Experience, as the old saying goes, is the best teacher. In terms of playing at The Legends in Franklin, Warsaw’s varsity boys golf team has plenty of experience. The Tigers, ranked seventh in the final statewide poll of the season, will play the par-72 course again Tuesday when they tee off in the 76th annual IHSAA state finals. Warsaw, which won the sectional at Stonehenge and the regional at Orchard Ridge in Fort Wayne, is playing in the state finals for the fourth consecutive year and for the seventh time in the past nine years. “We know the course very well,” Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said of The Legends. “We’ve played a number of tournaments there. My two seniors are playing in the state finals for the fourth time, and my two juniors are playing at state for the third time. That’s a lot of experience at the highest level of high school competition. My fifth guy, a freshman, isn’t really a freshman anymore. He’s a seasoned veteran now.” The Tigers finished seventh in the state a year ago and graduated just one player – Eric Tandy – from the five-man varsity lineup. This year’s state finals linuep includes seniors Tyler Ostrom and Bennett Hollar, juniors Jon Schram and Tim Ahlersmeyer, and freshman Jonny Hollar. “Our goal is the same every year, we want to win a state championship,” said Barkey, who was in just his third year as head coach when Warsaw won state in 2005. “To win state, we have to make it to the second day. That means we have to play well Tuesday so we can tee off again Wednesday. We’ll go about things the same way we always do – we’ll play the course and worry about ourselves. We can’t control what other teams do.” Action gets underway at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday. The Tigers begin teeing off at noon. This year’s field includes 21 teams and 21 golfers playing as individuals. The top nine teams and any team within 12 strokes of the leader, as well as the top nine individuals and any player within four strokes of the leader, will advance to Wednesday’s final round. Of the 21 teams that will tee off Tuesday, 12 were ranked in the top 20 of the final statewide poll. The top five ranked teams in the state and six of the top seven are all in this year’s field. “There’s going to be a lot of good teams and lot of good golfers there,” said Barkey. Top-ranked Brebeuf has won the last two team state titles, while Warsaw’s Ostrom is the defending individual state champion. Ostrom, who will play collegiately at Ball State, shot a 36-hole score of 137 en route to last year’s state title. He fired a blistering round of 9-under 63 on the first day a year ago, setting a new school record and tying the state finals 18-hole record as well as the course record. If Ostrom were to win again this year, he would be just the fourth boys golfer in state history to win back-to-back individual titles. The last to do so was South Bend Clay’s Jeremy Wilkinson in 1994 and 1995. “Both my seniors, Tyler and Bennett, have meant a lot to this program for four years,” said Barkey. “They’ve meant a lot to me. They’re going to play in the state finals for the fourth time, that’s pretty incredible.” Winning a state championship would certainly be icing on the cake.
