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Because of the cutbacks in the Toledo Public Schools, including the elimination of Libbey High School, schools outside of the TPS will not be able to play for some traditional City League championships this fall.
TPS high schools Bowsher, Rogers, Scott, Start, Waite and Woodward will not field golf or cross country teams, nor will they have freshman athletics. Junior high programs have been eliminated as well, due to TPS’ $39 million budget deficit.
“It’s a shame about Start and Bowsher (golf programs),” said Rob Belegrin, who begins his 13th season as Clay’s boys golf coach. “They’ve both had decent golf programs. Bowsher is kind of a storied program in golf. They’ve had some Division I players.”
Belegrin’s Eagles took fifth at last year’s CL tournament and graduated one key player in No. 1 man Jordan Wamer, a three-year letterman and a first-team all-league player as a senior.
“With this team, I hope to place (high) in quite a few preseason tournaments,” Belegrin said. “If we were still in the City League, I would think we would come in in the top three. Hopefully this group can be a team that, if they put it all together at the end of the year, could make it out of the sectional.”
Clay hasn’t reached the district tournament level since 2000.
“This team has a lot more depth and talent than that team did,” Belegrin said. “On any given day with this group, anyone can shoot a 75. It’s going to be fun. These kids have played a ton of golf in the summer and they really like the game. You can tell because they’re really committed to it.”
Belegrin expects last year’s No. 2 man, senior Doug Waldmannstetter, to lead this year’s group. Waldmannstetter, who earned second-team All-CL honors a year ago, should be challenged by sophomore teammate Nick Breier.
“I expect Doug to be No. 1, but it will be close with Nick,” Belegrin said. “We have a great young team and kids who can shoot good scores at a young age. Nick could be No. 1 on any given day, but Doug has experience and leadership. He’s been on the varsity for three years and is just a solid, steady player. He’s a good student and a good individual. There’s no drama with him and he plays golf that way, too.”
The coach has high expectations for Breier, an honorable mention all-league player in 2009.
“Nick is a special player,” Belegrin said. “Golf is his life. He’s just a little guy with a tremendous short game. He’s honed his swing to add some distance off the tee and get a little more accuracy. He shot some great summer scores in Toledo Junior Golf tournaments and he could be on the verge of being really special.”
The Eagles also return second-team All-CL performer Derek Belkofer, a sophomore, and junior lettermen Hudson Sabin and Blaine Davies.
“Hudson is a natural striker of the golf ball with a ton of talent,” Belegrin said. “Derek is a natural athlete and he puts that athleticism into his golf. You see what happens when you have an athlete who plays golf instead of just a golfer who golfs.”
Freshman Blake Heilman also has a huge upside, according to Belegrin.
“He has been playing golf since he was 6, in tournaments,” the coach said. “He has put a lot of work into it and is going to do some good things right off the bat.”
Sophomore Luke Davis, junior Tyler Brown and senior Vinny Giovanoli will get a chance to crack the starting lineup for Clay this season.
CARDINAL STRITCH
Second-year coach Jeff Hess returns six lettermen from last year’s team, which took third in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference.
Gone from that team are Gabe Pinciotti, a first-team All-TAAC player and a three-year letterman, and honorable mention all-conference player Chad Merren.
The Cardinals’ returning lettermen are seniors Corey Linser and Cameron McCormick, juniors Ben Hahn, Derek Scott and Shane Goetz, and sophomore left-hander Brennan Crawford.
Linser and Crawford earned honorable mention All-TAAC honors a year ago, and Hess said he looks for Linser to be the Cardinals’ No. 1 man this season.
“He absolutely loves the game,” Hess said. “He devotes all his time in the summer to improving. I feel he’s going to be a really good leader for the team. He can hit a variety of shots and I think he’s got a handle on his game. He has a good knowledge of the game.
“Brennan Crawford is going to be right up there for us. Being young, he shows a lot of poise and patience for the game. He’s kind of like Corey. He’s well-rounded and he’s really worked hard on his putting from last year. That’s what kind of hurt him last year, but he’s able to turn the page and move on. Ben Hahn played in every match for me last year and I expect his game to improve. I think he’ll be a good team leader, too.”
Hess added that he expects Stritch to be a more well-rounded team from a year ago.
“I hope to be real competitive,” he said. “Being a year older, that’s going to be so much better. I think we’re going to be a challenger in the TAAC.”
NORTHWOOD
The Rangers took fourth place at last year’s TAAC tournament under coach Reese Snyder, who begins his 14th season.
Snyder will have to replace last year’s conference player of the year, Louis Fahrbach, who became the first Northwood boy to ever qualify for the state tournament (he tied for 16th). The Rangers also must replace No. 2 man Andy Bloomfield, an All-TAAC performer.
The Rangers’ returning lettermen are seniors Ryan Langenderfer (honorable mention all-conference), Marc Canaday and Seth Frank along with sophomore Brandon Hoffman.
“The one-two punch is going to be Ryan and Marc,” Snyder said. “They are pretty much interchangeable. They’re going to be good, but we’re trying to look for more consistency out of them. After that, Seth will probably in the No. 3 spot followed by Brandon. They haven’t played as much as I hoped they were going to play, but hopefully they will get a lot of playing in in August and then play better in September.”
Snyder said one of Northwood’s goals is to finish in the upper echelon of the TAAC.
“We’ll know more about it after we see a few teams,” Snyder said. “Everybody lost a lot from last year except for Ottawa Hills, and they have everybody back. We’re going to start out being a little bit green and hopefully they will settle in. The quicker we see some consistency, that will be the test.”
OAK HARBOR
Eric Sweet was just named the Rockets’ new coach in May, so he’s still trying to get a handle on his new team’s overall game.
Oak Harbor finished near the bottom at last year’s Sandusky Bay Conference tournament but returns an older lineup that includes seniors Jeremiah Helle, Tom Witt, Matt Shiffert and Kyle Hayes and junior Matt Witt, Tom’s younger brother.
The Rockets’ other potential top players include sophomores Andrew Benner and Bryce Rubie and freshman Andy Rathbun.
“Matt Shiffert is probably our No. 1,” Sweet said, “and our Nos. 2 and 3 are probably Jeremiah and Tom. Our No. 4 and 5 are probably between Kyle and Matt, but things change with scores and stuff. I am getting more familiar with them. We met a few times over the summer. In golf, anything can happen and my goal for my team is to get four scores in the 40s per match or per invitational
“Our goal is to improve from last year and be competitive. We’re going to try to play our best golf and go out there and win and, hopefully, that gets us into the middle of the pack in the SBC.”
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