NORTH MANCHESTER -ÊWith four players returning from last year's state qualifying team, Wawasee's golf team is working to get back there this season.

Saturday at the Whitko Invitational, the No. 2 Warriors showed why they could return to the state meet. The Wawasee squad shot a 305 over 18 holes to win the 12-team invitational by 15 strokes over the second-place Manchester Squires.

The Warriors placed three golfers in the top five places to secure that first-place win.

Manchester's Joey Zapf was the medalist of the match, shooting a 71 and winning a playoff over Wawasee's Stephen Conrad who also shot a 71.

Tippecanoe Valley placed seventh in the invitational with a 358, while Whitko was eighth with a 370.

But the story of the day was Wawasee. The Warriors led from the beginning, combining for a 150 on the front nine holes at Sycamore Golf Course. The Warriors finished with a 155 on the last nine holes of the match.

Stephen Conrad led the Warrior five with a 71. He placed second after losing a playoff to Manchester's Zapf. Next for the Warriors was Joel Bickel, who shot a 74 and placed third overall.

Evan Gerard shot a 79 and won a playoff over Manchester's Kyle Music to place fourth in the competition.

Rod Knuckles and Casey Weade shot and 81 and an 82, respectively, to round out the Warrior team.

"I think we played pretty well today," said Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone. "Evan had a bad back nine, but overall we played fairly well. The course was set up tough, the pins were all at the edges of the greens and the greens were fast."

The Manchester Squires earned a second-place team finish with a score of 320 for 18 holes. Zapf and Music placed first and fifth, respectively to lead the Squires. David Huntington turned in a score of 82 for the Squires, while Alec Williams had an 88. William Rhudy finished the day with a 90.

Tippecanoe Valley shot a 358 to place seventh in the competition. Kyle Bruner led the Vikings with an 88, while Brad Roberts was close behind with an 89. Josh Johnson shot a 90 and Josh Murphy followed with a 91, while Devin Reed rounded out the Viking lineup with a 98.

"We played pretty consistent," said Valley coach Roger Moriarty. "We are still young and learning. I hope we can get the score down about 20 more strokes by the end of the season. All of these guys are capable of taking several more strokes off their scores."

Whitko placed eighth overall with a 370. The Wildcats were led by Nic Sprunger and Micheal Hollar, who both shot 91s. Bart Loe finished the day with a 93, while Dan Calhoun and Drew Lopshire shot 95 and 97, respectively.

"We are getting better," said Whitko coach Bryan Sprunger. "We started the season at Columbia City with a 9-hole score of 205, we have worked that down over the course of the season. I think we can take 20 more strokes off by the nd of the season. We continue to improve and score better. Overall, I am proud of our progress, and if we keep working, we'll be all right."

WHITKO INVITATIONAL

Team scores - Wawasee 305, Manchester 320, Central Noble 332, Southwood 341, New Prairie 346, Northfield 354, Tippecanoe Valley 358, Whitko 370, Wabash 377, West Noble 382, Fairfield 399, LaVille 423

Top 5 Individuals -Ê1. Joey Zapf (Manchester) 71 (won in playoff), 2. Wawasee Stephen Conrad (Wawasee) 71, 3. Joel Bickel (Wawasee) 74, 4. Evan Gerard (Wawasee) 79 (won in playoff), 5. Kyle Music (Manchester) 79

Wawasee -ÊStephen Conrad 36-35-71, Evan Gerard 37-42-79, Joel Bickel 37-37-79, Casey Weade 43-37-74, Rod Knuckles 40-41-81

Manchester -ÊJoey Zapf 36-35-71, Kyle Music 38-41-79, William Rhudy 46-44-90, David Huntington 43-39-82, Alec Williams 45-43-88

Tippecanoe Valley -ÊDevin Reed 51-47-98, Brad Roberts 46-43-89, Kyle Bruner 41-47-88, Josh Murphy 47-44-91, Josh Johnson 43-47-90

Whitko -ÊNic Sprunger 44-47-91, Bart Loe 48-45-93, Michael Holler 48-43-91, Dan Calhoun 49-46-95, Drew Lopshire 51-46-97 [[In-content Ad]]