S. Mallery earns SFL Week 5 win with Monday night round

S. Farris, L. Lick post division wins
T. Farris, Raynor tie for Men’s Rec Division / Brothers Josiah, Luke tie for Boys’ Division lead

* Week 6 of SFL returns to Hoffman Park DGC in Frostburg
* Little Piggy Flex Tournament set for Aug. 19
* Fall Youth League begins Sept. 4

MOUNT SAVAGE — Seven of the 13 players in Week 5 of the Allegany County Disc Golf Club took a chance on themselves. They tossed aside the possible bonus point earned by recording or tying their best SFL score during Saturday Morning Tag League play.

Did it help them? It’s probably too soon to say. For one week, though, Scott Mallery, Keith Raynor, Noah Spradlin, Kevin Spradlin, Tim Lick, Brian Padovini and Evan Padovini played at least one more round over the four-day flex weekend at Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage. Each player fared at least one stroke better than the score they posted during their Saturday morning performances.

Men’s Advanced Division

On Monday night, Scott Mallery was obviously pleased with his decision.

Mallery, 55, of Mount Savage, was tied for second in the Men’s Advanced Division with Gordon Cox, 49, of Hagerstown. Each posted a 66 in Saturday Morning Tag League action.

On Monday night, Mallery — SMTL director and Mile Lane Disc Golf designer and owner — shaved four strokes off his weekend best to finish with a 12 under par 62. The improvement helped him leap David Warder, 32, of Frostburg, for the weekly division win. Warder and Bill Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, each finished tied for second (64) while Cox slipped to fourth and Nic Davies, 26, of Mount Savage, placed fifth with a 72. Mallery, Shreve and Davies all played on Monday evening as the temperature cooled with the setting sun.

Cox’s ace on No. 6 from the short tee was his first league ace of his disc golf life. The ace also counted as the fourth ace in SMTL history (and fourth this season), and the ninth ace in Allegany County Disc Golf Club history dating back to May 14, 2022.

Girls’ Division

For the first time this season, we have a winner.

Lily Lick, 9, of Cumberland, threw 132 strokes to get through 24 holes from the short tees en route to the division win. For the remaining Summer Flex League weeks, players in the Girls Division (ages 17 and under) will need to play only the first nine or 12 holes on the course to count as a complete round.

Lick, the club’s Player of the Month in September 2022, managed par once — on short No. 2 — and threw for four bogeys.

In 2022, Karli Huff won the Girls’ Division — and the gift certificate that went along with the win — by playing in only one round of the six-week SFL. This year, the SFL is 14 weeks long. It’s too soon to tell if Lick’s lone victory will be enough to secure the overall win.

Stephanie Spradlin

Women’s Division

So long as Shania Farris keeps playing, she keeps winning.

Farris, 26, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., dominated for the fifth straight week en route to a 10 under par 62. She remains in first place, adding seven to her total with a five-week tally of 33 points.

The real fun, though, is the races for second and third.

Stephanie Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, beat out newcomer Albina Stiffler, 23, of Cumberland, by four strokes for second place (Spradlin 81, Stiffler 85). It was Stiffler’s first club round and first time playing at Mile Lane DGC.

Spradlin’s score was helped by an ace on short No. 8 — her first, and the 10th in club history (see chart below).

Men’s Rec Division

After one week out of first place, Tim Farris returned to the top of the Men’s Rec Division leaderboard in Week 4. In Week 5, he let his Saturday Morning Tag League score stand — and it paid off handsomely.

The 27-year-old from Wiley Ford increased his division lead over Kevin Spradlin, 44, of Frostburg, and Keith Raynor, 47, of Vale Summit, by four points. Farris and Raynor finished tied for first with a 64, but Raynor didn’t throw his 64 until a couple hours after SMTL.

Farris and Raynor tied this week with a 64, while Spradlin finished third with a 66, tying his personal best (set on July 8). Richard Smith, 50, of Hagerstown, placed a close fourth with a 67 and Noah Spradlin, 24, of Frostburg, rounded out the top five with a personal best 68, an improvement of four strokes over his previous best set on May 27.

Brian Padovini, 42, of Frostburg, and Tim Lick, 33, of Cumberland, tied for sixth with a 70 apiece. Sam Lick, 30, of Cumberland, carded a score under par for the first time in his disc golf life, finishing with a two under par 72. Rick Perkins, 60, of Cumberland, placed ninth with a 79 while newcomer Nathan Stiffler, 22, of Cumberland, placed 10th with an 82.

Boys’ Division

Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang took back second place this week as he shaved six strokes off his personal best on the 24-hole layout from the short tees with a four over par 76.

Spradlin-Vogelsang, 10, of Frostburg, tied with brother Josiah Spradlin, 13, of Frostburg, for the division lead this week. Spradlin also finished with a 76 while throwing 12 from the short tees and 12 from the long tees. The competition, however, seems to be closing the gap. It’s the first time in the 11 weeks of Summer Flex League history, dating back to June 2022, in which older Spradlin brother has played but not won his division outright.

And there’s more. Spradlin’s Mount Savage Middle School classmate, 11-year-old Evan Padovini, finished a close third with an 80, while fellow classmate Liam Hutter, 12, posted an 89.

It’s true that Spradlin maintains a commanding lead over the other six boys in the division. With each passing day, however, it’s clear that the rest of the field sees the bull-eye in the middle of Spradlin’s back.

Ace Club members – Allegany County Disc Golf Club

1 — Caleb Campbell, Aug. 8, 2022 at The Glades at Meshach Run (No. 4)
2 — NaTasha Scolaro during Fisher Cup, Jan. 16, 2023 at Ditto Farms (No. 5 short)
3 — Bill Shreve, March 12, 2023 at The Glades at Meshach Run (No. 6)
4 — Bill Shreve, May 14, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 2)
5 — Kevin Spradlin, May 26, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 9)
6 — Kevin Spradlin, July 3, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 2)
7 — Kevin Spradlin, July 3, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 3)
8 — Ethan von Hagel, July 3, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 2)
9 — Gordon Cox, July 22, 2023 at Mile Lane DGC (No. 6 short)
10 — Stephanie Spradlin, July 24, 2023 at Mile Lane DGC (No. 8 short)