By ALBERT GRINDLE

Staff Writer

COLUMBUS — Eight days ago, Medina’s boys golf team pulled off a miraculous comeback to earn a trip to this weekend’s Division I State Tournament.

The Bees can do it again at Ohio State’s Scarlet Course, but a slow start might hamper their chances at a high finish.

The competition is simply too good and Medina knows another potential comeback will be much harder to pull off.

“Obviously it’s important and there are not a lot of makeup holes,” Medina coach Jeanne Pritchard said. “If we just stay close the first day and give ourselves a chance the second day — relaxing our nerves a little bit — we’ll be OK.”

Despite knowing the pressure they will face, the Bees, making their eighth state appearance in school history, are full of confidence and ready for the challenge when they tee off Friday at 9 a.m.

Junior Mark Maynard (77.0 average in postseason), freshman Austin Schreiber (78.0) and seniors Jason Klossing (79.0), Ryan Rao (81.0) and Gavin Kruchan (82.5) and alternate Kyle Smith have never seen action at the highest level, but know what it takes to be successful.

That mentality could be crucial considering OSU Scarlet is a completely different animal than Pine Hills Golf Club, where the Northeast Ohio Valley Division champions shot a 318 on Oct. 8.

“We got a pretty solid team here,” Klossing said. “We were talking about possibly placing fourth. There’s great teams there — (Cleveland) St. Ignatius, Dublin (Jerome), Upper Arlington — the top teams in the state. There’s not much you can do against them, but the teams we can we’re going to give them a good run.”

The Buckeyes’ home course is very long at 7,115 yards and the 74.0 course rating will be the hardest the Bees face this season. Hitting fairways and soaring over the endless amount of bunkers will be crucial.

In preparation, the team played specific practice holes earlier this week at Fox Meadows Country Club and Medina Country Club to adjust its game.

“It’s helped a lot,” Kruchan said. “The bunkers down at Columbus are 12-6 and are up-and-down. (Coach Pritchard) has put stuff in front of bunkers, so that’s helped a lot.”

Having a coach who has previous experience will be a big help for the state rookies. Pritchard led Medina to the big dance in 2005 and 2006 and her players plan to rely heavily on her advice.

“She’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever played for in any sport,” Kruchan said. “She knows what she’s talking about and we listen.”

Medina’s goal is simple: play to the best of your ability and beat the school-record finish of sixth, which happened in 1994, 2005 and 2006.

The Bees’ wish isn’t out of the question, especially when only four squads (Dublin Jerome, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Cincinnati St. Xavier, Cincinnati Moeller) return from 2007’s field. Medina’s district score was sixth among the 12 teams.

“If you don’t think you can win, why show up?” Rao said. “It’s anyone’s game. It’s golf. Stranger things have happened.”

Brunswick senior Ryan Szalay fulfilled a dream when he qualified for state at Pine Hills. Now he has to live it out.

Szalay, who tees off Friday at 9:40, is playing arguably his best golf of the season, as evidenced by a 75 and 76, respectively, in two OHSAA tournament rounds.

“I’m feeling relaxed and trying not to think about the rounds ahead,” Szalay said. “I’m staying cool and letting it go.

“My goal is play the golf I know I can play. Just play good solid golf and see what happens.”

Szalay is feeling pretty good knowing his game plays quite well at the Scarlet Layout.

A long driver off the tee, Szalay knows he can hang with the big boys, especially if his short game is working.

“I’m going to take a look at that (today), but one of my strengths is I can hit the ball far,” Szalay said. “That will give me an advantage. Another thing is my short game. If my putter is going good I can do well down there.”

Grindle may be reached at agrindle@ohio.net or 330-721-4043.