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Warsaw boys golf coach Bob Turner said Thursday night at practice that losses to Elkhart Memorial and South Bend St. Joe last Wednesday might have been the best thing that could have happened to the Tigers after they were previously 18-0.
And Saturday in the sectional at Rozella Ford, his point was proven.
"It (the loss) took the edge off," said Turner. "When you go 20-0 there's always a loss out there. The kids said they wanted to start over and start a new season."
Then in that case, Warsaw is undefeated in its new season.
The Tigers shot a field-leading 301 and out-shot second- place Wawasee by 17 strokes. Culver Military came in third with a 322. Tippecanoe Valley shot a 325 to finish fourth.
Warsaw has won four straight sectional titles.
The top three teams from the sectional advance to Friday afternoon's Homestead Regional. Tippecanoe Valley's Drew Shafer (73) and Andy Martin (76) and Manchester's Ryan Burton (76) will advance to the regional round of competition as individuals.
Warsaw was led by medalists Justin Howell and Aaron Turner, who shot a 73 and 74, respectively. Scott White and Lucas White led Wawasee with 75s. Manchester was led by Burton's 76.
The Tigers led from the get-go en route to the sectional title.
"We shot a 148 on the front nine and had a 10-stroke lead," said Turner. "I told the kids we needed to get out of the shoot and Turner shot a 35, Howell a 34 and we had another 36. We did some damage on the front nine. We played excellent."
On more than one occasion, Turned mentioned the fact that last week's loss somehow played a factor in Saturday's competition.
"There were some really good teams there," said Turner. "Our kids came to play and that loss Wednesday fired them up. That loss helped them."
Teams from Warsaw, Wawasee and CMA as well as Shafer, Martin and Burton will compete again Friday afternoon at Chestnut Hills in Fort Wayne.
NorthWood will also advance to the Homestead Regional after the Panthers finished at the Northridge Sectional with a team score of 334. Chet Walters, Josh Corwin and Nick Abel led the Panthers with a 79 and a pair of 84s, respectively. Other scores for NorthWood included Zach Stavedahl (87) and C.J. Cunningham (94).
1999 WARSAW GOLF SECTIONAL
The top three teams and top three individuals not on advancing teams move on to Friday's regional at Chestnut Hills.
Team scores - 1. Warsaw 301, 2. Wawasee 318, 3. Culver Military Academy 322, 4. Tippecanoe Valley 325, 5. Wabash 328, 6. Plymouth 343, 7. Manchester 349, 8. Northfield 353, 9. Triton 358, 10. Argos 375, 11. Culver Community 376, 12. Southwood 380, 13. Bremen 382.
Warsaw scores - Justin Howell 73, Jason Henthorn 79, Ryan Slone 75, Aaron Turner 74, Adam Johnson 86.
Wawasee scores - Chad Wortinger 84, Scott White 75, Ryan Skaggs 85, Lucas White 75, Kyle Lundy 84.
Tippecanoe Valley scores - Drew Shafer 73, Andy Martin 76, Brian Love 89, Anthony Domenico 88, Brandon Eaton 88.
Actual low medalists - Justin Howell (Warsaw) 73, Drew Shafer (Tippecanoe Valley) 73, Aaron Turner (Warsaw) 74
Medalists not on advancing team - Shafer (Tippecanoe Valley) 73, Martin (Tippecanoe Valley) 76, Ryan Burton (Manchester) 76
