MEDINA, Ohio (Aug. 9, 2023) -- Rocky River took ninth place in Wednesday's Walker-Jones Classic at Shale Creek Golf Club.

All four River scorers were within 9 strokes of par on the 6,803-yard, par-71 track in Medina, Ohio. And Pirate coach David Hendrickson saw the squad's week 2 Wednesday action as a big lift for a team that has thus far been up and down.

"Today was definitely a step in the right direction for us," said Hendrickson. "The level of competition out here today was amazing, and it’s good for us to see that level of competition early in the season. We shot a season low today, and we’re hopeful that even better days are ahead as we follow our process throughout each week."

The process was certainly productive in Wednesday's round at the event hosted by Medina High School. The Swinging Corsairs filed a four-man score of 312. That's River's best number since a 305-312 loss to Avon Lake in an Aug. 17 match at Big Met Golf Course last season. It's the team's best tournament score since the same date a year ago when the Pirates scored a 312 in the St. Ignatius Classic at Red Tail Golf Club.

The Shale Creek event included 19 top-shelf teams from around the Buckeye State, so River's ninth-place finish put it in the first division in the standings.

Rocky River's four scorers were Luke Dietrich (37-37--74), Dan Capka (39-40--79), Caden Lawrence (39-40--79), and Nick Tianello (40-40--80). That quartet hit 46-of-72 greens (63.9%) while averaging 35.8 putts.

Dietrich's 74 was built on the solid foundation of one birdie and 15 pars. The senior owns a 76 average through three events this season.

Cincinnati St. Xavier fired a 288 to nip St. Ignatius (291) for Wednesday's title. Toledo Anthony Wayne's Logan Sutto went 4-under (67) in carding medalist honors.

The Sons of Blackbeard are scheduled to play in the Brunswick Tee-Off Classic at Pine Hills Golf Club (Hinckley) Thursday.



by Skip Snow

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