In the meantime, Bellbrook faded out of team contention for one of the three state tournament berths and finished fifth. Springboro, however, kept it going and placed third to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2015 and the seventh time ever.
But C.J. Scohy, a sophomore, stayed in contention for the individual title. He got to the tee on No. 18, and the coach asked him if he wanted to know the situation. C.J. knew he had a one-shot lead on two of his playing partners, but he didn’t know the big picture, which was a double-bogey would be good enough to be one of three qualifiers to the state tournament.
“My coach told me to aim at the trees to the left and play it safe,” C.J. Scohy said. There were a lot more trees on the right, so the advice was sound.
“I pushed it a little into the fairway, and then I had perfect number going into the green,” he said. “I hit a 50-degree, almost flew it in, had like 10 feet and dropped it in the right side.”
All he was trying to do was lag it close for par, but the birdie gave him a 1-under par 70 and a two-stroke victory. He got a big, “Yessir, yessir!” from his dad when the final putt fell. Then a big hug and more hugs as supporters flooded the green.
“It feels great,” C.J. said about winning and going to state with his dad as coach. “I even saw him tearing up a little bit on the last green. Couldn’t be better.”
Scohy bogeyed No. 7 and No. 8 before holing out on the fly from a greenside bunker on No. 9 for an eagle. He bogeyed No. 10 but birdied No. 14 and No. 18.
“As the pressure got more, he started hitting it better, so that’s a really good sign,” said Jeff Scohy, who played in the state tournament as a junior at Mount Gilead High School. “And with all the people out there he stripes two shots, drops in the putt. Super proud of him.”
For Springboro, the feeling of accomplishment was strong. The Panthers shot 311 to finish behind favorites Mason (297) and Cincinnati St. Xavier (302) and were clear of Lakota East by five shots to send coach Justin Martin to his first state tournament with the entire team. He went twice with Jordan Gilkison, who won state in 2020.
“To go as a team that’s another level,” said Martin, who became head coach in 2016. “These guys have been so consistent, and they’ve just worked so hard all offseason. I couldn’t be more happy for those guys.”
The Panthers, playing on their home course, were led by juniors Gavin Augenstein (75) and Bradley Hinkel (76). Senior Kyler Alvey and junior Jack Rott each shot 80. Junior Eian Cambria shot 86.
“It was hard,” Augenstein said. “The wind just made it incredibly challenging all day trying to figure it out. And then the speed on the greens – it was rolling very fast.”
Augenstein shot 75 last year and missed going to state by one shot.
“Wow, I’ve wanted this just so bad since last year,” he said. “The entire year the goal was just make it to the state tournament. Doing it as a team is even better.”
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