Buckeye Valley senior Sam Reynolds capped a standout high school boys golf career by winning the Division II individual state title in a rain-shortened tournament at NCR Country Club in Kettering.
Reynolds shot a 2-over-par 72 in the opening round Oct. 6 and was awarded the title after play was canceled Oct. 7 because of bad weather.
“I definitely think I left my mark on this program,” Reynolds said. “I can’t do much more.”
Golfers reached the 10th hole in the second round before play was first delayed and later canceled. The final results reverted to the opening round.
The Barons’ bid for their first state team title fell short as they finished second (316) behind Kettering Alter (314), which won its fourth consecutive championship. Alter’s Andrew Gochenouer finished second, three shots behind Reynolds.
“I’m very grateful for the years I had with Sam and Matthew (Ralph),” Barons coach Mark Palaszuk said. “They worked their tails off and really cemented themselves in (Buckeye Valley) golf history.”
It was Buckeye Valley’s first state tournament since 2010. The Barons reached state by winning a district championship Oct. 1 at Turnberry, denying Columbus Academy a ninth consecutive district title and state berth.
“We’re super excited,” Paluszak said. “Our boys played extremely well (Oct. 6). We had a really good season. We played some really tough competition and we played some really tough golf courses so we could get prepared for the postseason.”
Paluszak was hoping his team could overtake the Knights on the second day, but rain dashed those hopes.
“It was torrential downpours,” Paluszak said. “We got off to a shaky start, but the golf course seemed unplayable. The greens had so much water on them.”
Harloh Hafner (80), Jace Haunhorst (80), Ralph (84) and Grayson Keller (93) also competed for the Barons.
High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at [email protected] and at @DispatchFrank on X.
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