OTTOVILLE – Eleven of the 20 spots for the boys and girls golf team will be filled by seniors this season but will see just three letter winners return.
“We have many new faces that we hope can step up and fill the roles from the successful teams and classes in the past” said fifth year head coach Keith Utendorf. “Last year we lost 5 seniors that all played varsity golf for multiple years and made deep tournament runs each year”.
This season the Big Green boys will be led by senior Blake Kortokrax and sophomore Evan Altenburger while the ladies lone returning letter winner is Rachel Steffan.
“The girls have been dedicated to both learning and improving and will look to the season with enthusiasm and a positive mindset” remarked Utendorf of his lineup that features seven seniors, a junior and a pair of sophomores.
On the boys side Utendorf cites seniors Cole Knippen, Jeremy (J.J.) Hoersten, and Logan Rittenhouse as players to watch with junior Zach Hohlbein and Jackson Sehlhorst also expected to compete for their first varsity letter.
“Several golfers have put in a tremendous amount of time to improve their games over the summer. We will have to rely and lean on those returners and that improvement with a very challenging schedule and competitive league, sectional and district”.
Ottoville opened the season with four meets in their first week of the season and will continue to hit the lynx early and often starting on Friday afternoon, August 9th in matches for both teams featuring PCL opponents Miller City, Fort Jennings, and Kalida.
In total the Green golfers will hit the tee box at their home course Delphos County Club a combined 11 times along with trips to Bluffton, Shawnee, Moose Landing, and Pike Run Country Club among their road matches. Late September will see the swings come fast and furious for Ottoville as the Putnam County League tournament and sectional tournaments take place at Delphos Country Club, Moose Landing Country Club, and Pike Run Country Club.
Last season the boys finished a perfect 12-0 2023 campaign and were named PCL champions when they defeated Miller City and Kalida.