ATHENS WINS AT TYOGA COUNTRY CLUB; CLAIMS LEAGUE TITLE; COOPER, SULLIVAN, SAXON EARN POSTSEASON HONORS
By: Tim Birney / October 6, 2021 / Photo: Lance Larcom
WELLSBORO — 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.
About the Author
Tim Birney
Tim Birney is the founder / owner of River Road Media Group. He was born and raised in the Valley, graduating from Waverly High School in 1984.
Birney earned an Associate's Degree in Journalism from SUNY Morrisville in 1986 and a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism / Public Relations from Utica College of Syracuse University in 1988. He began his newspaper career at The Daily Review in Towanda in 1989, before moving on to The Evening Times in 1995. He spent more than 10 years at the Times, the last four as Managing Editor.
River Road Media Group includes five sites in "The Sports Reports" family that cover 24 school districts in five counties: Valley Sports Report (launched Aug. 10, 2009), Tioga County (NY) Sports Report (Aug. 13, 2018), and Northern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 31, 2020); Northern Tier West Sports Report (March 15, 2021) Southern Tier Sports Report (Aug. 16, 2021).
