FORT WAYNE - A year after finishing two strokes from qualifying for state, the Wawasee Warriors were back at the Homestead Regional Thursday, this time with better results.
Shooting a 317 at Orchard Ridge Country Club's par-71 course, the Warriors finished behind Northridge's 305, but qualified, along with Concord's 317, for Tuesday's state match at Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin.
"We're excited to go to state," Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone said. "We have a sectional title, we would have loved to have had a regional title, but Northridge played really well. We played - good enough to get out. We'll take that."
Last year's trip to Fort Wayne saw Wawasee shoot a 334, two strokes behind third-place Concord's 332. Following a slow start this year, the sixth-ranked Warriors weren't in the best position, but finishing strong, punched their tickets to their second state match in three years.
"We need to start getting off to a better start," Coverstone said. "We just haven't done that. That's one of the things that's hurt us."
Against the regional field, the slow start didn't hurt them too bad, but it's still a trend they'd like to see stop.
"I just think we hit bad shots to start off," Wawasee senior Jordan Dawes said. "I think we were there mentally, it just took us a little while to settle into the round. Once we did, we started playing much better as a team."
The Warriors were paced by Curtis Coverstone's 76, the match's ninth-best score. Michael Jenkins and Rees Woodcock each shot an 80, John Kirkwood came in with an 81 and Dawes didn't have his best day, shooting an 82.
"He had one of those days where he was hitting the ball good; he'd just hit the wrong club and leave it short or hit the wrong club and hit it long," Coverstone said of Dawes. "Then he couldn't get it up and down. Couldn't make any putts. He just had one of those nightmarish days where nothing goes right. He still shot an 82, but hopefully he'll be a little better at state."
The average score of the 72 competitors at the match was an 83, so Dawes' score wasn't really bad, but it's one he believes he can shoot below.
"I wish I could have played better," he said. "But the team made it through, so it's a really good feeling. It's nice to get down there again. Hopefully, if we play well, we can make some noise."
A year after placing second at the match, the Warsaw Tigers were also back at regionals, but the result wasn't what coach Ben Barkey had hoped for, shooting a 337.
"It's going to be frustrating when we look at the final scores today, and notice we could have easily been in the top three," he said. "We just didn't execute that well."
While Warsaw played at the same course last year, only Ben Harris was a returning member from that team.
"We've got seven guys here today," Barkey said. "Ben's graduating, so we have six returning and they all have varsity experience. Minimal is a guy who played four times on the varsity. So we're returning at least a full roster of varsity experience, which is exciting for next year."
The Tigers' low scorers were Will Brown and Eric Tandy, who both finished with an 83. Scotty Boyle and Harris followed with an 85 and 86, respectively, with Kal Denlinger rounding out with an 88.
In the individual portion of the tournament, Triton senior T.J. Carpenter qualified for his first state meet, shooting a 74.
"I struggled this season more than last, but I'm going farther in the tournament," the Ball State-bound Carpenter said. "So, that's a plus for me."
The regional match was Carpenter's third consecutive, shooting a 74 his sophomore campaign and an 84 last year, each missing the state cut.
"My sophomore year, I finished with a 74 and I got a 74 today, so I was thinking, 'Please don't let it end like that year.'," he said. "But it's nice to finally make it out. I felt like this one was coming over the past couple of years."
The top three individual scores from nonqualifying teams move on to state, with Al Jennings of Homestead and Matt Schultz of Prairie Heights joining Carpenter with 74s. Northridge's David Long was the medalist at the match, shooting a 73.
Tee times were set with the individual competitors getting off first, so by coming in before everyone else, Carpenter had to wait a couple hours to see if his score would hold up against the field.
"When the first scores starting coming in, the wind was staying up," Carpenter said. "So, I felt pretty good about my chances."
The wind was too brisk, but it was enough to make Carpenter change his approach.
"I actually hit more drivers than I had planned on," he said. "I started hitting it pretty well, and as windy as it was, there were a couple holes where there's a pond here and there, so that was trouble I needed to get over. So I went ahead with the driver, and it was perfect for me."
Tippecanoe Valley's Trey Stoll also competed at the meet, finishing with an 83.
For the teams, the match was once again dominated by the Northern Lakes Conference, placing four squads of the top five, with NorthWood taking fifth with a 324. A year ago, the NLC put five teams in the top seven.
"The NLC is one of the best golf conferences, probably in the state," Coverstone said. "It's always that way here. If we don't win, we're second or third or both - or all three. It just shows the strength of our conference."
This year, all three teams that qualified for state are from the NLC, and all three will have a shot for a good showing Tuesday.
"Our conference is probably one of the best in the state," Dawes said. "Everybody can play well on any given day. We just got lucky, and ended up in the top three today."
