NTL GOLF: ATHENS WINS AT TYOGA COUNTRY CLUB; CLAIMS LEAGUE TITLE (8 PHOTOS) (2021-10-06)
Valley Sports ReportWELLSBORO "" Sophomore Evan Cooper fired a career-best round to lead Athens to a win here Wednesday in the final NTL golf match of the season. The Wildcats also claimed the league title with their second straight win.
Athens went 6-0 on the day with a four-player aggregate score of 383 - 26 strokes better than runner-up Wellsboro. Wyalusing was third with a 413, while Towanda was fourth with a 415, Cowanesque Valley was fifth with a 427, and Sayre, playing without three of their top five scorers, shot a 470 to go 1-5 on the day. North Penn-Mansfield, who had just two golfers in action, carded a 572.
The Wildcats finish the season at 34-7 to claim the NTL crown, while Wellsboro was second at 32-9, Sayre dropped to third at 26-10, Wyalusing was fourth at 26-15, Towanda was fifth at 13-28, CV was sixth at 10-31, and NP-M was seventh at 0-41.
"We really finished strong, winning all six in the last two matches," said Athens coach Lenny Pientka. "Going into the last two matches, we knew we had to win out.
"It was great to see all of our guys improve and peak at the right time.
"It's a great group of kids, and they are all back next year," added Pientka.
Cooper finished third on the day with an 82, behind low-medal winner Andrew Green of NP-Mansfield, who fired a 79, and Sayre senior Kannon VanDuzer who shot an 81.
Athens junior Cameron Sullivan finished fourth with an 88, and Sayre senior Dylan Seck was seventh with a 94.
Athens junior Lucas Kraft was 14th with a 103, and freshman Dylan Saxon was 20th with a 110.
Sophomore Nicholas Jacob added a non-scoring round of 112 for the Wildcats, and freshman Keaton Sinsabaugh carded a 129.
Sophomore David Hall added a 147 for the Redskins, and David Hall Jr. tacked on a 148.
LEAGUE AWARDS: Sayre senior Kannon VanDuzer earned the league MVP Award, and repeated as the "Scott Taylor Award" winner, which is given to the NTL Sportsman of the Year. ... Athens sophomore Evan Cooper was named the "Most Improved Player," and Athens freshman Dylan Saxon is the "Rookie of the Year."
VanDuzer, Athens junior Cameron Sullivan, and Cooper earned first-team NTL all-star honors, and Saxon was named to the second team.
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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre senior Kannon VanDuzer (center), the NTL MVP, is flanked by "Most Improved Player" Evan Cooper (left) of Athens, and "Rookie of the Year" Dylan Saxon of Athens. IN PHOTO 2: The 2021 NTL Champion Athens Wildcats. IN PHOTO 3: NTL first-team all-stars. IN PHOTO 4: NTL second-team all-stars. ... PHOTOS COURTESY OF CYNTHIA COOPER.
IN PHOTO 5: Athens sophomore Evan Cooper. ... PHOTOS 6-10 BY LANCE LArCOM.
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