Local Trio Qualify For Regionals At Conference 21 Golf Tournament

Posted: September 30, 2014
By ROBERT NIEDZWIECKI
The Winchester Star

STERLING — Schools from Loudoun County captured the major hardware Monday at the Conference 21 golf tournament, but one golfer from each of the three Frederick County schools went home knowing that the ultimate destination is still in reach.

Sherando sophomore Brett Loy and seniors Jeremy Mills (Millbrook) and Roger Repasky (James Wood) were the only three local golfers who competed Monday at Algonkian Golf Course to qualify for the 4A North Region tournament, which takes place Oct. 7 at the Ivy Hill Golf Club in Forest.

If last year is any guide, James Wood coach David Oates figures those three could be back at Ivy Hill for the Group 4A state tournament on Oct. 13 and 14.

“Last year five of the six individual qualifiers who went on to state were from Conference 21,” said Oates (conference champion Loudoun County also advanced as a team last year). “This is some of the top competition we’ll probably see all the way through.”

Loy — who won the Conference 21 mini tournament on Aug. 25 at his home course of Shenandoah Valley Golf Club with a 3-under 68 — shot an impressive 2-under 70 Monday.

But he had to settle for second overall behind Dominion’s Kurt Funkhouser, who was masterful on his home course with a 5-under 67. Funkhouser helped the Titans earn one of the two team qualifying spots, as Dominion recorded a four-player score of 304 to place second behind defending champion Loudoun County (297).

The top six individuals not on Loudoun County and Dominion also advanced to regionals, and Mills tied for the third-best score among those golfers with a 77 (Mills tied for ninth overall) and Repasky (tied for 12th overall) shot a 78 to earn the final qualifying spot.

None of the local teams made a real push for team qualification, as Sherando took fourth (319), Millbrook fifth (323) and James Wood seventh (332).

Loy — who took second at last year’s Conference 21 tournament to Repasky — said he felt he had a strong round on a day that finished under overcast skies and a slight drizzle.

“I hit the ball pretty well and got off the tee,” said Loy, who had three birdies and one bogey. “I didn’t miss too many fairways. If I did, it was in play.”

Loy birdied a par-5, a par-4 and a par-3, with his tee shot to within 15 feet of the hole on the 217-yard par-3 16th his favorite moment of the day.

Monday was the latest in a season of performances that has Loy hoping he can earn his first state berth.

“I should have a pretty good chance if I keep playing the way I am,” Loy said.

Rounding out the rest of Sherando’s team score were rounds from Jonah Pearson (81) and Josh Hogue and Mason Scott (84 each).

“It would have taken our best round [to qualify as a team], and we just didn’t quite put it all together today,” Sherando coach Rob Wright said. “We missed some putts. Most of them played the course three times, including today, and they said all three times the greens were different. [Grass] had grown back in from aeration.

“We seemed like we were playing OK. We just couldn’t score.”

Still, Sherando had much to be pleased about this year. With essentially the same team as last year, the Warriors consistently shot better than they did at the same tournaments in 2013.

It all added up to a Northwestern District title, and Collin Ordonez is the only senior who was a fixture in this year’s lineup.

“If you look from last year to this year, I think there’s tons of improvement,” Wright said. “We were a little inconsistent, but we always had four pretty good scores to use — they just came from different people. We’ve got a lot to build on.”

Though Loy and Repasky have advanced to the region tournament before, Mills will be making his first trip. A year ago Mills’ score of 88 on his home course of Rock Harbor was only the fourth best on his own team, but Monday affirmed once again how much his game has improved since last year.

On Saturday, Mills also shot a 77 during a practice round at Algonkian, and he said that gave him a lot of confidence going into Monday.

“[The course] is fairly narrow, so you have to hit a good drive to score on this course,” said Mills, who had one birdie, on the par-3 No. 12. “I hit my driver pretty well today. My driving has improved a lot in this past year. I’m hitting 25 to 30 yards farther, and I have a lot more accuracy.

“As a senior, this is huge. It’s my first time going to regionals, and it was my last shot.”

Millbrook coach Mark Manspile said he was proud of Mills for following up what he did in the practice round, as well as his team, which moved up two spots from last year’s conference finish. Others who made up the team score were Ryan McCarty (79), Andy Kim (83) and Brian McGuire (84).

“The practice round on Saturday I think really helped our kids,” said Manspile, whose only senior in the top six Monday was Mills. “There’s no real tricks [on this course], you can kind of see what you’re getting yourself into. I think we played really well, and I think this will give us good momentum for next year.”

Repasky — who made the state tournament as a sophomore — will be making his third consecutive trip to regionals.

It did not come easy by any means — Repasky did not have a single birdie. But even though he let out a couple groans over the last four holes, he played them in 1-over par to avoid a playoff with two golfers who finished a stroke behind him.

“It was a grind out there today,” Repasky said. “Short game, chipping and putting. That’s what grinding is all about, trying to find a way to make par, and I did that a lot today. It feels good to make regionals again.”

Oates spoke with Repasky just before he started his final four holes, and he was glad to see him do what he needed to do to qualify.

“We’ve talked a lot the last week or so about finishing strong in these bigger tournaments,” Oates said. “Doing that can make a big difference. A lot of kids played those last few holes, 2-, 3-, 4-over, and that’s where Roger made up the strokes. Other kids fell by the wayside, but Roger finished strong and got through, and that says a lot about his character.”

James Wood also had rounds of 85 from Hunter Hall and Ben Marsh to cap a solid season for the Colonels.

“I think it was a successful season,” said Oates, whose team finished second in the district regular season. “A lot of kids really improved.”

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