STRONG SHOWINGS — The OVAC 5A All-Tournament team were, from left, Christopher Elliott, Drew Marling, Andrew Pennybacker (runner-up), and Cam Fallon (medalist). Morgantown’s Brody Williams, not shown, was also All-OVAC. – Nick Henthorn
WHEELING — While one team walked away with the trophy Thursday at Spiedel Golf Club’s Jones Course, Wheeling Park head coach Don Headley had a different notion of the ‘winner’ after the OVAC 5A Golf Championship wrapped up.
“The Jones course is always the winner up here,” Headley said. “It doesn’t matter who plays it or how you play it, the Jones course wins every time. You just try to survive it, shoot the best number that you can, and hold on in the last four holes- because we call the last four holes up here, ‘Amen Corner.’
“It’s hard to get through them and it’s hard to put good numbers on the board. You know, we entered Amen Corner with a big, big lead and we end up winning by two. That’s just how tough it is, it’s really a tough trek. And for as dry as it’s been this summer, the Oglebay crew has done a fantastic job making this place playable.”
Indeed, Wheeling Park survived and were crowned OVAC 5A champs Thursday, putting together a team score of 329 to barely eek out ahead of University’s 331.
The gold was Wheeling Park’s first championship since 2022. The Patriots had won five of the six OVAC 5A championships between 2022 and 2017.
Leading the way for the first-place Patriots was Andrew Pennybacker, who shot a 76, evenly playing the front nine and back nine with 38’s in each. Headley said that his standout senior wanted to perform well in his last OVAC competition.
“He’s been working really hard,” Headley said. “This is his last go-round, and he was trying to be the medalist today. You know, he came up a wee little bit short. He’s been on a grind lately to play this place really well. We played up in Canton on Monday and he played well up there, and it’s just been a grind and he’s put his mental fortitude toward this to make sure that he has a good remainder of the season. He’s not letting himself down, he’s not letting his teammates down. He’s cashing in on opportunities and he’s making this happen by his willpower.”
Pennybacker was joined by Will Koegler (80), Seth Weidner (85), and Owen Abraham (88) to make their team total.
Headley said he was retiring after this season, and after Thursday, his players had him going out on top as far as conference competition is concerned.
“This is quite a surprise,” Headley said. “We haven’t been playing great. We’ve been playing okay. And we knew that today was our day. We prepared for this. We wanted to have a good showing, whether we won or lost. We wanted to do well today and have the best team win. This was my last go-round, I’m going to retire after this year. So, it’s pretty cool.”
Medalist from the OVAC 5A tournament was Parkersburg South’s Cam Fallon, who played the tough Jones course to Par at a 71.
“Cam is a wonderful kid,” Headley said of Parkersburg South’s senior. “He’s been around for all four years. I know him like I know my own kids. I root for him and he’s just a wonderful kid, as are all the kids that went out there today. We have a pretty cool big school environment that we’re in, we all root on each other’s kids.
“We all want all the kids to do well. We have great relationships between all eight of us. And we just love playing against each other, and the best team comes out on top, and we congratulate them, and we try to get better and beat them if they beat us. But, what a wonderful conference to be in and a wonderful first-class bunch of schools and coaches that take care of that.”
After first-place Park and second-place University, John Marshall came in third place with a 337. Drew Marling led the Monarchs at a 79. There was a tie for fourth place between Steubenville and Morgantown, with Steubenville’s Christopher Elliott carding a 79.
Parkersburg South finished in sixth, Warren finished in seventh, and Brooke finished in eight with a 407. Dustin Engle’s 94 was tops among the Bruins.
Making the OVAC 5A All-Tournament team was Fallon, Pennybacker, Marling, Elliott and Morgantown’s Brody Williams.
Wheeling Park now looks on to regional play, where for the first time the Patriots will have to travel to Martinsburg under the WVSSAC ‘s new regional system, the first weekend of October, with states to being shortly after back at Oglebay.
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