Von Hagel’s drives, Mallery’s putts propel duo to tourney victory

Golub/Dowling take D-2 win in inaugural event

A very special thank you to: Scott and Colby Mallery for your support in the weeks
leading up to the event; for all of our Distance Contest volunteers; MacKenzie Spradlin
for photography; Noah Spradlin for 
administrative help, and to
Noah and Josiah Spradlin for course clean-up assistance.

* Photo album (on Facebook) from tournament
* Allegany County Disc Golf Club on Facebook (like and share!)
* Video – Awards ceremony (12 minutes)

CUMBERLAND — It was a day of adversity and obstacles, and no one persevered better than Colby Mallery and Ethan von Hagel.

Mallery, 19, of Mount Savage, and von Hagel, 20, of Cumberland, teamed up as the FlamingBros — a play on their matching flamingo t-shirts — to post the lowest score of the inaugural Allegany County Disc Golf Doubles Championship on Saturday at Central Assembly of God in Cumberland.

Colby Mallery on the drive while FlamingBros teammate Ethan von Hagel watches.

All 22 players (ranging in age from 9 to 72) tolerated, with varying degrees of success, strong winds and a mix of temperatures — it felt great when the sun was out, and less than stellar when the sun went behind the clouds — an the two-round event. Originally the competition was to include the first round at Central in the morning and the second round at Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage. the idea was to play 24 holes on that course, which is far more forgiving than the hilly terrain at Central. Due to Friday’s winter storm that included severe winds, however, the Mount Savage course was deemed unplayable as downed trees and power lines littered the village early on event morning.

Players in Round 1 completed 21 holes of Modified Alternate Shot, in which teammates took throws making forward progress with their disc to each of 21 baskets, including 12 from the short tees and nine from the long tees. The only catch was that a player could not drive more than two consecutive throws. In Round 2, the best shot format was installed and resulted in — with a single exception — lower scores.

And given the chance to do their best, without limitations, Mallery and von Hagel excelled. The pair shaved 11 strokes off their first-round score over the same 21 holes en route to a three-stroke win over David Warder, 32, of Frostburg, and Benji Steele, 24, of Fairmont, W.Va. Mallery and von Hagel finished with a score of 115, while Warder and Steele placed second with 118. Bill Shreve, 46, of Cumberland, and Scott Mallery, 54, of Mount Savage, took third (121).

In Round 2, the winning team used von Hagel’s drive on 14 of 21 baskets (66.7 percent) while Mallery finished up with a putt 11 times (52.4 percent) to post the hot round of 52, 13 under par.

Mallery and von Hagel led the 11-team field with a low round of 63 in Round 1. Two teams were positioned a single stroke behind them: Team Warder-Steele, and Team Mallery-Shreve, each with a 64. Keith Raynor, 46, of Vale Summit, and Ethan Shreve, 19, of Cumberland, were in fourth with a 65, while Frostburg father-son duo of Kevin Spradlin, 44, and Noah Spradlin, 23, were fifth with a 67 — only one stroke ahead of Hagerstown residents Gordon Cox 49, and Richard Smith, 50.

A pair of teams were tied for seventh place after the first round. Matthew Marsh, 21, of Oakland, and Josiah Spradlin, 13, of Frostburg, along with Matthew Golub, 23, of Pittsburgh, Pa., and Thomas Dowling, 29, of Greensburg, Pa., each tallied a 74. A couple of 26-year-olds from Wiley Ford, W.Va., in Shania Farris and Tim Farris, were ninth with a 75 while the father-son duo of Tim Mathews, 72, of Cumberland, and Lucas Mathews, 33, of Raleigh, N.C., were 10th with an 81.

After an 18-hole first round, “The Boss of the Toss” Glitch team of 9-year-old Frostburg kids Noah Davis and Lucas Spradlin-Vogelsang notched a 77.

Nine of the 10 teams that took the field for Round 2 lowered their second-round scores between four and 18 strokes. The exception was the team of Kevin and Noah Spradlin, who scored a 67 in each round. Mallery and von Hagel were the third-youngest team in the field by combined age (39), bettered only by the Youth Division team (combined age of 18) and the youngest adult division team of Marsh and Spradlin (34).

Golub, Dowling complete second-round comeback for D-2 win

Matthew Golub and Thomas Dowling had their work cut out for them heading into Round 2 of the Allegany County Doubles Championship, a first-year event in Cumberland.

Lucky for the Allegheny County (Pa.) residents, they were up for the challenge.

Golub and Dowling posted the best second-round difference from their first-round scores, shaving 18 strokes in Round 2 to hold off two other Division 2 teams. Teams were assigned divisions based on Round 1 scores. As there was a six-stroke gap between places six and seven, that’s where the split was made.  The pair was tied for first after Round 1 with Matthew Marsh and Josiah Spradlin. Shania Farris and Tim Farris sat one stroke behind, while Lucas Mathews and Tim Mathews (the later of whom was playing disc golf for the first time) sat in fourth with a respectable 81.

Something seemed to click for Golub in between rounds. During the putting contest, he finished with an undefeated 7-0 record against Division 2 opponents. He also finished second in Division 2 in the Distance Contest. Golub went on to make 11 of his team’s 21 putts — and 13 drives of his drives were chosen — to beat the Division 2 field by five strokes. Golub and Dowling threw a 130, while Spradlin and Marsh finished with  135. Team Farris, notably worn out from a three and one-half  hour work trip earlier that morning, tallied 137.

Youth Division highlights

Frostburg friends, fellow 9-year-olds and soccer teammates Noah Davis and Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang represented the Youth Division well — very well, in fact.

The two shaved 17 strokes from their Round 1 score during round 2 and finished with a 12 under par 60 over 18 holes from the short tees.

The young duo threw two eagles — both on dramatic No. 5 — and finished with nine birdies (50 percent) along with managing par on six other baskets and only one bogey. The pair got better as the day went along. They threw 32 on the front nine and 28 on the back nine. They started the back nine with four consecutive birdies, then an eagle.

Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang, left, and Noah Davis contemplate their next basket.

The CTP, sponsored by the Mathews family, was originally going to be No. 2 at Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage. As the course was not playable Saturday morning due to the overnight windstorms that uprooted trees and downed power lines, the CTP was transitioned to Central. Tim and Lucas Mathews dropped from the field after Round 1, so Lucas Mathews could not be consulted on a new CTP basket. Davis, the youngest in the field, was asked to choose. He selected  No. 5. The first time around, Spradlin-Vogelsang threw his Discraft Buzz from the natural tee pad and the disc landed only 17 feet, 1 inch from the basket — edging the effort by Shania Farris by 16.75 inches. Spradlin-Vogelsang was excited and acted, at least for a moment, that the $25 CTP cash prize was already in his pocket.

The next time around, Spradlin-Vogelsang drove nearly as close to the basket with his signature backhand. Then Davis threw his new MVP Volt, an 8-speed fairway driver Davis received before the start of Round 1 as part of his entry into the tournament. Davis has been inconsistent with his forehand, but when he’s on, he’s on. Well, he was on. The disc, noteworthy for its pink burst color, seemed to float unnaturally towards the basket and landed a mere 9 feet, 6 inches from the basket — beating out his teammates CTP best by 7 feet, 7 inches.

Tournament notes

* 12 of 22 players (54.5 percent) in the field earned at least one prize.

* No ace today; $153 remains in the club’s ace pot.

* A total of $290 was collected in entry fees.

* Players enjoyed a total prize package value of $340. Thanks to a generous donation, that cost was fully covered, and 100 percent of the $290 in fees collected will go towards the club’s share of the cost of Hoffman Park Ace Place Disc Golf Course equipment and maintenance. While the City of Frostburg has graciously agreed to cover the overwhelming majority of the project’s cost, the club is responsible for purchasing the concrete, tee signs, and erecting a kiosk, along with other expenses.

Overall results of the inaugural Allegany County Doubles Championship hosted by the Allegany County Disc Golf Club.

Filed in: Latest Headlines, Outdoors, Sports

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