Indian Valley boys golf secures IVC South crown, eyes district play

Boys golf

It was a heck of a week for Indian Valley’s boys golf team. The Braves might just be getting things started. 

On Sept. 18, Indian Valley won the Inter-Valley Conference South Division championship after shooting a stellar 277 to win the IVC postseason tournament by 29 strokes over runner-up Malvern at River Greens Sept. 18. 

Deagan Beaber shot a school-record 66 to lead the Braves, edging teammate Brody Meade by a single stroke. Logan McPeak shot 71 and Phil Rangel added a 73. Meade McPeak each shot a personal-best in the final tourney. The Braves, who set a school record with their team score,earlier won the preseason tournament by nine strokes over Hiland at Great Trail. 

The Braves followed that by finishing as runners-up at the River Greens Sectional Sept. 23. They shot a 295 to finish eight strokes behind champion River View. Beaber shot 81 to lead the Braves. Meade followed with a 85, Hayden Beaber shot 79 and Cam Enama shot 83. 

Claymont shot 337 to place fifth, missing a district berth by one spot. Owen Lindsey shot 78 to place 14th, earning an individual trip to districts. 

District play will be Sept. 29 at Eagle Sticks Golf Club in Zanesville. 

Cross country

Some of the best from the area and beyond competed last weekend at the Sandy Valley Invitational. Indian Valley and Newcomerstown each tested their mettle against some heavy hitters. 

In the large-school girls race, Indian Valley was seventh among the seven teams, which included Division III state No. 1 Minerva and Division I, No, 15 Massillon Jackson. Braves freshman Rowan Harshey placed sixth overall. Sophomore Blaire Hershey came in 20th, freshman Bailey Herbert was 31st, freshman Sam Wales was 52nd, and freshman Ellie Holbrook was 65th, to round out the Braves’ scorers. For Indian Valley’s boys, junior Nolan Patacca came in 13th. Sophomore Ayden Colaner finished 81st. They were was their school’s only competitors.

For Newcomerstown, senior Trenton Wright 13th and junior Landyn Rodriguez came in 11th in the boys small-school race. Freshman Clara Allen finished 33rd to pace the girls team, followed by junior Kaylyn Kinsey (41st), senior Maggie Smith (55th), sophomore Lilliana Lopez (57th) and sophomore Ariah Gamble (67th). The team placed ninth among nine in a small-school field that included Dalton, Carrollton, East Canton and Malvern

Winning the small-school boys race was Union Local junior Connor Bendo. Dalton, with three of the top five finishers, won the team race. Canal Fulton Northwest junior Luca Novakovic won the large-school boys race, which Division III, No. 9 Minerva won as a team. Junior Ida Estadt of Shenandoah won the girls small-school race, with Dalton also winning that title. Louisville senior Kylah Meyer was the top big-school girl finisher, with Minerva doubling up with that team championship.

Volleyball 

Heading into the week Indian Valley trailed Hiland by half a game in the IVC south standings. The Braves were 9-5 overall, 5-1 in the conference. Hiland, 14-1 overall and ranked No. 7 in the state in Division VII by the coaches association, was 6-1 in the IVC. The teams are set to meet again Sept. 30 at Indian Valley. The Braves split matches last week with Sandy Valley, winning 3-1, and Minerva, losing 3-0. Against Sandy Valley, junior Lily Lewis led the way with a 17-kill performance. Junior Zoey Braun had four aces. Junior Reese Polen led with 18 blocks, two more than junior Gionna Miles, and junior Brooklyn Abduhl chipped in 29 assists.