DARKE COUNTY – One is a senior and the other is just a freshman, but both of the Daily Advocate’s athletes of the week have had exceptional seasons for their teams.
This week’s Daily Advocate athletes of the week are Versailles boys golfer Nicholas Litten-Stonebraker and Greenville girls tennis player Natalie Milligan.
As a senior Litten-Stonebraker proved he’s one of the area’s best golfers as he won medalist honors at the Versailles High school Boys Golf Invitational last weekend with an 18-hole round of 75 at Stillwater Valley Golf Club. Litten-Stonebraker beat the second-place finisher, Lehman Catholic’s Tyler Lachey, by four strokes and helped lead the Tigers to the team championship as well.
“I think he’s been doing real well all year,” Versailles boys golf coach Pete DiSalvo said. “This (invitational championship) is kind of icing on the cake”
Throughout his high school career Litten-Stonebraker has been one of Versailles’ top players because of his dedication, DiSalvo said.
“He works really hard at it,” the Versailles coach said.
While there’s not one aspect of the game that Litten-Stonebraker excels at, he’s a solid player in every area.
“I think he’s a pretty good all-around player,” DiSalvo said. “And that’s what you look for.”
While Litten-Stonebraker is in the final year of his high school eligibility, Milligan is just getting started in her high school career.
Even though she’s young, the Greenville freshman is playing extremely well. She’s begun the season with a 9-2 record playing first singles for the Lady Wave.
“She’s playing seniors, girls who have been around for four years,” Greenville girls tennis coach Jim Koontz said. “Mostly she’s playing these seniors. For just being a freshman I think she’s stepped up real well playing No. 1 singles for us.”
While she’s younger than most of her opponents Milligan has defeated strong seniors from Celina, Fairborn and Xenia this year, Koontz said. She’s a smart and athletic player, helping her to beat the more experienced players.
“She can chase down any ball,” Koontz said.
Milligan hasn’t played in a lot of varsity matches, but she’s played a lot of tennis as she plays indoor tennis during the offseason, Koontz said.
“She put a lot of time in, too,” he said. “It’s not like she hasn’t worked at it.”
