Golf team places fourth in state tourney

Conner Stevens, second from left, and Justin Atkinson, second from right, were named to the First Team All State Golf Team.

Conner Stevens hit his approach shot on the fourth hole.
“Come on,” his grandfather, Mark Thompson, urged the golf ball. “Get there.”
It did, hitting the green and sticking, leaving a short putt on a hole that he parred.
“That’s a great shot,” Thompson said.
Stevens hit a number of great shots today (Oct. 12), the second day of the state championship golf tournament at the Ohio State University Golf Course in Columbus. As a team, Stevens and his fellow Brookfield Warriors – Justin Atkinson, Jake Shingledecker, Kenny Montgomery and Cameron Wellman – all hit great shots. They just didn’t hit enough of them to walk away with a trophy. The team came in fourth, shooting 323 on Friday and 346 today for a two-day total of 669, falling behind Berlin Hiland at 628; Columbus Wellington, 644; and Canton Central Catholic, 649.
Justin tied for second place as an individual, shooting a combined 149 to fall one shot behind the winner, Aidan Schumer of Wellington, and Justin and Conner, who shot 150, both were named to the Ohio All State Team.
Coach Larry Smoot had hoped this would be the year the Warriors won the state championship, having been here for four years in a row and coming in second last year.
But, Smoot said, the players have nothing to be ashamed of.
“I’m proud that we’ve been here for four years, but it’s sort of bittersweet,” Smoot said. “I mean, it’s over with and I thought, after yesterday, we would have had a better showing today. Conditions were tough, and I think the kids played well. Maybe, the competition was equal to us.”
The second-day conditions appeared to have an effect, as all of the Warriors except for Conner shot a higher score than they did the first day.
“It was really windy and really cold,” said Jake, who had played golf just once before he tried out for the team as a freshman. “It was hard to even grip the clubs. My hands were so cold. It got a lot better towards the end there.”
Conner, who started playing golf at age four with Grandpa Thompson, said he took extra time on his shots to try to catch the wind at a down moment, and Justin, who led the tournament after the first round with a 71, said the ball doesn’t travel as far in colder temperatures.
Conner said the conditions can’t be blamed for the problems with his long game.
“It was bad this week,” he said. “I was everywhere. I was left and right. We squeaked out a couple good scores. It’s OK.”
“Didn’t really have everything with me today,” said Justin, who started playing golf with his dad, Jeff. “Struggled, pretty much, with every aspect. Just a tough day. It’s golf. You have those.”
The result seemed a little harder on sophomores Cameron and Kenny.
“I seen tears after they were done,” Smoot said of his young golfers. “They felt, like, maybe, they let us down a little bit because their scores weren’t what their (seniors) scores were, but I look at all the experience they just gained, how many kids don’t get to do this. There’s 12 schools of five (players, in the tournament), so that’s 60 kids, and there’s 12 more individuals so there’s 72 kids here, I think it’s out of 204 schools. That’s impressive. Even though they didn’t get what they quite wanted, they gained so much in experience and memories. I don’t think not winning is gonna hurt them at all. I think it will pay off in the end.”
The tournament ended the high school golf careers of Conner, Justin and Jake, but Justin said he’s already looking forward to the next level.
“I know I’m playing college golf (at the University of Findlay), so I’m excited for that,” he said. “It will definitely be sad leaving all my friends.”
Justin; Conner, who is attending Youngstown State University; and Jake, who is sifting through college offers, have been friends since they were little, and Conner said the three have become “brothers.”
“It’s gonna be weird,” Conner said of playing college golf without Justin and Jake. “I might play against them (in college), so who knows.”
Smoot said he teases his seniors that, when they started playing for him, he was taller than them. That is no longer the case.
“They were 14,” Smoot said. “Couldn’t drive, now they’re driving; taking college classes; got girlfriends; made their college choices, where they’re gonna go play golf. It’s really something to see how they’ve grown up.”
Smoot said the three took Cameron and Kenny into the brotherhood.
“They help them out all the time,” the coach said. “When we practice, they practice together, and they’ll help them with different situations, different shots, any little thing; they don’t mind taking their time out to help the kids. They tease with them like they’re big brothers, that’s what’s pretty cool. Not only are they teachers, they’re like brothers to them and pick on them a little bit. Really close-knit group of kids for all sophomores and all seniors.”
Looking to next year, Smoot said he doesn’t expect the team will repeat at state. Yet, that does not mean he doesn’t have high expectations for Cameron, Kenny, sophomore Bobby Lucarell, and whoever fills out the team.
Kenny said his goal is to make it back to state before he leaves high school.
“I hope I can get back for my senior year,” Cameron added.