By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
The annual showdown between the Ryle and Covington Catholic boys’ golf teams for the Region 7 championship was pretty one-sided on Monday at Summit Hills Country Club.
Ryle posted a 296 team total that was 20 strokes better than runner-up CovCath and the Raiders claimed the regional title for the fourth time in the last five years.
This is the 16th consecutive year that the two teams have finished first and second in the regional team standings to earn berths in the state tournament.
During that run, CovCath has won nine titles and Ryle has won seven. The winning margin in eight of the last 16 regional tournaments has been nine strokes or less.
“With our two teams, I never expected to win by 20 shots,” said Ryle coach John Kells. “We were hoping to pull out a victory, but really we just wanted to get to state.”
Ryle senior Ryan Clements shot a 2-under 68 to take medalist honors in the regional tournament for the third consecutive year. Holy Cross senior Nolan Schrand was runner-up with a 72.
“He didn’t say anything about it, but I’m sure that was a personal goal of his to win (regional) all three years,” Kells said of Clements. “Everything was working for him. He was hitting the ball well. He was putting well. He was in a good mind frame all day. I’m really proud of him.”
Ryle’s other scoring golfers were senior Tim Alexander (73), senior Justin Paoletti (77) and junior Lincoln Herbst (78). The Raiders’ 296 team total was the lowest winning score in the local boys’ regional tournament since 2005.
Ryle and CovCath will finish out the 2017 season playing in the Leachman Buick GMC Cadillac/KHSAA boys’ state tournament that begins Tuesday at Bowling Green Country Club.
Four of the five golfers on the Ryle team that placed fourth place in last year’s state tournament are back in the lineup for next week’s season finale. Last year’s state champion, Louisville St. Xavier, will return to defend its title after edging Louisville Trinity, 277-279, in the Region 6 tournament on Monday.
“St X and Trinity are so unbelievably good I don’t know if we can catch them or not, but I think finishing in the top five is a real chance for us,” Kells said. “We finished fourth last year and we like the golf course down there, so I think we’ve got a chance to give them a run.”
In the Region 8 boys’ golf tournament on Monday, Highlands placed second behind Grant County in the team standings to also earn a berth in next week’s state tournament.
The scoring golfers for the Bluebirds were freshman Luke Muller (83), freshman Justin Gabbard (84), senior Aaron Verst (87) and junior Ryan Leigh (90). Their 344 team total was 18 strokes behind Grant County’s winning score of 326.
Girls’ regional golf tournaments are scheduled for Tuesday with local teams competing in Region 6 at Lassing Pointe in Boone County and Region 8 at Northern Kentucky Golf Course in Pendleton County.
REGION 7 STATE QUALIFIERS
RYLE (First place team) — Ryan Clements 68, Tim Alexander 73, Justin Paoletti 77, Lincoln Herbst 78, Jake Tarvin 80.
COVCATH (Second place team) — Josh Struck 77, Tyler Chandler 79, Ben Pieper 79, Paul Thelen 81, Patrick Kennedy 82.
INDIVIDUALS — Nolan Schrank (Holy Cross) 71, Landon Finn (Boone County) 74, Isaac Klempner (Henry County) 74.
REGION 8 STATE QUALIFIERS
GRANT COUNTY (First place team) — Ryan Mitts 79, Kyle West 81, Tyler Mitts 82, Lucas Allnutt 84, Michael Frost 90.
HIGHLANDS (Second place team) — Luke Muller 83, Justin Gabbard 84, Aaron Verst 87, Ryan Leigh 90, Steven Grimme 100.
INDIVIDUALS — Jordan Hughes (Fleming County) 79, Lucas Sullivan (Harrison County) 81, Blaine Snellen (Bourbon County) 84.