OUTSTANDING ATHLETE

Induction Year: 2009 | Graduation Year: 1993

Matt Ehlinger graduated from Tecumseh High School in 1993. He is the son of Gary and Beth Ehlinger. He played baseball for one year, basketball all four years (lettering twice), and golf all four years (lettering three times).

Matt's first love was basketball, but he decided to take up the game of golf his freshman year. That turned out to be one of the best decisions of his life. During Matt's sophomore season, he led a young Arrow's golf team to a 3rd place finish in the Central Buckeye Conference with a record of 16-5. In his junior year, the Arrows won their first ever Central Buckeye Conference title in golf with a record of 18-2. He led the team with a scoring average of 36.7. He was just the second golfer from THS to ever qualify for the OHSAA Division I District Tournament as an individual. During Matt's senior year at THS, the Arrow's golf team won a second straight CBC Championship with a record of 19-1. The team also qualified for the OHSAA Division I District Tournament for the first time in school history. They missed qualifying for the state tournament by 6 shots. Some of Matt's accomplishments include being named first team AlI-CBC his junior and senior years, first team All-Clark County his junior and senior years, and first team All-Area his junior and senior years. During Matt's career at THS the golf team had a record of 53-8.

After high school, Matt continued his golf career at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. During his freshman year, he helped the Cardinals to a 2nd place finish in the Ohio Athletic Conference and a 5th place finish at the NCAA tournament. In Matt's sophomore year, the Cardinals finished 2nd in the OAC again and finished runner-up at the NCAA tournament which is the highest finish by a team in the history of Otterbein's golf program. Matt was named an honorable mention All-American his sophomore year. During his junior year, Matt played #1 man for an Otterbein team that won the OAC championship and was ranked #1 in the country during the season. They had a disappointing 9th place finish at the NCAA tournament. He was named to the All-OAC team and was an honorable mention All-American for the second time. He finished in the top-3 in 7 of the team's 10 tournaments. During Matt's senior year at Otterbein, he accomplished many things while playing #1 man. He led the team to a 2nd place finish in the OAC. He was named Player of the Year in the OAC. He finished in the top 3 in every tournament, including 6 wins in 10 events. He led a team that was again ranked #1 in the country during the season, ultimately finishing 4th in the NCAA tournament. He was named a first team All-American. He was also named NCAA Player of the Year by Golfweek magazine and Mid-Ohio Golfer.

Matt had an extremely successful amateur golf career that started during his time at Otterbein and continued after his time there. He won the Dayton City Amateur stroke play and match play tournaments in 1997 and 1998, a feat that had ever been accomplished and has not been accomplished since. Matt also won the Springfield City Amateur in 1997. He won the prestigious Miami Valley Metropolitan in 1997. He qualified for the United States Amateur and US Amateur Public Links in 1998. The greatest win of Matt's amateur career occurred in 1998 when he won the Ohio Amateur at Springfield Country Club. After regaining his amateur status in 2004, Matt won the Springfield City Am again in 2004 and the Clark County Match Play in 2005.

In 1998, Matt decided to take a shot at playing professional golf. He was a member of the Tear Drop Golf Tour in 1999 and 2000. He also played on the Dakota's Tour. His best finish was a 4th place finish at the Raleigh Classic in Raleigh North Carolina. Matt's biggest professional accomplishment was qualifying for and playing in the Nike Tour's Dayton Open in 2001. Matt also spentayear working as an assistant golf professional at Miami Valley Golf Club.

Matt was inducted into the Dayton Golf Hall of Fame this fall.

In 2002, Matt decided to go back to school and finish his degree. He earned a BA in Mathematics from Wright State University in 2004 and a MEd in Advanced Studies in 2005 from WSU. He began teaching in 2004, and is now teaching math at Tecumseh High School and coaching the Arrows golf team. He married his high school sweetheart, Amy Suver Ehlinger, in 1999. They have 3 children, Ava 7, Luke 5, and Tate 2. They live in the Tecumseh Local District.