley League Golf Championship.

The nerves actually didn’t settle down until the last score was posted Tuesday afternoon at the Switzerland of Ohio Country Club.

Highman, who also served as the tournament manager, anxiously punched the final scores into a calculator on his phone to come up with the team total of 358 for his Seminoles. A few minutes later, he entered Frontier’s and came up with an identical total of 358.

However, when the fifth score was considered, the Seminoles prevailed and claimed their first MOVL title in school history, fending off the Cougars, who had a 101 as a fifth score, which was two more than the Seminoles.

“I felt more excited than these boys, knowing what we could do as a group,” Highman said. “It was tough on me. I was (sitting at home on Monday) nervous as heck because I knew what could happen if we played well.”

The Seminoles played well enough, but according to Highman definitely not their best.

“We left a lot of strokes on the course,” Highman said. “We showed some improvement and had a good start. This course was playing tough today, but hopefully this round will help us in the sectional (next Tuesday) at Cambridge Country Club.”

The Seminoles were fueled by a trio of All-MOVL performers. Earning the accolade were Austin Sloan, who posted an 83, freshman Zander Potts, who finished with an 87 and Jake Binegar, who signed for a 92.

The fourth score that counted was Jake Winland’s 96. Casey Bettinger’s 99 proved to be the difference in the tie-breaker.

Frontier was led by a trio of All-MOVL players in Karter Satterfield, who finished with an 85. Ike Kiggans posted an 88 and Evan Cunningham swung the club 91 times.

Magnolia, which won the team title last season, produced the individual champion for the second straight season.

Senior Alex Parker shot a 38 on the inward 9 and finished with a round of 81 to claim the medalist honor.

“If I am being honest, I could have (played) so much better,” Parker said. “I honestly feel like I got lucky because I know there are people out here who are better than me. Winning this, as a senior, means a lot to me. I am really starting to play well, so this means a lot to me, especially since this is one of our last matches.”

Magnolia’s Faith Yoho was the low female in the event, posting a round of 95. She was seven shots better than Shadyside’s Grace Green. River’s duo of Sierra Littleton and Kiera Saksa both earned All-MOVL by posting a 106.