St. Mary CC dominates River tournament

OREGON — Blake Finneran has had a standout senior season, but he got plenty of help as St. Mary Central Catholic dominated the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division boys golf championships. Finneran earned medalist honors with a 3-over-par 75 at Eagles Landing Golf Club in Oregon, leading SMCC to the team title and the River season championship. The Panthers finished with a total of 318 on Tuesday to easily outdistance runner-up Woodmore (345). New Riegel (346), Calvert (349) and Danbury (351) rounded out the top five. SMCC had a slight edge over Calvert for the season title heading into Tuesday's round, but beat the Senecas by 31 strokes. "It proves that our team is a tournament 18-hole team," SMCC coach Sean Finneran said. "I feel like our best scores have been in 18-hole tournaments. It's something to build on. We have the Erie County Tournament (Friday at Plum Brook Country Club) and then sectional and districts. "Just solid all around. We had six scores in the top 25. That's really good and gives us confidence." All four SMCC players on the scorecard finished in the top 10 individually. Blake Finneran birdied No. 1 and carded four more birdies to top off a season in which he won medalist honors at all eight River shootouts, plus Tuesday's showing. SMCC won three shootouts and finished second in four. "It was so up and down; I couldn't find my consistent swing," Finneran said. "I don't know if I had a single good drive, but it felt really good (to win the team title). I didn't have any pressure going into the last hole and I was able to rely on my team." SMCC junior Pravir Gorty shot a 79, senior Jack Davis carded an 81 and freshman Joey Finneran finished at 83 for the Panthers. Gorty and Davis each shot career-best rounds. Gorty had two birdies and eight pars and played the last four holes at even par. "He's put the work in and has practiced a ton," coach Finneran said. "It's fun to watch; he's hitting real good golf shots." Davis, a foreign-exchange student from Australia, shot 45 on the front nine and 36 on the back. His wild round included three birdies and an eagle on the back nine. The eagle came on the par-4 No. 15 hole. "He cut the corner a little bit (on the dogleg) and it worked out perfectly," coach Finneran said. Junior Leo Will shot an 89 and freshman Griffin Torrey shot a 92. The Panthers, who celebrated by stopping at Barnside Creamery on the way home, won the program's first conference championship since going back-to-back in 2014 and 2015. Danbury's Frankie Kovach tied for second among individuals with a career-best 77. Also scoring for the Lakers were Evan Sandvick (88), Danny Carroll (93) and Miles McDonald (93). In the girls tournament, Danbury finished fourth at 397. Miranda Evans led the Lakers with a 89, good for a tie for fourth among individuals. Ashley Lewis was eighth at 95. Fremont St. Joseph's Ryan Dickman was medalist with a 76. Boys team scores 1. St. Mary CC, 318; 2. Woodmore, 345; 3. New Riegel, 346; 4. Calvert, 349; 5. Danbury, 351; 6. Old Fort, 356; 7. Lakota, 357; 8. Hopewell-Loudon, 397; 9. Fremont SJCC, 398; 10. Gibsonburg, 400; 11. Northwood, 466 Top 10 individuals 1. Blake Finneran, SMCC, 75; 2. Blake Moes, New Riegel, 77; 2. Frankie Kovach, Danbury, 77; 4. Parker Boss, Woodmore, 78; 5. Pravir Gorty, SMCC, 79; 5. Luke Jenkins, SJCC, 79; 7. Cody Adelsperger, Old Fort, 81; 7. Jack Davis, SMCC, 81; 7. Mason Busdiecker, Woodmore, 81; 10. Joey Finneran, SMCC, 83; 10. Weston Burns, Calvert, 83 Girls team scores 1. Old Fort, 377; 2. Hopewell-Loudon, 379; 3. Fremont SJCC, 396; 4. Danbury, 397; 5. Woodmore, 444; 6. Calvert, 456; 7. Gibsonburg, 487; 8. New Riegel, 540 Top 10 individuals 1. Ryan Dickman, SJCC, 76; 2. Aubrey Cline, Hopewell-Loudon, 81; 3. Sarah Combs, Old Fort, 87; 4. Kristin Combs, Old Fort, 89; 4. Miranda Evans, Danbury, 89; 6. Claire Hunker, Old Fort, 91; 7. Megan Boes, Hopewell-Loudon, 94; 8. Ashley Lewis, Danbury, 95; 9. Addie Peterson, SJCC, 96; 9. Mylie Alt, Hopewell-Loudon, 96