Tigers In The Hunt For State FinalsFRANKLIN — By putting themselves in contention for an individual state championship, senior Tyler Ostrom and junior Jon Schram also put the Warsaw Tigers in the hunt for a team title. After the first round of the 76th annual IHSAA boys golf state finals, being played again this year at The Legends in Franklin, Ostrom was tied for seventh place in the 127-person field at even-par 72, while Schram was tied for ninth at 1-over. Ostrom, who tied the state finals 18-hole record and the course record with a 63 en route to medalist honors last year with a two-day total of 7-under 137, is three strokes behind individual leader Dylan Meyer, a sophomore from Evansville Central. Schram finds himself just four strokes behind the leader "It's a little disappointing," Ostrom said of his round. "I left some strokes out there. But overall, I'm happy how the team is playing." Of the 21 teams that teed off Tuesday, 10 of them qualified for today's final round. Top-ranked Columbus North led after 18 holes with a four-man score of 303, while No. 2 Brebeuf was in second place at 305 and No. 7 Warsaw was third at 307. "One shot at a time," Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said when asked the game plan for today's final round. "We're trying to win a state championship. We just need to keep our head about us and go out and play our game. We're definitely in the mix." Senior Bennett Hollar, who shot 88 and 87 as the Tigers finished seventh in the state a year ago, fired an 80 Tuesday. Junior Tim Ahlersmeyer carded an 82, while freshman Jonny Hollar finished with an 86. "The big thing for us is I know we can play a lot better Wednesday," said Barkey. "That's exciting to me. We're not out of it. The guys battled. We had some big numbers on some easy holes, but I know we can play better in the second round." Fifth-ranked Floyd Central and No. 19 Cathedral both shot 308 to round out the top five teams. Also advancing from the first round were third-ranked Evansville Harrison (312), Penn (312) and Fort Wayne Dwenger (313). East Noble sophomore Michael Sharp was second individually after his first-round 70. There were four players tied at 1-under, two others were even and four were tied at 1-over. Much like Bennett Hollar, Schram improved from last year's showing at The Legends. "I had a new perspective on the course," said Schram, who shot 80 in both rounds last year. "In the past, I've come here and been pessimistic. I had a good practice round Monday and I got off to a good start out of the gate today." Schram started Tuesday's round with birdies on the first two holes. He was back to even after a double bogey on No. 4. Birdies on Nos. 6 and 7 put him at 2-under again, and he made the turn at 1-under after a bogey on No. 9. Schram's 38 on the back included a double bogey on No. 10, a birdie on No. 13 and a bogey on No. 18. With birdies on the second, fifth and sixth holes, Ostrom quickly found himself at 3-under. He gave those strokes back, however, with a double bogey on No. 8 and a bogey on No. 9. On the backside, Ostrom birdied No. 15 and bogeyed No. 16. "We just need to tighten things up a little bit and get rid of the big numbers," said Barkey. "Our misses cost us. Some of it was luck component, the bounces could have been better for us, but we'll OK." Today's round was scheduled to start at 7:30 a.m., with the Tigers slated to tee off at 8:15 a.m., playing in a group with players from Columbus North and Brebeuf. 76TH ANNUAL IHSAA STATE FINALS (The Legends GC, Par 72) Top 10 Teams — Columbus North 303, Brebeuf 305, Warsaw 307, Floyd Central 308, Cathedral 308, Carmel 309, Jasper 311, Evansville Harrison 311, Penn 312, Dwenger 313 Failed To Advance — Heritage Hills 316, Westfield 317, Noblesville 318, West Lafayette 321, Northridge 322, Zionsville 324, Providence 324, Martinsville 327, Valparaiso 329, Tipton 330, Mishawaka Marian 337 Warsaw — Tyler Ostrom 72, Jon Schram 73, Tim Ahlersmeyer 82, Bennett Hollar 80, Jonny Hollar 86 Individual Leaders — Dylan Meyer (Evansville Central) 69, Michael Sharp (East Noble) 70
