Dylan Phillips has been through the pressure of the postseason before.
The West Geauga junior made sure Tuesday would end with another trip to state.
Phillips fired a 3-over-par 73 at Windmill Lakes Golf Club to capture the OHSAA Division II Northeast district championship, successfully defend the title he won last season, and become a three-time state qualifier.
His round highlighted a big day for area golfers.
Gilmour Academy Boys Golf finished second with a 316, and NDCL Boys Golf placed third at 321 to secure the final two team qualifying spots behind district champion Poland Seminary.
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Perry Boys Golf missed joining them by the smallest possible margin, finishing fourth with a 322, but senior Benny Dame extended his season by shooting a 74 to earn one of the three individual state berths.
Phillips does it again
Phillips’ district success is no longer a one-year breakthrough.
It has become a pattern.
As a freshman, Phillips finished fourth at the district tournament and qualified for state. A year later, he climbed to the top of the leaderboard and won the district championship.
On Tuesday, he did it again.
Phillips shot a 3-over 73 to successfully defend his district title, giving him three consecutive top-four district finishes, back-to-back district championships, and three state tournament appearances in his first three high school seasons.
He made the turn at 2-over after a 37 on the front.
Phillips birdied the par-4 11th to get back to 1-over before bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14 moved him to 3-over.
From there, he slammed the door.
Phillips closed with four consecutive pars, producing a back-nine 36 and leaving him alone atop the leaderboard.
He made two birdies during the round, with the other coming at the par-4 seventh, and avoided a double bogey all day.
That consistency produced a one-stroke victory over Dame and Poland Seminary senior Ryan Lombardo, who each shot 74.
For Phillips, the result continued a remarkable district progression:
Fourth as a freshman. Champion as a sophomore. Champion again as a junior.
And for the third straight year, his season will end on the state stage.
Gilmour punches its state ticket
Gilmour Academy Boys Golf placed second with a 316, finishing 14 strokes behind Poland Seminary’s winning 302 but comfortably inside the three-team qualifying line.
Sophomore Enzo Marous led the Lancers with a 76.
Junior Lorenzo Salvatore followed with a 77, senior Iulius Braho shot 78, and junior Brody Race supplied the fourth counting score with an 85.
Sophomore Marty Klang added an 87.
The Lancers made their biggest move on the back nine.
Gilmour shot 160 on the front before improving to 156 on the back, playing its final nine four strokes better than its first.
That finish helped the Lancers separate themselves from a tightly packed battle for the remaining state berths.
NDCL rallies on the back nine
The most important back-nine performance of the day belonged to NDCL Boys Golf.
The Lions made the turn with a 164 and were locked in a battle with Perry for the third and final team qualifying position.
Then NDCL surged.
The Lions combined for a 157 on the back nine, improving by seven strokes and finishing with a 321.
That was just enough.
Senior Lincoln Miller and sophomore Caige Cochran each shot 75 to lead NDCL and tie for fourth individually.
Sophomore Hamilton Miller added an 83 and senior Paul Williams shot 88 for the Lions’ fourth counting score.
Sophomore Daniel Zaller finished with a 92.
NDCL played the par-5 fourth at 1-under as a team and was even on Nos. 9 and 12.
But the defining number was the 157 coming home.
Perry misses by one, Dame advances
For Perry, the margin was painful.
The Pirates finished with a 322 — one stroke behind NDCL for the final state team berth.
And the way the round developed made that margin even more dramatic.
Perry opened with a 158 on the front nine, six shots better than its 164 on the back.
While NDCL improved by seven strokes after the turn, Perry went six strokes in the other direction.
That amounted to a 13-shot swing between the two teams over the final nine holes.
Dame did everything he could to keep Perry in contention.
His round began with a double bogey at No. 1, but he immediately stabilized and birdied the par-5 fourth on the way to a front-nine 37.
Bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11 pushed Dame to 4-over, but he responded again with a birdie at No. 15.
He reached the final hole at 3-over before a bogey gave him another 37 and a final score of 74.
That was good enough to earn the second individual qualifying position behind Phillips.
Sophomore Carson Porcello and senior Bronson Denholm each shot 81 for Perry.
Sophomore Ryan Dragon added an 86 and junior Carmen Mucciarone finished with a 95.
The Pirates were particularly solid through much of the front nine but ran into trouble late, including a combined 5-over on the closing 18th.
Orange finishes seventh
Orange Boys Golf shot a 327 to finish seventh.
Senior Samuel Heiser led the Lions with a 79, tying for 18th overall.
Junior Charlie Thomas was one stroke behind at 80.
Senior Russell Melvey shot 81, and senior Jordan Clotman completed Orange’s scoring with an 87.
Junior Ethan Feldman added a 92.
Orange finished only six strokes behind the final state qualifying position.
Phillips leads West Geauga to ninth
Behind Phillips’ championship round, West Geauga Boys Golf finished ninth with a 336.
Junior Jackson Clark added an 81, while junior Mitchell Nitz shot 88 and freshman Sam Geraci finished with a 94.
Junior Nick Gierman added a 97.
Phillips’ 73 ensured that West Geauga’s season will continue even though the Wolverines did not advance as a team.
Fischer shoots 79
Chagrin Falls Boys Golf senior Peter Fischer put together another strong postseason round.
Fischer shot a 79 to tie for 18th overall, finishing six strokes behind Phillips and two shots outside the final individual qualifying score of 77.
Sather cards 82
Fairview Boys Golf junior Maxx Sather represented the Warriors and finished with an 82.
That placed Sather in a tie for 31st overall.
Heinbaugh, Scalish finish together
Two more area golfers finished side by side on the leaderboard.
Edgewood Boys Golf sophomore Jackson Heinbaugh and Kirtland Boys Golf junior Johnny Scalish each shot 84, tying for 35th.
Perez represents Beachwood
Beachwood Boys Golf junior Liav Perez rounded out the area contingent with an 87, tying for 49th overall.
Four area state qualifiers emerge
When the final scores were posted, the area had secured four major state entries.
Gilmour Academy and NDCL will advance with their full teams.
Phillips will make his third trip to state after leaving Windmill Lakes with his second consecutive district championship.
And although Perry came up one stroke short as a team, Dame will be there as an individual after finishing only one shot behind Phillips.
Poland Seminary won the district team championship with a 302, while Cardinal Mooney’s Tyler Guerrieri shot 77 to claim the third individual qualifying spot.
Boys Golf Team Results
| Place | Team | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1st |  Poland Q | 302 |
| 2nd |  Gilmour Academy Q | 316 |
| 3rd |  NDCL Q | 321 |
| 4th |  Perry | 322 |
| 5th |  Tuslaw | 325 |
| 6th |  Waynedale | 325 |
| 7th |  Orange | 327 |
| 8th |  Cardinal Mooney | 333 |
| 9th |  West Geauga | 336 |
| 10th |  Brookfield | 336 |
| 11th |  Bay | 344 |
| 12th |  Southeast | 345 |
| 13th |  Beachwood | — |
| 14th |  Chagrin Falls | — |
| 15th |  Edgewood | — |
| 16th |  Fairview | — |
| 17th |  Firelands | — |
| 18th |  Garfield | — |
| 19th |  Holy Name | — |
| 20th |  Kirtland | — |
| 21st |  Norton | — |
| 22nd |  Orrville | — |
| 23rd |  Springfield | — |
| 24th |  Streetsboro | — |
Boys Golf Individual Results
Golf Tournament
| Place | Golfer | School | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Dylan Phillips Q | West Geauga | 73 |
| 2nd | Benny Dame Q | Perry | 74 |
| 2nd | Ryan Lombardo | Poland Seminary | 74 |
| 4th | Caige Cochran | Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin | 75 |
| 4th | Lincoln Miller | Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin | 75 |
| 6th | Angelo Rinaldi | Poland Seminary | 76 |
| 6th | Enzo Marous | Gilmour Academy | 76 |
| 6th | Matthew Morrone | Poland Seminary | 76 |
| 6th | Nicholas Dipasqua | Poland Seminary | 76 |
| 10th | Lorenzo Salvatore | Gilmour Academy | 77 |
| 10th | Nick Lytle | Tuslaw | 77 |
| 10th | Tyler Guerrieri Q | Cardinal Mooney | 77 |
| 13th | Braden Gunter | Norton | 78 |
| 13th | Cody Davidson | Brookfield | 78 |
| 13th | Iulius Braho | Gilmour Academy | 78 |
| 13th | Jacob Ott | Orrville | 78 |
| 13th | Nathan Vorthong | Akron Springfield | 78 |
| 18th | Logan Troyer | Waynedale | 79 |
| 18th | Peter Fischer | Chagrin Falls | 79 |
| 18th | Samuel Heiser | Orange | 79 |
| 21st | Charlie Thomas | Orange | 80 |
| 21st | Kyrell Miller | Waynedale | 80 |
| 21st | Owen Dombroski | Southeast | 80 |
| 24th | Bronson Denholm | Perry | 81 |
| 24th | Carson Porcello | Perry | 81 |
| 24th | Cooper Miller | Waynedale | 81 |
| 24th | Jackson Clark | West Geauga | 81 |
| 24th | Jared Germadnik | Brookfield | 81 |
| 24th | Matthew Mileti | Bay | 81 |
| 24th | Russell Melvey | Orange | 81 |
| 31st | Elijah Cockrill | Tuslaw | 82 |
| 31st | Hudson Hoffman | Tuslaw | 82 |
| 31st | Maxx Sather | Fairview | 82 |
| 34th | Hamilton Miller | Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin | 83 |
| 35th | Jackson Heinbaugh | Edgewood | 84 |
| 35th | Johnny Scalish | Kirtland | 84 |
| 35th | Kole Back | Tuslaw | 84 |
| 35th | Mason McClure | Cardinal Mooney | 84 |
| 39th | Blake Ropelewski | Bay | 85 |
| 39th | Brody Race | Gilmour Academy | 85 |
| 39th | Cameron Miller | Waynedale | 85 |
| 39th | Christian Stamp | Cardinal Mooney | 85 |
| 39th | Dominic Marcini | Streetsboro | 85 |
| 39th | Joey Russo | Brookfield | 85 |
| 39th | Parker Ogden | Poland Seminary | 85 |
| 39th | Ryan Skryp | Bay | 85 |
| 47th | Cole Bruno | Southeast | 86 |
| 47th | Ryan Dragon | Perry | 86 |
| 49th | Jase Beall | Tuslaw | 87 |
| 49th | Jordan Clotman | Orange | 87 |
| 49th | Liav Perez | Beachwood | 87 |
| 49th | Marty Klang | Gilmour Academy | 87 |
| 49th | Michael Kravec | Cardinal Mooney | 87 |
| 54th | Mitchell Nitz | West Geauga | 88 |
| 54th | Paul Williams | Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin | 88 |
| 56th | Ethan Shodd | Southeast | 89 |
| 57th | Alex Peelish | Southeast | 90 |
| 58th | Daniel Zaller | Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin | 92 |
| 58th | Ethan Feldman | Orange | 92 |
| 58th | Joseph Hook | Brookfield | 92 |
| 61st | Emmitt Naughton | Bay | 93 |
| 62nd | Sam Geraci | West Geauga | 94 |
| 63rd | Carmen Mucciarone | Perry | 95 |
| 63rd | Rayce Jacobs | Waynedale | 95 |
| 65th | Nick Gierman | West Geauga | 97 |
| 66th | Andrew Bushey | Cardinal Mooney | 98 |
| 67th | Mason Olbrys | Holy Name | 100 |
| 68th | Sebastian Citak | Firelands | 101 |
| 69th | Logan Shodd | Southeast | 103 |
| 70th | Michael Pisarcik | Brookfield | 105 |
| 71st | Will Schrock | Bay | 107 |
| 72nd | Carter Haddox | Garrettsville Garfield | 121 |
Top Performers
