Indian Valley golf finishes fifth at rain-shortened state tournament

When Indian Valley’s golfers left the South Course at NCR Country Club after the first round of the Division II state tournament last week, they were feeling pretty good about themselves. They were sitting in fifth place, a mere six strokes behind Kettering Alter.

Unfortunately for the Braves and everyone else in the field and at the course – including, to a degree, Alter’s players and fans – that feeling never got any better.

The Southwest Ohio skies turned gloomy on the second day, the radar apps showed dark greens, bright yellows and even some reds. The field was sent out to play the second round, but not a single golfer finished and the two-day tourney ended with a damp thud.

As a result, the Braves’ fifth-place position after Day 1 became their final position. An outstanding finish, it nonetheless was not what anyone on the team wanted.

“Everybody’s disappointed,” IV coach Phil Rangel said. “We know we never really think about the weather, but those were the rules set out ahead of time. I would love for years going forward to look at getting something in writing where we finish no matter what.”

Some of Indian Valley’s players got as far as midway through the back nine. Some on other teams barely got started by the time players were told to shelter in place at around 1:30. Rangel said the plug was pulled on the event by 3:45 or so.

The Indian Valley fivesome, which played so admirably in the opening round, believed a state title was still in play.

“I feel bad for the boys,” Rangel said. “They put the time in. For all the kids, not just my kids. It’s very anticlimactic for the seniors.”

For Indian Valley, that means Brody Meade and Deagan Beaver, huge parts of this team, saw their careers end with the placements of ball makers as the weather delay was called.

The end of a prep career – and for many an athletic career – is solemn enough to begin with. Having to walk off the course without finishing is like leaving a basketball game early in the third quarter and reverting back to the halftime score.

It’s the nature of the beast with golf, though. You’re always sat the mercy of the radar and the sky. It’s also the nature of the high school state tourney, which is susceptible to quick fall weather changes

The state is helpless. In a perfect world, as Rangel said, the tourney would be played to completion. But players and fans are coming from all corners of the state and only have accommodations for a couple days. Parents have to get back to jobs, players have to get back to school, etc.

That said, it was easy to see Day 2 was likely going to be a wash and that days on either side of it would be about perfect. A contingency schedule would not have been impossible.

“From the standpoint of the high schools and that regard, and even of the golf course, I understand why it’s like that,” Rangel said.

On the course, not much could be culled in terms of how things might have finished if the rainy day could have been completed. Rangel said a couple of his players “were playing a lot better; a couple of guys were playing a lot worse. I know we had gained a couple of spots relative to the other teams. There’s always a chance that we finish great the last five holes.”

Rangel, though, was among the many checking weather apps.

“I feel lucky we at least got that much in according to what the radar looked like at 6, 7 in the morning,” he said. “I told the guys to stay positive and focus on what we can control. That’s not the weather. For a lot of them it was the first time playing through some bad, bad rain. They rose to the occasion.”

The day and the state tournament provided a bittersweet and to a spectacular season for the Braves. It’s one Rangel said he saw coming.

“We have a team that is one of the best in the state,” he said. “It’s not just 'can we make it to state,' it’s 'can we win state.' That’s been the talk all season long. It’s convincing these kids that they are top to bottom as a team, the deepest in the state. I know they believed it.”

They won’t be a one-hit wonder, either. Meade and Barber will move on, but others are waiting to take their places. Sophomore Hayden Beaber, who placed third in the medal race at the state tourney, leads a group of returners that also includes juniors Cam Enama and Philip Rangel.

“The seniors we’ll miss out on for sure, but we’ve got guys that were really fighting for varsity spots that were really close all coming back,” Phil Rangel said. “It’s gonna come down to how much can they commit and how much they want to improve.