ARCANUM — Eaton was eight strokes away from dethroning SWBL golf-powerhouse Oakwood during the Southwestern Buckeye League Tournament at Beechwood Golf Course on Thursday, Sept. 24.
The Eagles shot a 324 to Oakwood’s 316, landing them at second place in the tournament and second place overall in the SWBL’s Southwestern Division.
While this will mark the fourth year in a row that Eaton finished as a bridesmaid, the Eagles did bring home the top two golfers of the league in Cameron Willis and Sarah Willis.
Cameron was the tournament medalist, shooting a 72 and winning the SWBL Southwestern Division Player of the Year honor. Sarah tied for second, finishing her round with a 75. She was named first team All-SWBL.
“We do believe that this is the first time ever that a brother and sister have finished first and second in a boys’ league tournament in the state,” said Eaton golf coach Tim Appledorn.
Cameron finished the season averaging .375 under par for the year and Sarah ended the regular season averaging 1.875 shots over par.
Sean Hodges earned an honorable mention nod for Eaton as well. He shot an 89 on the day.
Rounding out the top four for Eaton was Trevor Pittman, who shot an 88 on the day.
The team heads out for sectionals on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The boys will travel to Pipestone Golf Course and Sarah will head to Stillwater Valley to play in the girls’ sectional.
On the Buckeye Division side, Preble Shawnee finished fourth in the tournament, shooting a 397.
“I am very happy with their performance at the tournament. All our players improved by eight to 12 strokes,” said Shawnee head coach Roy Lucas.
The Arrows’ Kyle Fryer finished the tournament second overall in the division, ending his round with an 83 and earning second team All-SWBL honors as well.
“(He) was a solid number one player. He beat most of his opponents and I could count on him to have a low score – high 30s, low 40s,” said Lucas.
Colton Pugh earned an honorable mention for Shawnee as well, shooting a 101 on the day.
Also golfing for Shawnee was Johnny Cottingim with a 99, Michael Fritts with a 114, and Craig Doty with a 135.
Shawnee finished the season in fifth place overall.