Goetsch, Harris hang on for Summer Fling victory

Farris couple edge Spradlin duo by 1 for Rec Division win
Teams from MD, PA, WV and VA compete

* 2022 coverage
* Mile Lane Disc Golf on Facebook

MOUNT SAVAGE — All eyes in the local disc golf world settled onto a rural scene in the northwest corner of Allegany County as Mile Lane Disc Golf hosted its 3rd annual Summer Fling Doubles Tournament on Saturday in Mount Savage.

After 48 holes, the top three teams faced off for a three-basket championship challenge but the result was the same: Sam Goetsch and Timothy Harris reigned supreme.

Goetsch, of Gaithersburg, owns a 932 PDGA rating while Harris, of McLean, Va., doesn’t own a PDGA rating. While the pair played one of four private disc golf courses in Allegany County on Saturday for the first time, the two have been in the thick of things in a doubles environment before. Goetsch and Harris teamed up in May at U.S. Disc Golf Championship doubles event at Druid Hill in Baltimore. Goestch and Harris finished in a three-way tie for second — only one stroke off the winning score.

From the outset on Saturday, the pair seemed determined to finish in first place this time around.

Players competed in the alternate shot format with a cap of two consecutive drives per player.

In the first round, Goetsch and Harris led the 14-team field with the hot round of 16 under par 58 over 24 baskets, including 12 from the short tees and 12 from the long tees. Bill Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, and David Warder, 32, of Frostburg, were a close second with a 59 while Alex Hinkle, of Shenandoah Junction, W.Va., and Zach Williams, 35, of Bunker Hill, W.Va., were third with a 61. Williams was half of the championship duo from the 2022 event.

The top seven teams were assigned to the Advanced Division after Round 1 results while the next seven teams were sent to the Rec Division. Rec Division teams could not move into contention no matter the score posted in the second round. That almost mattered, as Colby Mallery, 19, of Mount Savage, and Sam Wolodkin, 21, of Frostburg, finished seventh — only two strokes ahead of eighth place — but played the hot round of 22 under par 52 in Round 2 to leapfrog four teams into third place overall in the cumulative scoring. Had Mallery and Wolodkin scored just three strokes worse in the morning round, the pair would have been assigned to the Rec Division.

In the second round — best shot format, still with the cap of two consecutive drives — Goetsch and Harris finished 20 under par (54), two strokes behind Mallery and Wolodkin. Cumulatively, though, the pair still had a two-stroke lead over Shreve and Warder (112 to 114), with Mallery and Wolodkin five strokes behind Warder and Shreve (119).

In the six-hole championship round, the standings remained the same. On the par 20 layout, Goetsch and Harris led the way with a five under 15 while Team Shreve-Warder and Team Mallery-Wolodkin each carded an 18.

Rec Division winners Tim and Shania Farris.

Farris couple tops Rec Division standings

The husband and wife couple of Tim and Shania Farris, of Wiley Ford, W.Va., held on to edge the Frostburg duo of Noah Spradlin, 24, and Josiah Spradlin, 13, by one stroke in the Rec Division.

Tim (27) and Shania (26) comprised the first team to be assigned to the Rec Division after Round 1 results based on their five under par 69. The Spradlin boys, meanwhile, were in 10th place overall and four strokes behind the Farris couple despite having far less playing experience than the Farris’s — Noah has been playing for 14 months, while Josiah has been playing for two years.

But what a difference a second round made. The Spradlins carded a 13 under par 61 in the best shot format, while Tim and Shania were three strokes back — three, not four or five. The difference was important, as it sealed the Rec Division win for the Farris couple. Tim and Shania finished with a combined score of 133 while the Spradlins earned a 134.

Tony Miller, 36, of Mercersburg, Pa., and Jason Kuch, of Chambersburg, Pa., placed third in the Rec Division with an 136.

Runners-up in the Rec Division: Josiah and Noah Spradlin.

Notes

* The Frostburg team of Brian Padovini, 42, and Evan Padovini, 12, finished in a tie for fourth place (141), a mere five strokes behind Miller and Kuch. Team Padovini’s entry was sponsored by the Allegany County Disc Golf Club.

* Frostburg friends Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, 10, and Noah Davis, 9, showed the largest improvement in Round 2 from Round 1 by a whopping 17 strokes.

* Ryker Bungard, 8, of Vienna, W.Va., was the youngest player in the field. Ryker has been playing for two years and teamed up on Saturday with his dad, Ryan Bungard.

* The top seven teams after Round 1 were only nine strokes apart, while remaining seven teams were 17 strokes apart.

* In Round 2, all 14 teams were only 17 strokes apart — Advanced Division teams were separated by 10 strokes, while Rec Division teams were separated by eight strokes.