All-Ohioan Jack Mast, Hiland both place third in D-III state golf
SUNBURY ― After taking the first-round lead in the Division III state golf tournament, Hiland senior Jack Mast had designs on winning a state championship.
And perhaps leading the Hawks to a state title.
Alas, it didn't quite work out for either of them Oct. 14 on a challenging NorthStar Golf Club layout. But both still had solid showings after missing the state last year.
Mast owned a one-shot lead with his 2-under-par 70 during first-round play on Oct. 13, but slipped to a second-day 78. His 148 still tied for third with a pair of golfers from champion Warren John F. Kennedy, good for first-team All-Ohio.
"Yes, the pin placements were a little tough today, but I think it was mostly day two nerves in a big environment," said Mast who was a stroke short of going to state in 2024. "My short game was pretty good, but I was scrambling all day like crazy. I grinded as hard as I could, played as hard as I could, and it just wasn't my day. It happens. Our team fought hard."
On the first day, Mast had four birdies, two bogeys and 12 pars during his 34-36.
"I shot par all day, and had some crazy good saves," he said.
But he rode a roller-coaster the next day with his 40-38, that included three bogeys and a double bogey on the front, followed by two double bogeys and an eagle, on the par-516th hole.
"He really improved this year and worked super hard," coach Austin Kaufman said. "He had a chance today, but couldn't quite get it done. He was a good leader and helped all the other guys."
Kalida sophomore Paul Stechschulte had a sizzling 4-under-par 140 (71-69) to win the individual state title by five strokes over Youngstown Mooney's Alex Eckstein, who carded 145 (75-70).
Warren JFK ran away with the team championship, totaling 618, 23 shots better than runnerup Pettisville's 641, while Hiland took third at 643.
Hawks' junior Andrew Breun also made All-Ohio, carding 153 (79-74) to place eighth and make second-team. He fired 37 on each nine on the second day, closing out with a birdie on number 18.
Sophomore Jesse Conn posted 169 (87-82) and junior Grant Bille had 179 (83-96) as Hiland's other scorers
"I thought we had a chance to come back against JFK, if we played well, but that would have been hard. That was their third straight title," Kaufman said. "It would have been nice to bring that second=place trophy back, but it was pretty tough for us out there today. They still battled hard and overall played well. I'm proud of them."
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This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: All-Ohioan Jack Mast, Hiland both place third in D-III state golf
