FORT WAYNE - Homestead's boys golf team kept it nice and steady on its home course, taking first place at the regional Thursday, but Warsaw is content with its second-place finish and third state finals berth in the past five years.
"Survive and advance," Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said. "We'll take second place here all day long."
The Tigers earned the right to play in Tuesday's first round of the state finals at Legends of Indiana Golf Course in Franklin by finishing with a 331. The Northern Lakes Conference also will be represent by Concord, the third-place finisher with a 332.Advancing to state required more than just competing with the 11 other teams at Orchard Ridge Country Club, it also meant battling 40 to 50 mile per hour wind gusts.
"My guys are very used to windy conditions," Barkey said. "Maybe not so much 45 to 50 (mph), but it's definitely not going to intimidate us like it might other teams. I was pleased how everyone on Warsaw kept it together and just played steady."
The wind definitely played a role in team scores, as Homestead's 310 was 21 strokes better than Warsaw. Battling through the wind, Tad Nieter and Ben Harris each finished with an 80, Ryan Marose an 85, Corey Hensley a 93 and No.1 player Grant Slater finished the course with an 86.
"That's the worst he's hit the ball in four years," Barkey said of Slater, a four-year varsity player. "He did what he needed to do to get his team to state. He might not be too pleased right now, but it was good enough."
"It was really unpredictable - 30 to 40 mph wind gusts," Slater said. "You couldn't really tell how bad it was going to take your ball. It was swirling, so it made it pretty hard."
While Warsaw was celebrating, the Tigers' score actually knocked the Wawasee Warriors out of the top three, with the Warriors eventually finishing in fourth place after turning in a 334.
"We just didn't play (holes) seven and eight very well downwind and that was the difference," Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone said. "We make a couple pars there, and we're out (of regionals). We're disappointed, but the guys played hard."
Manchester finished the regional with the highest score in the field, but a week after getting out of the sectional for the first time in years, coach Gary Goshert wasn't too downtrodden.
"The atmosphere, and all that, kind of got us off to a bad start," Goshert said. "Then, we kind of settled down and played pretty solid, halfway through the first nine."
"You gotta give them some time to get over the feeling bad, then realize how good of a season we had and what we got accomplished," Goshert added.
As for the individual tournament, locals T.J. Carpenter of Triton and Tippecanoe Valley's Trey Stoll finished the day with an 84 and 83, respectively.
The scores weren't enough to advance, leaving Carpenter, a top individual contender, to ponder what went wrong.
"I was spraying more shots today than I've sprayed all year," Carpenter, a junior who was one shot away from qualifying for state last season, said. "I got off to a bad start - bogeying three out of my first four holes. From there, my putting just starting going - I don't know where.
"This year, I was hoping to get over the hump," he added. "I guess there's still next year."
Warsaw's "next year" is still this season, and the Tigers are relishing it.
"This is such a great accomplishment," Nieter said. "My last year down there (at state) was when we won state (in 2005), so that's a great memory going back there. I hope we can do the same."
The top nine teams, as well as those within 12 strokes of the leader, will advance to Wednesday's second round of the state finals.
The top nine individuals, as well as those within four strokes of the leader, will play in Wednesday's second round.
