Western takes district crown

For the sixth consecutive season, Western Albemarle was presented with the Jefferson District championship trophy after an impressive 20-stroke victory over runner-up Monticello, 317-337 on Monday at Lake of the Woods golf course.
Charlottesville finished third with a score of 344, while Goochland, William Monroe, Orange County, Louisa County and Fluvanna County rounded out the final standings.
“We’re pretty happy about [winning], that was one of our goals this year was to win the district regular season and tournament title, and see how far we can go in the regionals and states after that,” said district coach of the year Darren Maynard.
All-district first-team honoree Patrick Leisure fired a 76 in rough conditions, and was named the tournament’s individual champion to lead the Warriors, who finished
21-0 in district play.
“He came up big today because it was a really windy day, and for him to have the low round was pretty big for us,” Maynard said of his senior leader. “We’re probably going to lean on him more in regions and state because he’s got a lot of experience and has done very well on those levels before.”
Fellow first-teamer and player of the year Alex O’Dell carded a 79 and tied for third overall, while junior Scott Wakely and sophomore Brett Engle each shot 81.
Wakely and Landon Weis also made the first team, while Engle was named to the second team for Maynard, who credits his team’s depth and experience for his its success.
“Our depth is a very big part of this year’s team,” said Maynard. “We go five or six deep on certain days that can give us the score that we need, and in my experience in postseason, you’ve really got to have that.”
Monticello will join Western in the Region II tournament at Shenandoah Valley golf course in Front Royal, beginning on Wednesday. Michael Comer led the Mustangs with a 79 and tied for third overall.
Charlottesville’s Michael Willson finished second individually with a 77, and Goochland’s Rick O’Connell finished fifth with a score of 80. Engle was the sixth medalist after defeating teammate Wakely and CHS’s Ben Kayton in a playoff.
Willson and O’Connell will participate in the postseason, as the top six finishers whom are not members of the district’s two region representatives advance to the Region II individual competition.