By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The eight-team Northwest Conference golf championship tournament was held Thursday at Colonial Hills.

Tourney host and league regular season champion Allen East won the event with 323 strokes, with Paulding a distant second at 349.

Lincolnview was third (351), followed by Bluffton (361), Columbus Grove (373) and Delphos Jefferson (383).     

Ada tied for seventh with Crestview at 448 strokes, but won the fifth man playoff tiebreaker to finish one spot ahead of the Knights.

AE's Zack Miller was NWC match medalist with an 18-hole score of 37-36=73. Kenny Lovett of Bluffton finished second with a 40-38=78. Miller was named NWC Player of the Year and topped the all-league first team.

Lovett was the second-leading vote-getter on the All-NWC first team as well. 

Micah Minnig shot 44-43=87 to finish second for the Pirates. Minnig earned second team all-league for his efforts. Jaden Coonfare (46-51=97) and Jacob Boisvert (49-50=99) were the other Bluffton scorers.

Wes Brauen (53-52=105) and Eli Wenger (54-56=110) rounded out the Pirate players.

Coonfare and Brauen each were also named honorable mention all-league.

AE also won the NWC regular season title at 14-0. Mustang mentor Josh Hollar was voted NWC Coach of the Year.

The Div. III sectionals at Sycamore Springs will be held Thursday, October 1 at 9 a.m. Ada, Allen East and Bluffton will compete in the 12-team event.