Warren Blue - the top golfers on the Dragons squad - earned a strong third-place finish in the 14-team Blueberry Classic field Wednesday at Blueberry Hill Golf Club.
Warren trailed only winner Meadville and runner-up Slippery Rock in the final team standings. Meadville's Charlie Holt had the round's low gross score of 72.
Leading the way for Warren was sophomore Nathan Sandberg, who shot a strong 76 -good enough for the fifth best score of the afternoon. It also tops his 18-hole 79 shot on Monday at the opening Region 3 Mega Match in Grove City. Freshman teammate Andrew Gignac was next in the lineup with a 79 in his first Blueberry Classic, which bested his first effort of 89 on Monday.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Jonathan McAfoos
Teeing off
Warren’s Nathan Sandberg hits a drive off the tee at the second hole at Blueberry Hill Golf Club during Wednesday’s Warren Invitational.
Rounding out the scored golfers for Warren Blue were Carter Cerra with an 88 and Nic Allen with an 89 - also improvements.
"The younger guys on the team stepped up and played well today," said Warren coach Dan Passmore. "That's going to be the story of our season. If the young guys play well, we are going to do well."
Warren White and Eisenhower also competed in the field and finished with identical team scores of 427.
Fact Box
17th Annual Blueberry Classic
at Blueberry Hill Golf Club
Team results: 1. Meadville 322, 2. Slippery Rock 330, 3. Warren Blue 332, 4. Titusville 336, 5. Corry 342, 6. Strong Vincent 352, 7. Saegertown 364, 8. Cathedral Prep 368, 9. Oil City 374, 10. Franklin 383, 11. Rocky Grove 424, 12. Eisenhower 427, 13. Warren White 427, 14. Central Tech 497
WARREN BLUE (332): Nathan Sandberg 76, Andrew Gignac 79, Carter Cerra 88, Nic Allen 89
WARREN WHITE (427): Zach California 93, Darin Francisco 94, Tristan Rushia 102, Conner Clendenen 138
EISENHOWER (427): Jacob Linkerhof 91, Hunter Kepple 107, Trevor Flinn 114, Ethan Black 115
Medalists: Charlie Holt, Meadville 72, Brett Rinker, Slippery Rock 74, Chris Kupniewski, Strong Vincent 74, Bob Paczkowski, Slippery Rock 75, Nathan Sandberg, Warren, 76
Zach California's 93 was tops for Warren's White team. Darin Francisco followed with a 94, Tristan Rushia carded a 102 and Conner Clendenen had a 138.
For Eisenhower, Jacob Linkerhof's 91 was easily the best Knights score. Hunter Keppel finished with a 107, Trevor Flinn had a 114 and Ethan Black recorded a 115.
Warren is back in action Monday with a region megamatch at Meadville. Eisenhower travels to Franklin on August 30.