Golf: LL Section 3 – Padovani Takes Top Honors as Northern Lebanon Opens with Strong Showing

 

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Padovani Takes Top Honors as Northern Lebanon Opens with Strong Showing

The Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 golf season got underway Tuesday afternoon, with ELCO hosting the section’s opening match at Lebanon Valley Golf Course.

When the final scores were totaled, traditional Section 3 powerhouse Lampeter-Strasburg picked up right where it left off, posting a 329 to sweep the field and begin the season 5-0. Northern Lebanon opened with a strong second-place showing at 338, followed by defending section champion Donegal at 347, ELCO at 353, and Octorara at 358. Lebanon did not have the four golfers necessary to record a team score.

While L-S took the early lead in the Section 3 standings, the day’s top individual performance belonged to Northern Lebanon.

Junior Collin Padovani fired a 77 to earn medalist honors, finishing one stroke ahead of Lampeter-Strasburg’s Colt Gibson, who carded a 78. L-S’s Gabe Trout was another stroke back with a 79.

Padovani entered his junior season after establishing himself as one of Section 3’s top golfers a year ago. He finished as the section’s No. 2 golfer, placed in the top five at the L-L League tournament, and advanced to Districts, becoming Northern Lebanon’s first District qualifier in 10 years.

His round helped set the tone for a balanced Northern Lebanon effort.

Freshman Jacob Anspach shot an 85, sophomore Braden Demler added an 87, and sophomore Christian Rizzo finished with an 89. Combined with Padovani’s 77, those four rounds produced the Vikings’ team score of 338.

The second-place finish continued a strong stretch for a Northern Lebanon program coming off four consecutive winning seasons. The Vikings also finished nine strokes ahead of defending Section 3 champion Donegal in their first opportunity of the new season.

While Northern Lebanon provided the top Lebanon County finish, ELCO had several encouraging performances of its own while opening the season on its home course.

Sophomore Jackson Smeltzer and senior Grant Wenger shared the Raiders’ low round, each carding an 87. Smeltzer was making his first appearance in the ELCO lineup, while Wenger entered the season as a four-year member of the program.

Senior Brady Habecker, another four-year member of the program, followed with an 89. Senior James Dolan, a three-year member of the program, shot a 90 to complete ELCO’s four counting scores and give the Raiders a team total of 353.

Boston Weiler added a 97, while senior Owen Halpin finished with a 101 for the Raiders.

Lebanon was also represented at the Section 3 opener but entered just three golfers, leaving the Cedars one player short of the four necessary to post a team score.

Trinity Lepper led Lebanon with a 102, followed by Noah Cotto at 131 and Landyn Strickler at 137.

At the top of the standings, Lampeter-Strasburg showed why it has traditionally been among the section’s strongest programs. The Pioneers placed three golfers inside the top four individually, with Gibson’s 78, Trout’s 79, and Reid Shultz’s 83 helping L-S post the day’s low team score of 329.

That depth allowed the Pioneers to overcome Padovani’s medalist performance and leave Lebanon Valley Golf Course with a 5-0 start to the season. Northern Lebanon went 4-1 on the day, with its only loss coming against L-S.

With the opening round complete, the Section 3 teams will have several days before doing it again. The next match is scheduled for Monday, August 24, when defending section champion Donegal hosts the field at Highland Golf Club.

Team Scores

1. Lampeter-Strasburg — 329
2. Northern Lebanon — 338
3. Donegal — 347
4. ELCO — 353
5. Octorara — 358
6. Lebanon — NS

 

Top 10 Individual Leaderboard

Place	Golfer	School	Score
1	Collin Padovani	Northern Lebanon	77
2	Colt Gibson	Lampeter-Strasburg	78
3	Gabe Trout	Lampeter-Strasburg	79
4	Reid Shultz	Lampeter-Strasburg	83
T-5	Jacob Anspach	Northern Lebanon	85
T-5	Ryan Smeltz	Donegal	85
T-7	Grant Wenger	ELCO	87
T-7	Jackson Smeltzer	ELCO	87
T-7	Braden Demler	Northern Lebanon	87
T-7	John Usner	Donegal	87

 

 

Individual Results

Northern Lebanon

Collin Padovani (Jr.) — 77
Jacob Anspach (Fr.) — 85
Braden Demler (So.) — 87
Christian Rizzo (So.) — 89
Ashton Yeager (So.) — 91
Christian Anspach (Jr.) — 102

 

ELCO

Jackson Smeltzer (So.) — 87
Grant Wenger (Sr.) — 87
Brady Habecker (Sr.) — 89
James Dolan (Sr.) — 90
Boston Weiler (Jr.) — 97
Owen Halpin (Sr.) — 101

 

Lebanon

Trinity Leeper — 102
Noah Cotto — 131
Landyn Strickler — 137

 

Lampeter-Strasburg

Colt Gibson — 78
Gabe Trout — 79
Reid Shultz — 83
Jaxon Marshall — 89
Trey Harrison — 90
Drew Gerlach — 93

 

Donegal

Ryan Smeltz — 85
John Usner — 87
Carter Wolfe — 87
Dylan Kuhn — 88
Caleb Haldeman — 90
Mason Shank — 95

 

Octorara

Landon Miller — 88
Aiden McCarthy — 88
Cole Patterson — 90
Evan Brown — 92
Mason Miller — 96
Tyler Thompson — 98