Flyers get clean sweep in SOC-1 golf tournament; Vikings' Ellison earns All-SOC-2 honors
- Staff
- Sep 19
- 3 min read
PORTSMOUTH— The St. Joseph Flyers were first, and a St. Joseph Flyer was first.
Led by sophomore Chris Phillips and freshman Mitchell Heighton, the Flyers won the Southern Ohio Conference-1 golf championship on Wednesday at the Elks Country Club.
Phillips was not only the SOC-1 medalist but he also had the lowest score for both divisions with a 6-over par 78.
Phillips was named to the All-SOC first team along with Heighton who shot an 83.
Phillips' performance also earned him the SOC Player of the Year. St. Joseph’s Quinn Cole was named the Coach of the Year.
“I’d thrilled to death,” said Cole about his team’s performance. “It was a great team effort. It’s been that way all year.”
The Flyers posted a 340 team score which was the lowest score among teams in both divisions. Peyton Ford shot an 87, Jayden Fields carded a 92 and Carson Willis finished with a 94.
As for his Player of the Year award, Cole said Phillips had quite a challenge to earn the honor.
“The Play of the Year is a year-long battle. Chris came in with a four-shot deficit. Just the way he navigated around the course today and got it done was really impressive,” said Cole.
“He’s only a sophomore but he played like a veteran today. He made the right decisions at the right time. I’m really proud of him.”
Cole was also happy for the freshman Heighton.
“I’m excited for him. Who knows what he’ll be like once he hits his growth spurt,” said Cole.
One thing that really tugs at Cole is only being able to play five golfers at a time.
“One of my biggest struggles is we only get to play five players and we’re so deep I have a hard time deciding who to play. I just run the numbers and see who the best five are each week.” Said Cole.
“It’s nice to be in a position like that. Last year was my first year and I was just hoping we had five players. We have eight or nine guys all with a scoring average under 45 this year. It’s been a great year.”
Portsmouth Notre Dame was second behind St. Joseph allowed by Portsmouth Clay.
In Division 2, Western won the team title with Oak Hill’s Colt Rainer the player of the year and Western’s West Dutcher the top coach.
Symmes Valley Vikings’ Kaiden Ellison was fifth overall and was a first team All-SOC 2 selection.
In SOC-3, Portsmouth West won the team title with Caden Corkerton of Waverly the medalist. Charlie Cooper of Portsmouth West named the Coach of the Year.
The sectional tournament is scheduled at Big Beaver Creek Golf Course in Piketon on Tuesday and the district on Monday at the Elks.
Southern Ohio Conference
Division 1
Team champion: St Joseph
Player of the Year: Christopher Phillips, St. Joseph
Coach the Year: Quinn Cole, St. Joseph
All-SOC
Christopher Phillips, St. Joseph
Garrett Barbarits, Ports. Notre Dame
Evan Rider, Portsmouth Clay
Mitchell Heighton, St. Joseph
Kenady McGraw, Ports. Notre Dame
Carter Ingles, Ports. Notre Dame
Division 2
Team champion: Western
Player of the Year: Colt Rainer, Oak Hill
Coach of the Year: Wes Dutcher, Western
All-SOC 2
Colt Rainer, Oak Hill
Lincoln Shamblin, South Gallia
Brandon Eichenlaub, Northwest
Foster Davis, Western
Kaidan Ellison, Symmes Valley
Wyatt Henderson, Western
Division 3
Team Champion: Portsmouth West
Player of the Year: Caden Corkerton, Waverly
Coach of the Year: Charlie Cooper, Portsmouth West
All-SOC 3
Caden Corkerton, Waverly
J.J. Smith, Minford
Owen Richard, Portsmouth West
Asher Conley, Wheelersburg
Jack Jewell, Portsmouth West
Logan Howard, Lucasville Valley
Members of the St. Joseph Flyers Southern Ohio Conference-1 golf championship team are: from left to right, Chris Phillips, Peyton Ford, Carson Willis, Jayden Fields, Mitchell Heighton and head coach Quinn Cole. The Flyers had the lowest score in both divisions, Phillips was the medalist and named the SOC Player of the Year and Cole was named the Coach of the Year.
SOC Player of the Year
& Medalist Chris Phillips
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