Wawasee Wins NLC Match, Championship
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
SYRACUSE -Ê"It's hard to beat home-cooking."
Those were the thoughts of Warsaw golf coach Ben Barkey immediately after Saturday's Northern Lakes Conference championship.
It was the second year in a row that the Wawasee Warriors won the event, this time at their home course in Syracuse, South Shore Golf Club.
The Warriors shot a remarkable, two-over-par score of 290 to take the event by 12 shots over Concord's score of 302. Warsaw was a shot back at 303 with Plymouth at 305.
Warsaw, Wawasee, and Concord all came into the event with identical conference records of 6-1, as Wawasee had beaten Concord, Concord had beaten Warsaw, and Warsaw had beaten Wawasee.
The round robin standings coupled with the finish in conference championships would determine the final conference standings so everything was up in the air, but it was Wawasee that finished on top with Concord taking second overall and the Tigers third.
They didn't do it without a good scare though as Warsaw, Concord, and Plymouth, all came to Syracuse with thoughts of taking the title. After the front nine it looked like anyone of the three could pull it off.
At the turn Concord held a slight, two-shot advantage with Warsaw, Wawasee, and Plymouth close behind.
"It's tough to beat Wawasee on their home course," said Barkey. "We tried to spoil the party today but when they shoot 290 it's really hard. Wawasee was six-under on the back nine...it's hard to beat that. We played really well, particularly on the back, but just not good enough. We were behind a couple at the turn but fought back. Our sophomores did really well today, Jake Brodhead shot a 72 and Chris Hanson had a 74. They have been solid all year."
Rounding out the scoring for Warsaw was Jon Clevenger with a 77 and Ben Brodhead with an 80. In an unfortunate set of circumstances, lone Warsaw senior Jeremy Nieter was disqualified. In a show of class, the young man disqualified himself when he noticed midway through the back nine that he had inadvertently played a wrong ball.
Jake Brodhead's even-par round of 72 left him tied for third individually, giving him an automatic birth on the all-conference team. Joining him with an at-large bid was brother Ben.
Wawasee placed three players on the all-conference team as co-medalist Stephen Conrad, who shot 69, also made it. Conrad was also the 2002 individual winner. Joel Bickel, the 2001 individual champion, and Wawasee sophomore Darrin Cripe joined Conrad on the team.
Individually, it took extra holes to determine a champion as both Conrad of Wawasee and Adam Gifford of Plymouth finished with three-under par rounds of 69. Conrad birdied the last two holes of the championship in order to gain a play-off birth.
Both players birdied the first playoff hole but on the second playoff hole, Gifford again hit it stiff. Conrad's wizardry wouldn't continue as he missed a downhill, 18-footer and Gifford then tapped in for the individual title. It was just a year ago in sectional play that these two met in a playoff at Warsaw's Rozella Ford when Gifford again bettered Conrad for the title.
"I couldn't be happier," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone, the 2003 NLC coach-of-the-year. "Our guys played great. To win in such a tough conference with so many good teams is excellent. To do it two years in a row is especially nice."
Warsaw and Wawasee will meet again very soon as both teams will enter the Stonehenge sectional June 7 as co-favorites.
The top three teams from the sectional will advance to Chestnut Hills in Fort Wayne on June 12th for the regional.
There, the top three teams will advance to state.
The Tigers will be seeking their third-straight, state finals appearance and the Warriors are looking for their second straight.
NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE
GOLF TOURNAMENT
Team Scores - Wawasee 290, Concord 302, Warsaw 303, Plymouth 305, Elkhart Memorial 326, NorthWood 332, Goshen 341, Northridge 345
Top 15 Individuals - Adam Gifford (Ply) 69, Stephen Conrad (Waw) 690, Jake Brodhead (War) 72, Gavin Wilkinson (Con) 72, Darrin Cripe (Waw) 73, Joel Bickel (Waw) 73, Scott Bucher (Ply) 73, Chris Hanson (War) 74, Josh Abrams (Waw) 75, Evan Gerard (Waw) 75, Eric Lebold (Con) 76, Chris Ayers (EMem) 76, Justin Kime (Con) 77, Matt Dutton (Con) 77, Jon Clevenger (War) 77
All-Conference Team - Adam Gifford (Ply), Stephen Conrad (Waw), Jake Brodhead (War), Gavin Wilkinson (Con), Justin Kime (Con), Joel Bickel (Waw), Ben Brodhead (War), Darrin Cripe (Waw)
Coach of the Year - Steve Coverstone (Waw)
Warsaw scores - Jake Brodhead 72, Ben Brodhead 80, Chris Hanson 74, Jon Clevenger 77, Jeremy Nieter DQ
Wawasee scores - Stephen Conrad 69, Evan Gerard 75, Joel Bickel 73, Josh Abrams 75, Darrin Cripe 73 [[In-content Ad]]
SYRACUSE -Ê"It's hard to beat home-cooking."
Those were the thoughts of Warsaw golf coach Ben Barkey immediately after Saturday's Northern Lakes Conference championship.
It was the second year in a row that the Wawasee Warriors won the event, this time at their home course in Syracuse, South Shore Golf Club.
The Warriors shot a remarkable, two-over-par score of 290 to take the event by 12 shots over Concord's score of 302. Warsaw was a shot back at 303 with Plymouth at 305.
Warsaw, Wawasee, and Concord all came into the event with identical conference records of 6-1, as Wawasee had beaten Concord, Concord had beaten Warsaw, and Warsaw had beaten Wawasee.
The round robin standings coupled with the finish in conference championships would determine the final conference standings so everything was up in the air, but it was Wawasee that finished on top with Concord taking second overall and the Tigers third.
They didn't do it without a good scare though as Warsaw, Concord, and Plymouth, all came to Syracuse with thoughts of taking the title. After the front nine it looked like anyone of the three could pull it off.
At the turn Concord held a slight, two-shot advantage with Warsaw, Wawasee, and Plymouth close behind.
"It's tough to beat Wawasee on their home course," said Barkey. "We tried to spoil the party today but when they shoot 290 it's really hard. Wawasee was six-under on the back nine...it's hard to beat that. We played really well, particularly on the back, but just not good enough. We were behind a couple at the turn but fought back. Our sophomores did really well today, Jake Brodhead shot a 72 and Chris Hanson had a 74. They have been solid all year."
Rounding out the scoring for Warsaw was Jon Clevenger with a 77 and Ben Brodhead with an 80. In an unfortunate set of circumstances, lone Warsaw senior Jeremy Nieter was disqualified. In a show of class, the young man disqualified himself when he noticed midway through the back nine that he had inadvertently played a wrong ball.
Jake Brodhead's even-par round of 72 left him tied for third individually, giving him an automatic birth on the all-conference team. Joining him with an at-large bid was brother Ben.
Wawasee placed three players on the all-conference team as co-medalist Stephen Conrad, who shot 69, also made it. Conrad was also the 2002 individual winner. Joel Bickel, the 2001 individual champion, and Wawasee sophomore Darrin Cripe joined Conrad on the team.
Individually, it took extra holes to determine a champion as both Conrad of Wawasee and Adam Gifford of Plymouth finished with three-under par rounds of 69. Conrad birdied the last two holes of the championship in order to gain a play-off birth.
Both players birdied the first playoff hole but on the second playoff hole, Gifford again hit it stiff. Conrad's wizardry wouldn't continue as he missed a downhill, 18-footer and Gifford then tapped in for the individual title. It was just a year ago in sectional play that these two met in a playoff at Warsaw's Rozella Ford when Gifford again bettered Conrad for the title.
"I couldn't be happier," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone, the 2003 NLC coach-of-the-year. "Our guys played great. To win in such a tough conference with so many good teams is excellent. To do it two years in a row is especially nice."
Warsaw and Wawasee will meet again very soon as both teams will enter the Stonehenge sectional June 7 as co-favorites.
The top three teams from the sectional will advance to Chestnut Hills in Fort Wayne on June 12th for the regional.
There, the top three teams will advance to state.
The Tigers will be seeking their third-straight, state finals appearance and the Warriors are looking for their second straight.
NORTHERN LAKES CONFERENCE
GOLF TOURNAMENT
Team Scores - Wawasee 290, Concord 302, Warsaw 303, Plymouth 305, Elkhart Memorial 326, NorthWood 332, Goshen 341, Northridge 345
Top 15 Individuals - Adam Gifford (Ply) 69, Stephen Conrad (Waw) 690, Jake Brodhead (War) 72, Gavin Wilkinson (Con) 72, Darrin Cripe (Waw) 73, Joel Bickel (Waw) 73, Scott Bucher (Ply) 73, Chris Hanson (War) 74, Josh Abrams (Waw) 75, Evan Gerard (Waw) 75, Eric Lebold (Con) 76, Chris Ayers (EMem) 76, Justin Kime (Con) 77, Matt Dutton (Con) 77, Jon Clevenger (War) 77
All-Conference Team - Adam Gifford (Ply), Stephen Conrad (Waw), Jake Brodhead (War), Gavin Wilkinson (Con), Justin Kime (Con), Joel Bickel (Waw), Ben Brodhead (War), Darrin Cripe (Waw)
Coach of the Year - Steve Coverstone (Waw)
Warsaw scores - Jake Brodhead 72, Ben Brodhead 80, Chris Hanson 74, Jon Clevenger 77, Jeremy Nieter DQ
Wawasee scores - Stephen Conrad 69, Evan Gerard 75, Joel Bickel 73, Josh Abrams 75, Darrin Cripe 73 [[In-content Ad]]