NLC Schools Impressive At Golf Regional
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
FORT WAYNE - Only one team, Northridge, can say it won Thursday's high school boys golf regional at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne, but an entire conference has reason to smile.
Six Northern Lakes Conference schools competed in the 12-team regional field, from which only the top three teams and the top three individuals not on an advancing team qualified for next week's state finals at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.
NLC schools took the top three spots, six of the top eight all together, and also saw a pair of individuals advance.
"It's impressive, very impressive," Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said of the showing by the NLC schools. "The conference was tough this year."
Northridge won Thursday's team title with a four-man, 18-hole score of 299. Wawasee and Plymouth shot 301, with Wawasee claiming runner-up honors based on a fifth-man tiebreaker.
Plymouth's team score was a school record.
"The kids worked their hearts out and we are thrilled to be going down (to state)," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone, whose lineup features two freshmen and a sophomore. "Obviously we would have liked to win, but you can't win state if you don't get there, and we are down there."
Warsaw, which finished sixth yesterday with a score of 308, won last year's state championship after not winning the sectional or regional. The Tigers, in fact, advanced from last year's regional on a fifth-man tiebreaker.
While the Warriors would have liked to win yesterday's regional championship, Coverstone took the right approach, being happy his team advanced and has a shot at winning a state title Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We wanted to go out and post a good front nine and we did," said Coverstone. "Andy Wolf did a great job. He played with pain under his left shoulder blade. We put heat on it and he made the best of it with a 72. Jordy (Dawes) and Curtis (Coverstone) were solid and (Andy) Custer overcame a quadruple bogey on No. 4 to shoot 78."
Homestead finished fourth with a 307, followed in the 12-team field by Bishop Dwenger (308), Warsaw (308), Goshen (313), Concord (315), Leo (315), Canterbury (325), Carroll (329) and Northrop (333).
While Warsaw didn't advance as a team, the Tigers will be represented at state by junior Grant Slater and senior Jared Nifong, who both shot 74.
"Two-fifths of our team is going," said Barkey. "We're disappointed not all five guys are going, but it's not a big deal."
Other Warsaw scores included Tad Nieter's 77 and 83s from both Skyler Scott and Ryan Marose.
For Wawasee, Andy Wolf shot a 72 while Jordan Dawes shot 75, Curtis Coverstone shot 76, Andrew Custer shot 78 and Michael Jenkins shot 84.
Lakeland's Thomas Pechin and Plymouth's Adam Lappin led the field with 71s, with Pechin taking medalist honors after winning a playoff.
Advancing as individuals are Pechin, Homstead's Erich Johnston (72), Churubusco's Tyler Haire (74), Dwengers's Mike Vanosdol (74), Homestead's Nate Wine (74), Leo's Evan Riecke (74) and Slater and Nifong.
Triton sophomore T.J. Carpenter, competing individually after the Trojans finished fourth at last week's Warsaw Sectional, shot a 75 and missed advancing to state by one stroke.
After nine holes, Wawasee, which opened competition by teeing off on No. 10, led with a score of 143. Warsaw and Plymouth, which also played the back first, were tied for second at 149.
Northridge, which played the front nine first, shot 150 to sit with the third-best score after nine holes.
Team scores - Northridge 299, Wawasee 301, Plymouth 301, Homestead 307, Bishop Dwenger 308, Warsaw 308, Goshen 313, Concord 315, Leo 315, Canterbury 325, Carroll 329, Northrop 333
Wawasee - Andy Wolf 72, Jordan Dawes 75, Curtis Coverstone 76, Andrew Custer 78, Michael Jenkins 84
Warsaw - Grant Slater 74, Jared Nifong 74, Tad Nieter 77, Skyler Scott 83, Ryan Marose 83
Actual low medalist - Thomas Pechin (Lakeland) 71, Adam Lappin (Plymouth) 71, Wolf (Wawasee) 72, Erich Johnston (Homestead) 72
Advancing individuals - Pechin (Lakeland) 71, Johnston (Homestead) 72, Tyler Haire (Churubusco) 74, Mike Vanosdol (Dwenger) 74, Nate Wine (Homestead) 74, Evan Riecke (Leo) 74, Nifong (Warsaw) 74, Slater (Warsaw) 74
Other locals - T.J. Carpenter (Triton) 75 [[In-content Ad]]
FORT WAYNE - Only one team, Northridge, can say it won Thursday's high school boys golf regional at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne, but an entire conference has reason to smile.
Six Northern Lakes Conference schools competed in the 12-team regional field, from which only the top three teams and the top three individuals not on an advancing team qualified for next week's state finals at Legends of Indiana in Franklin.
NLC schools took the top three spots, six of the top eight all together, and also saw a pair of individuals advance.
"It's impressive, very impressive," Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said of the showing by the NLC schools. "The conference was tough this year."
Northridge won Thursday's team title with a four-man, 18-hole score of 299. Wawasee and Plymouth shot 301, with Wawasee claiming runner-up honors based on a fifth-man tiebreaker.
Plymouth's team score was a school record.
"The kids worked their hearts out and we are thrilled to be going down (to state)," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone, whose lineup features two freshmen and a sophomore. "Obviously we would have liked to win, but you can't win state if you don't get there, and we are down there."
Warsaw, which finished sixth yesterday with a score of 308, won last year's state championship after not winning the sectional or regional. The Tigers, in fact, advanced from last year's regional on a fifth-man tiebreaker.
While the Warriors would have liked to win yesterday's regional championship, Coverstone took the right approach, being happy his team advanced and has a shot at winning a state title Tuesday and Wednesday.
"We wanted to go out and post a good front nine and we did," said Coverstone. "Andy Wolf did a great job. He played with pain under his left shoulder blade. We put heat on it and he made the best of it with a 72. Jordy (Dawes) and Curtis (Coverstone) were solid and (Andy) Custer overcame a quadruple bogey on No. 4 to shoot 78."
Homestead finished fourth with a 307, followed in the 12-team field by Bishop Dwenger (308), Warsaw (308), Goshen (313), Concord (315), Leo (315), Canterbury (325), Carroll (329) and Northrop (333).
While Warsaw didn't advance as a team, the Tigers will be represented at state by junior Grant Slater and senior Jared Nifong, who both shot 74.
"Two-fifths of our team is going," said Barkey. "We're disappointed not all five guys are going, but it's not a big deal."
Other Warsaw scores included Tad Nieter's 77 and 83s from both Skyler Scott and Ryan Marose.
For Wawasee, Andy Wolf shot a 72 while Jordan Dawes shot 75, Curtis Coverstone shot 76, Andrew Custer shot 78 and Michael Jenkins shot 84.
Lakeland's Thomas Pechin and Plymouth's Adam Lappin led the field with 71s, with Pechin taking medalist honors after winning a playoff.
Advancing as individuals are Pechin, Homstead's Erich Johnston (72), Churubusco's Tyler Haire (74), Dwengers's Mike Vanosdol (74), Homestead's Nate Wine (74), Leo's Evan Riecke (74) and Slater and Nifong.
Triton sophomore T.J. Carpenter, competing individually after the Trojans finished fourth at last week's Warsaw Sectional, shot a 75 and missed advancing to state by one stroke.
After nine holes, Wawasee, which opened competition by teeing off on No. 10, led with a score of 143. Warsaw and Plymouth, which also played the back first, were tied for second at 149.
Northridge, which played the front nine first, shot 150 to sit with the third-best score after nine holes.
Team scores - Northridge 299, Wawasee 301, Plymouth 301, Homestead 307, Bishop Dwenger 308, Warsaw 308, Goshen 313, Concord 315, Leo 315, Canterbury 325, Carroll 329, Northrop 333
Wawasee - Andy Wolf 72, Jordan Dawes 75, Curtis Coverstone 76, Andrew Custer 78, Michael Jenkins 84
Warsaw - Grant Slater 74, Jared Nifong 74, Tad Nieter 77, Skyler Scott 83, Ryan Marose 83
Actual low medalist - Thomas Pechin (Lakeland) 71, Adam Lappin (Plymouth) 71, Wolf (Wawasee) 72, Erich Johnston (Homestead) 72
Advancing individuals - Pechin (Lakeland) 71, Johnston (Homestead) 72, Tyler Haire (Churubusco) 74, Mike Vanosdol (Dwenger) 74, Nate Wine (Homestead) 74, Evan Riecke (Leo) 74, Nifong (Warsaw) 74, Slater (Warsaw) 74
Other locals - T.J. Carpenter (Triton) 75 [[In-content Ad]]