Fislar graduates, CHS falls in golf sectional

Cloverdale's Freddy Fislar waits for his turn to putt at the recent Putnam County Tournament. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

MARTINSVILLE --The Cloverdale boys' golf team finished ninth at the Martinsville sectional on Friday with 405 strokes as Chase Snyder carded an 88 for the Clovers' best score.

Plainfield emerged as sectional champs with 293 while Martinsville and Mooresville scored a 308 and 320 respectively.

With the challenging Foxcliff Martinsville course, many golfers struggled during the sectional rounds.

Cloverdale's Chase Snyder takes a shot at the green at Windy Hill. (Banner Graphic/JAY LOCKETT)

"I did not do a good job of having us prepared for what we faced. Chase Snyder and Zach Nichols both played pretty well, and we were pleased with their efforts," Clover coach Doug Wokoun said.

"Kylar Galloway has been off for about two weeks, and he had penalty problems throughout the round. First-year player Zarek Wellington had the kind of round a first-year player would typically have, although he showed some flashes of play that indicate that he will become a strong player with more experience."

Wokoun believes the difficult course played a big role in not only the high scores of the Clovers but also the entire field.

"Moving to a new venue was challenging for almost everyone," Wokoun said. "Martinsville obviously had a great advantage playing at home, and Plainfield is just plain great. Past that, scores in our sectional are way higher than in years past, and advancing individual scores are the highest they have ever been."

Nichols shot a 96 and Freddy Fislar recorded a 109. Wellington and Galloway rounded out the Cloverdale scores at 112 and 115.

Fislar, the Clover senior, showed some grit and endurance to finish with the score he did.

"Freddy Fislar reinjured a previous injury, and was competing at great disadvantage," Wokoun said. "He had a few good holes, but his efforts were severely affected by his injury. It is a credit to him that he continued to try to compete for his team. Freddy has been a great player and leader for us, and it was a shame to see his career end under those circumstances."

The effort did not go unnoticed and showed the type of athlete graduating from CHS this season.

"He told me early on that he was struggling, and even his playing partners took note of his effort," Wokoun said. "It was a tough day all around, but particularly so watching a young man have to battle under those circumstances."

But with future seniors earning lower scores and gaining sectional experience, Wokoun is looking forward to a new season with new conference challengers.

"While Freddy will move on, our other players were able to get good experience and have a much better idea of what must be accomplished to be competitive in this sectional," Wokoun said. "I doubt that any sectional course in the state is anywhere near as tough as Foxcliff, and the scores posted by many of these teams, including ours, were the highest they had posted in my memory. We all have adjustments to make to this course and its challenges, but we have a much better idea of what we must accomplish for success in the future."