Cooper, Tanks march onward towards state competition

• Peyton Cooper and the Unioto Shermans qualified for the Division II state golf meet, Wednesday.
• The Shermans shot a 313 as a team, 10 strokes ahead of second place Piketon.
• Cooper, the 2015 SVC Player of the Year, was the district meet medalist after carding a 73.

CHILLICOTHE — As a junior, Unioto's Peyton Cooper was a prodigy in the making. As a senior, he's been crowned king.

After finishing in a tie for third inside the Scioto Valley Conference in 2014 with a nine-hole average of 38.1, Cooper has taken his game to the next level. With his average dropping to 36.3, Cooper was named the 2015 SVC Player of the Year carding rounds of 36, 40, 38, 33, 40, 35, 37 and 35 during conference matches.

"It feels really, really good, especially with the talent the SVC has," Cooper said. "There's a player from every team that could go out and shoot even par or a couple under any time out. You've seen that here recently even. The talent this year, individually, was a lot higher than it has been in the past. So to be on top of that list is a great feeling."

His efforts not only paid off individually but also in a team aspect as well. Cooper's Shermans won a seventh straight SVC title with a total of 60 points — edging Piketon, who earned 56.

"It's become a tradition here every year," Cooper said. "You come into the year with high expectations. We knew Piketon and Zane Trace we're going to have pretty good teams this year. That made us work really hard in the off-season to keep all of our players together as a team. We kind of struggled a little bit mid-season but the past few weeks, we've been putting in a lot of time. It's really paid off for us."

All six Shermans were honored with all-league status after the regular season — Cooper (36.3), Jacob Calvin (39.3), Bane Adkins, a senior (39.3), Wes Davenport (40), Scott Freeman, a senior (40.3) and Cole Karr (42.4).

"That was one of our big goals coming into this season," Cooper said. "We're really proud of our team and how we've been playing lately. Bane is the other captain of the team and has been really consistent this year. He's been playing extremely good golf. Scott, our other senior, to have him play well in pretty high pressure situations has been great for both himself and us as a team."

However, a league title and all-conference awards weren't enough for Unioto. The winning trend continued into the postseason where the Tanks have been dominant as well.

In sectional play, Unioto won a title and advanced to district competition by shooting a 320. At the next level, the Shermans were even better, winning another title by carding a 313 as a team and advancing into state competition.

In both of those matches, Cooper was the meet medalist with a 75 in sectional play and 73 in district action.

"I feel like the SVC prepared me well for the postseason," Cooper said. "Being able to come out of sectional and district play with medals felt great. I felt the pressure when I stood on the first tee and everything but looking back, the SVC improved my confidence going into those meets. I was just able to carry momentum into sectionals and districts and hopefully that carries on into the state meet."

In district action, Cooper received help from his teammates who also posted low scores — Adkins (85), Freeman (78), Karr (83) and Calvin (79).

In effect, those efforts lifted Unioto into its seventh state tournament in school history — the first occurrence since 2012. Last season, Cooper and the Shermans missed the mark by just one stroke, shooting a 325.

"For us seniors, this was one of our goals," Cooper said. "It was tough last season to miss it by that much. But this year, we came in with the attitude that we're seniors. So we wanted to play as much as we could before it ends. We're really thrilled with how the season has worked out in the end. Going to state is an accomplishment on it's own. Being one of the top 12 teams in Division II is an amazing feeling."

Cooper also took some time to thank those that have helped him along the way.

"I'd like to say 'thank you' to, first off, my parents for traveling anywhere and everywhere I needed to go," Cooper said. "And I'd like to thank Dogwood Golf Course for always being there for whenever I needed any type of advice. They'd fix me right up. I've had a lot of people help me get to where I am today and I'm really appreciative of it. And last, I'd like to thank Unioto's boys golf team for really accepting me when I transferred here from Adena a couple of years ago."

Unioto's newest state golf journey will begin next Friday morning at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury, Ohio.

dwebb@chillicothegazette.com

Twitter: @dw1509