Depth driving Waynedale boys golf's blistering start

Few programs have a rich history like the Waynedale boys golf team, which is littered with legends like Grant Weaver, who earned Freshman of the Year in the Big Ten in 2011. To the late Deegan Bee (2022) and others like Dylan Ledford (2019), Steve Sprunger (1994), Mark Speaks (2000), Aaron Detweiler (2003) and Ean Miller (2021), it’s a program with a standard of excellence and an expectation of success.

It’s what makes what happened on Monday, Aug. 4 and Tuesday, Aug. 12 that much more impressive.

On Aug. 4 the Waynedale golf team of Jordan Miller, Hank Miller, Brayden Schlabach, Cameron Miller, Logan Troyer and Cooper Miller was simply dialed in. Just how dialed in? History-making dialed in as they fired a school-record 143 at Riceland Golf Course on the back nine. That broke the previous record of 147, set in 2019 by a team of standouts like Ledford, Ean Miller, Alex Pittman and Thad Weaver.

“This was one of our goals coming into this year, to break that,” Jordan Miller said. “To do it in our first match of the year, that was a fun experience."

Jordan Miller spearheaded that historical performance with a 1-under-par 34, and he wasn’t alone as Hank Miller and Schlabach both carded a 1-over-par 36. Cameron Miller carded a 37, and two scores that many area teams would love to have, a 41 by Troyer and a 45 by Cooper, were discarded.

“It’s awesome,” Jordan Miller said. “We know each other so well, and we don’t have any problems with each other. It’s just fun. We golf every day, and we just love it.”

And as for that depth.

“It definitely takes the pressure off us,” he said. “We are very deep, and a lot of teams don’t have that. It really helps us because the six man could beat me or the two. (It's) really nice to have that insurance.”

Golden Bears coach Melinda Budd couldn’t have agreed more.

“This group just loves to play golf," Budd said. "We can use a lot of different combinations and not lose a lot if we need to. They are all an important part to where we want to go at the end of the season.”

Just three days later at Windmill Lakes Golf Club in Ravenna, Jordan Miller and company were right back at it. This time he fired a 70, Cameron Miller carded a 72, Troyer a 78 and Schlabach an 82 as the Golden Bears won the Yank Heisler Invitational with a 302. The next day they won the Hillsdale Invitational with a score of 309 behind Jordan Miller’s 74, Hank’s and Troyer’s 77s, and Cameron’s 81 at Ashland’s Brookside Golf Course.

They kept the train rolling with a 304 at The Pines on Monday, Aug. 11 to win the Deegan Bee Memorial. Jordan Miller took home medalist honors with a 71 while Hank Miller fired a 72, Troyer an 80 and Hudson Barkman an 81.

Yet all of this proved to be a warm-up act for what happened the next day at The Elms Country Club in a dual match with Tuslaw. Again, Jordan Miller set the tone with a 73 and was followed up by Hank Miller and Troyer with 75s and Cameron Miller with a 77 as they combined to tie the school record for the program’s best 18-hole team score with a 300. That matched the feat done by Ledford, Thad Weaver, Ean and Trey Barkman in 2019.

“I knew it was possible,” Budd said. “To start like that right at the beginning of the season, that sets the tone, and they keep raising the bar for themselves. It’s also very comforting to know that you don’t have to push them. They push themselves, but to shoot the way they did at Windmill, I think that’s really driving them.”

Just adding to the feat are the scores they didn’t need but would have been leading scores for many area teams. Barkman fired a 79, and Cooper Miller finished with an 86 on the history-tying effort. Making it more impressive, they are all back next year.

"We’re only going to get better as the year goes on,” Jordan Miller said. “I am really excited to see how we play the rest of the year."