Decatur Shares Bayside, District Titles

Shawn J. Soper
Sports Editor

BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's varsity golf team won a share of first-place in the Bayside and District VIII championships last week at the River Marsh Golf Club in Cambridge, tying Kent Island with a low team score of 342, but fell just short of qualifying as a team for the state tournament.

The Seahawks, impressive all season from top to bottom, tied Kent Island with a low team score of 342 last week at River Marsh at the Hyatt in Cambridge to earn a share of first place in both the Bayside and District VIII championships. However, both team fell just two shots short of qualifying for the state tournament later this fall. Parkside was third in the Bayside and District VIII tourney with a team score of 343.

Bennett's Zack Sterling turned in a low score of 77 to win the individual title, while Decatur's Jake Miller and Joe Iacona each shot 79 to share second place in the tournament. As a result, Miller and Iacona have qualified for the state tournament and will represent Decatur at College Park later this fall. In addition, Decatur's Nikki Rafer shot a 94 last week at River Marsh to win the District VIII title and qualify for the state tournament.

Decatur leads the Bayside South team standings with a conference-low 11 points, followed by Parkside at 13. Miller leads the Bayside South individual standings with a low average of 38.3, followed closely by Parkside's Brenan McAllister (38.7) and Bennett's Sterling (38.9). Three other Decatur golfers are in the Top Ten in the Bayside standings including Iacona (41.1), fourth place; Connor Gebhart (41.5), fifth place; and Rafer (41.9), sixth place.