They’re seeking their fourth straight title this fall with a team that returns defending Division II co-medalist Matthew Kreusch and seniors Andrew Gochenour and Charlie Anderson.
“We’ve been blessed to have a really good run over these last eight seasons now making the state tournament,” said Knights coach Alex Schuster. “I think competition breeds success, and success breeds competition. The kids on the team know they’ve got to play at a certain level if they want to be in that conversation to be with our top group playing in the postseason and playing some of these big tournaments that we play in throughout the course of the year.”
The Knights, led by Kreusch, Anderson and Gochenour, have 37 kids in the program this season.
“All three of them, as well as some other players, have had really strong summers and are looking forward to getting the season started,” Schuster said.
The Knights have won the state title on three different courses over the last three years. The first one came at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course where they beat Columbus Academy by 16 strokes. Alter set a state tournament record with a two-day score of 596 at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury. Last year, they won the title with a 598 at Firestone Country Club in Akron.
“It’s great to have just a great bunch of kids that are really focused on performing consistently,” Schuster said. “It’s been really cool because we’ve been able to each year these past three years, compete for the state title at a different venue. Unlike a lot of other sports, golf is as much about the venue as it is about the competition because you’re competing against the course as well as the other teams that are there. It’s just been really cool being able to go to Ohio State and up to North Star, and then Firestone in Akron last year was a great experience for us and a great venue.”
There’s even more incentive to get back to the state tournament this fall. The D-II state tournament is being held at NCR Country Club in Kettering.
“It’d be great to hopefully, God willing, be able to see us play in the state tournament here at NCR, and be able to have maybe more of the student body and our school community come out and support,” Schuster said. “That would be awesome, and having it locally certainly makes that possible.
“We have to get there first.”
The Knights’ quest for another state title begins Saturday at the Dublin Coffman Invitational at The Country Club at Muirfield Village.
“That’ll be a test for the kids,” Schuster said, “and it’s a tough course and a lot of strong teams (in the tournament). We’re excited to get the season going.”
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