High school golf: Late rally lifts St. Charles boys
Sunday, October 25, 2009 3:39 AM
By Jarrod Ulrey
After his team played poorly in this season's second tournament, St. Charles golf coach Anthony Mampieri told his players they had two options.
They could have fun, relax and shoot for goals such as winning the Central Catholic League championship.
Or, if they were willing to refocus, he thought they had the talent to contend for the Division I state title.
The Cardinals proved yesterday on Ohio State's Scarlet Course which goal they chose, as they endured rain and wind to shoot 309 and win their first championship.
After rain kept Friday's first round from being completed, St. Charles rallied by shooting 1 under par in the final six holes to edge Cincinnati St. Xavier (313) and Cleveland St. Ignatius (315) for the title.
"I'm just so proud of these guys because they're a group of guys who were committed to a goal," Mampieri said. "I told them that I thought they had what it takes to win a state championship. We were ready to go."
None of St. Charles' players shot better than 40 on the front nine, but all five improved their scores significantly on the back.
Sophomore Nate Yankovich finished with 35 on the back nine for a 75 and finished tied with three others for second behind West Chester Lakota West's Korey Ward (74), who won his second straight title.
Junior Alex Carpenter also shot 35 on the back nine for a 76, tying for sixth. He was followed by senior Andrew Steffensmeier (79), junior Michael Ricaurte (79) and junior Daniel Wiegandt (79).
"We just stayed mentally tough and battled the elements," Yankovich said. "This has been a goal of ours since grade school, to win a state tournament."
Dublin Coffman finished fourth (322) and Dublin Jerome eighth (330). Junior Thomas Dunne led the Shamrocks with a 78, followed by juniors Zach Elkins (80) and Logan Holt (81). Jerome senior Logan Jones shot 77 to finish tied for 11th with Mount Vernon junior Charlie Phillips. Watkins Memorial senior Corey Weisenstein finished with a 79.
