Triton's Anderson shoots 81; Manchester's Cain cards 93 at regional
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Though his high school golf career came to an end Thursday, recent Triton graduate Jordan Anderson found reason to smile. One of just two locals playing in the regional at Stonehenge in Warsaw, Anderson shot 44 on the front nine but rallied to shoot 37 on the back for an 18-hole score of 81. Playing his final prep round, and playing in the regional for the first time, Anderson birdied his final two holes. Anderson missed advancing to next week’s state finals by six strokes, but remained positive. “Obviously, I’m wanting a couple holes back,” said Anderson. “You can’t do anything about that, but I’m happy with the way I played on the back nine. Made a few birdies on my last two holes. I’m pleased overall.” Anderson started his round on the first tee and was cruising along until taking an eight on No. 6 and a six on No. 7. “I was happy to be here, enjoying the moment, and having fun out there,” said Anderson. “Other than a few bad holes, I’m really pleased with how I played. It was just a fun day overall.” Manchester’s Noah Cain was the only other local playing in the regional. Cain carded a 93 on the par-71 layout, shooting 46 on the front and 47 on the back. Both Cain and Anderson advanced to the regional after carding 76s and surviving a four-person playoff in the sectional at Rozella Ford. “It was in the realm of possibility of him getting out today,” Triton coach Jack Carpenter said of Anderson. “Would he have had to play his best? Absolutely. But he’s capable of doing it. “He showed a lot of grit, and that’s what I told him. He gets to leave with a good taste in his mouth today, shooting 37 on the back and going birdie, birdie on 17 and 18. You know, 17 is not an easy hole. On 18, he drove the ball 358 yards off the tee and only had 200 left, so he did himself proud by finishing strong.” The top three teams and the top five individuals not on an advancing team qualified for the state finals, which will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Homestead won the 18-team regional with a four-man score of 299, two shots better than Columbia City and 10 strokes ahead of third-place Bishop Dwenger. Canterbury finished fourth with a 313, followed in the top 10 by Carroll (314), Marian (318), St. Joe (318), Culver Academy (319), Northridge (323) and NorthWood (324). Columbia City senior Tyler Green was the medalist after shooting 3-under par 68. Green, who will play collegiately for the Purdue Boilermakers, shot 34 on both sides. His regional round at Stonehenge was particularly impressive considering he carded an 83 in the sectional at Rozella Ford. “I’m really happy for him,” Columbia City coach Andrew Thompson said of Green. “He’s had a few struggles in the invitationals. He actually had four straight 18-hole rounds in the 80s. I think, mentally, that was wearing on him, and he had a little bit of an injury, too. “For him to come up big today, we needed that. He needed that. It was good to see him get back where he usually is, and the rest of the team was balanced across the board. “We’re fortunate to advance, and we only lost by a couple shots to a Homestead team that’s been on fire all year.” Homestead’s four-man score of 299 included Garrett Willis’ 72, Ellis Yoder’s 75 and a pair of 76s from Matthew Hope and Nick Krocks. To go with Green’s 68, Spencer Klimek carded a 77 for Columbia City, while Cameron Slavich, Spencer McCammon and Nick Decker all shot 78. Advancing to the state finals as individuals are Canterbury’s Carson Stoller (72), Marian’s Augie Hartnagle (73), St. Joe’s Tate Heintzelman-Dee (75), Concordia’s Cameron Weikert (75) and Plymouth’s Micah Calhoun (75).
WARSAW REGIONAL (Stonehenge, par 71) Team Scores – Homestead 299, Columbia City 301, Bishop Dwenger 309, Canterbury 313, Carroll 314, Marian 318, St. Joe 318, Culver Academy 319, Northridge 323, NorthWood 324, Leo 328, Penn 332, Northfield 336, Fairfield 346, DeKalb 351, Western 353, Kokomo 362, Northwestern 375 Medalist – Tyler Green (Col. City) 68 Local Individuals – Jordan Anderson (Triton) 81, Noah Cain (Manchester) 93 Advancing individuals – Carson Stoller (Canterbury) 72, Augie Hartnagle (Marian) 73, Tate Heintzelman-Dee (St. Joe) 73, Cameron Weikert (Concordia) 75, Micah Calhoun (Plymouth) 75
