By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Cooper senior Rylan Wotherspoon shot the low score in the Region 7 boys golf tournament for the third consecutive year and Ryle reclaimed the team title on Tuesday at Lassing Pointe.
Wotherspoon topped the leader board with a 6-under-par 65. He carded six birdies and one bogey to become the first three-time medalist in the region tournament since Ryan Clements of Ryle did it in 2015-17.
Rylan Wotherspoon
Ryle won the team title for the first time since 2017 with a score of 293 that was 13 strokes better than runner-up Covington Catholic.
The Raiders had three golfers among the top five scorers. Chris Harpum was region runner-up with a 2-under 69, Ben McDaniel was third with a 72 and Daniel Bailey tied for fifth place with a 74. The team’s fourth scorer was Palmer McKelvey with a 78
The Ryle team qualified for next week’s the 36-hole state tournament to be played Friday and Saturday at Bowling Green Country Club along with seven individual state qualifiers from Region 7.
Ryle won the Region 7 boys golf tournament with (left to right) Ben McDaniel, Chris Harpum and Daniel Bailey among the top five scorers on the leaderboard.
Wotherspoon, who lost a playoff for medalist honors in last year’s state tournament, will get another shot at the title. The only previous boys state champions from Northern Kentucky were Ray Hoffman of St. Henry in 1945 and Bruce Oldendick of Boone County in 1984.
The other Region 7 state qualifiers are Nathan Resing, Mitchell Gastright and Ian Asch of CovCath, Will Carter and Matt Schaefer of St. Henry and Will Stamm of Beechwood.
Highlands won the Region 8 boys tournament for the second straight year Tuesday at Henry County Country Club with two underclassmen leading the way. Junior Joel Craft was medalist with an even-par 72 and freshman teammate Hank Shick placed fifth with a 77.
Highlands claimed the region team title by a narrow 317-325 margin over Grant County to earn a state tournament berth. The other scoring golfers for the Bluebirds were senior Jack Schneider (80) and freshman Nate Surrey (88).
The list of Region 8 individual state qualifiers includes Andrew Beck and Griffin Schuetz of Brossart and Caleb Eaglin of Newport Central Catholic.
REGION 7 BOYS GOLF TOURNAMENT
Top 5 teams – Ryle 293, Covington Catholic 306, St. Henry 311, Cooper 316, Villa Madonna 345.
Top 10 individuals – Rylan Wotherspoon (Cooper) 65, Chris Harpum (Ryle) 69, Ben McDaniel (Ryle) 72, Nathan Resing (CovCath) 73, Daniel Bailey (Ryle) 74, Will Carter (St. Henry) 74, Mitchell Gastright (CovCath) 75, Matt Schaefer (St. Henry) 77, Will Stamm (Beechwood) 77, Ian Asch (CovCath) 77.
REGION 8 BOYS GOLF TOURNAMENT
Top 5 teams – Highlands 317, Grant County 325, Brossart 337, Owen County 341, Harrison County 347.
Top 10 individuals – Joel Craft (Highlands) 72, Tristan Mitchell (Harrison) 75, Brice Redden (Pendleton) 75, Joe Hamilton (Owen) 75, Hank Shick (Highlands) 77, Caleb Eaglin (NewCath) 78, Andrew Beck (Brossart) 78, Cedric Hoehn (Grant) 79, Griffin Schuetz (Brossart) 79, Kyle Lewis (Grant) 80.
