They’re intent on getting over that final hurdle this year.
“Last year, we didn’t finish as good as we wanted to,” Curry said Wednesday. “This year, we’re going into it more confident now in how we stand in the state.
“It’s more about the seniors not wanting to finish like we did last year. We know this is our last shot at it.”
Twelve teams and 12 individuals not on qualifying teams are scheduled to compete in the two-day, 36-hole 2021 Division I boys state tournament on Friday and Saturday at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course in Columbus. The Division I girls tournament will be played simultaneously at the OSU Gray Course.
Lakota East coach Jeff Combs said he plans to deploy Uhl, Sylla, Curry, Wilson and sophomore Bobby Horseman as Lakota East’s top five for the state tournament.
Under Combs, Lakota East tied Mason for second in the district tournament at Beavercreek Golf Club on Oct. 14, finishing third under tiebreaking protocols. That was eight days after finishing second behind Mason by 15 strokes at the City of Mason Golf Center sectional tournament. The Thunderhawks also finished second behind the Comets by four strokes in the Greater Miami Conference tournament.
The top three teams and top three individuals not on qualifying teams earned berths in the state tournament out of the Southwest District.
Curry anticipates the weather will be decent for this year’s tournament, unlike previous years. Accuweather.com was predicting cloudy and a high of 58 degrees with stray showers on Friday and mostly cloudy with a high of 63 on Saturday in Columbus.
“Every year, it seems like it’s a challenge, but it looks like it’s going to be OK this year,” he said.
Curry believes the Thunderhawks made significant progress from the beginning of the season to now. Sylla finished the season leading the GMC with an average of 36.35 strokes over nine holes, Wilson was third in the conference at 36.90, followed by Uhl in a tie for fourth at 37.50. Curry finished in a tie for 10th at 39.50.
Wilson shot a 70 to finish second at the GMC tournament, followed by Sylla at 71 and Uhl at 72,
This trip to the state tournament will be Lakota East’s sixth straight and seventh overall, and Curry and his teammates know that getting the opportunity to hoist the trophy won’t be easy.
Defending-champion Akron Archbishop Hoban is back, along with Dublin Jerome, which won the three state titles before Hoban prevailed last year.
“Hoban has a great team,” Curry said. “They have a great shot at state this year. I think this year is the deepest I’ve seen in terms of the quality of the teams. Hoban is good. Jerome is solid. Mason is solid.
“The standard for our four seniors is to win state. That’s the standard.”
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