S. Farris collects 10th straight SFL win

Week 10: Wolodkin’s win vaults him into 3rd place overall; Spradlin boys forge tie
Week 11 play is set for Central in Cumberland

* Results: Week 1 . Week 2. Week 3. Week 4 . Week 5 . Week 6 . Week 7 .
Week 8 . Week 9 . Week 10 . Week 11 . Week 12 . Week 13 . Week 14
* Scroll down for a few photos, full results and division standings
* Glow round set for Sunday, Sept. 3 (8 p.m. at Hoffman Park DGC)
* Fall Youth League begins Sept. 4
* Summer Flex League rules, schedule and more

MOUNT SAVAGE — Shania Farris stood near the practice basket at Mile Lane Disc Golf in Mount Savage and picked up her phone. She logged into the uDisc app and looked up the leaderboard for Week 10 of the Allegany County Disc Golf Club’s Summer Flex League.

Then she calculated. The 26-year-old from Wiley Ford, W.Va., figured she could be the traditional “tournament” layout — 12 shorts and 12 longs — instead of the 24 shorts that females and all players under the age of 18 are expected to play from, and still come away with the victory.

The sun was setting as Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang began his only Week 10 round at Mile Lane Disc Golf.

She was right.

The gap between first and second place wasn’t as much as it usually is — it’s often by double digits, and this time the runner-up was a mere eight strokes back — but Farris cruised to yet another SFL win despite the extra challenge. Farris carded seven birdies, including three on the back 12, en route to a one under par 73, to remain unbeaten in 10 weeks of play.

Albina Stiffler, 23, of Cumberland, continued to shake up (and move up) the Women’s Division standings with another second-place finish. This time Stiffler threw an 81 — which included a stretch of throwing for par on nine consecutive holes on the front 12. Stephanie Spradlin, 43, of Frostburg, also played 12 short and 12 long and chipped away at her personal best, lowering it by six strokes to card an 88. Spradlin’s previous best was a 94 thrown on Aug. 12.

Krystal Mallery, 50, of Mount Savage, placed close fourth with a 91. Her scorecard included some great putts, including to the orange basket in which she jumped for joy.

Farris tightened her vice-like grip on first place in the Women’s Division standings, adding six more points to her cumulative score of 64 and putting two more points between her and Spradlin, currently in second place with 38 points. Mallery is close in third with 35 points. Stiffler continued to scratch and claw her way towards the top three and now sits in fourth with 28 points.

A total of 19 players completed 27 rounds over the four-day weekend. Competition was spread pretty evenly between the four divisions in Week 10.

Boys’ Division

No daylight? No problem!

Luke Spradlin-Vogelsang might play his best disc golf when he can’t see the basket.

The 10-year-old Frostburg boy snuck in a speed round late Monday evening, taking exactly 60 minutes to complete 24 baskets. He managed some crazy-good drives and putts — many of them with his only light source being from an iPhone — and shaved six strokes off his best en route to a two under par 70 in what was a glow round without the glow.

His previous best was a 76 thrown on July 24. The mark matched that of older brother Josiah Spradlin, though he threw from 12 short and 12 long.

Incidentally, it was also the older brother’s personal best on the traditional “tournament” layout of 12 short and 12 long. The 70 is six strokes better than Spradlin’s 76 thrown on July 24. With baseball season in the rearview mirror for at least a few more months, it’s anticipated that Spradlin’s scores will continue to improve.

Both kids finished with six birdies for a share of first place in Week 10. Evan Padovini, 12, of Frostburg, placed a very close third with a 72 (believed to be his best mark). Liam Hutter, 13, of Frostburg, was fourth (91) and Wyatt Dare, 14, of Ellerslie, placed fifth with a 103 on his first time playing at Mile Lane.

Spradlin maintains an 11-point lead over his younger brother in the division standings, 58-47. Padovini is close behind in third (44) and the up-and-comer Hutter is in fourth with 18 points.

Men’s Advanced

Summer Flex League competition almost went another week without an ace.

Almost.

Bill Shreve, 47 of Cumberland, ended the three-week drought when he drained a drive from the short No. 7 tee downhill and 126 feet straight to the green basket at approximately 7:30 p.m. on Monday. Shreve, 47, of Cumberland, finished second for the week with a 63 — two strokes behind Sam Wolodkin, 21, of Frostburg, who had the hot round of 13 under par 61.

Wolodkin finished with 12 birdies and an eagle on long No. 5. Shreve finished with nine birdies, an ace and an eagle on long No. 7.

Colby Mallery, 19, of Mount Savage, placed third with a 64 while dad Scott Mallery, 55, of Mount Savage, was a close fourth (65). Each member of the father-son duo carded 12 birdies. Ethan von Hagel celebrated his 21st birthday weekend with a fifth-place finish (70).

With the win, Wolodkin earned a two-point lead over Colby Mallery for third place in the division standings (36 points to 34 points, respectively). Shreve’s second-place finish helped put more distance between him and Scott Mallery. Shreve leads the division with 49 points to Mallery’s 43 points.

Shreve’s hole-in-one is the 13th ace in Allegany County Disc Golf Club history and the first since July 30. Club members threw seven aces in July.

Shreve now has four of the club’s 13 aces (30.8 percent), the most of any club member. The four aces have been thrown on three different courses: Mile Lane, Hoffman Park DGC in Frostburg and The Glades at Meshach Run in Garrett County.

Men’s Rec

It never comes down to a single basket. But looking at Tim Farris’s scorecard, the figure for No. 3 from the long tee looks rather odd.

Farris scored a rare double bogey on the island hole that caused more than a few players some trouble over the weekend. That, and a oh-so-close-but-still-out putt for birdie on No. 10 long, helped seal a second-place finish for the 27-year-old from Wiley Ford.

Farris finished with a 66, including 10 birdies, while Kevin Spradlin, 44, of Frostburg, took first with a personal best of 65. His previous best of 66 was thrown twice, once each on July 8 and July 24. Spradlin’s 11 birdies also ties his personal best mark, having thrown 11 birdies at Hoffman Park DGC on Aug. 21. The win was Spradlin’s first outright Summer Flex League victory in the 2023 season. He previously tied for first in Week 2 and Week 9, both at Hoffman Park DGC (and both times with Farris).

Brian Padovini, 42, of Frostburg, continued his rapid improvement and earned a third-place finish with a 69, including nine birdies. Nathan Stiffler, 22, of Cumberland, offered up a moving-day weekend of 75 while Noah Spradlin, 24, of Frostburg, placed fifth (77).

Farris’s grasp on first place in the division standings remains tight. He holds an 11-point lead over Spradlin, 60-49. Padovini continues to close in Keith Raynor’s third-place mark of 36 points. Padovini, in fourth place now with 28 points, has earned 16 points over the past four weeks. There are four weeks remaining in Summer Flex League competition.

Next up – Week 11 at Central

Week 11 of Summer Flex League will take place at Central Assembly of God, located at 2020 Bedford St. in Cumberland.

The course is located on private property, so this schedule shows course availability:

Friday, Sept. 1: 4 p.m. to dusk
Saturday, Sept. 2: Open all day
Sunday, Sept. 3: Open at 1 p.m. to dusk
Monday, Sept. 4: Open all day

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)
11 — Keith Raynor, July 30, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 3)
12 — Bill Shreve, July 30, 2023 at Hoffman Park DGC (No. 9)
13 — Bill Shreve, Aug. 28, 2023 at Mile Lane DGC (No. 7 short)