Warsaw headed to state for seventh time in nine years
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
FORT WAYNE – His Warsaw boys golf team won the regional title at Orchard Ridge Country Club in Fort Wayne Thursday afternoon, and coach Ben Barkey credited another course for preparing the Tigers. “I gotta credit Stonehenge,” said Barkey, whose Tigers won the regional for the second time in three years and bumped the program’s total to seven. “I gotta thank the people at Stonehenge for letting us use it as our home course. It’s the toughest course we play all year, and we get to play there every day. It certainly helped us today.” The top three teams, as well as the top three individuals not on an advancing team, qualified for Tuesday’s first round of the state finals at The Legends in Franklin. On a day when the greens were fast and the scores were high amongst the 12-team field, Warsaw was able to tame the course and win in dominating fashion. The seventh-ranked Tigers shot a four-man score of 308, beating runner-up Bishop Dwenger by 14 strokes. Northridge was third at 323. How impressive was Warsaw’s 14-stroke victory? Second-place Dwenger and 12th-place Elkhart Memorial were seperated by 15 strokes. “The course was tough, the greens were fast,” said Barkey. “I’ve got guys who have a ton of experience in big matches and on tough courses though. Again, we get to play at Stonehenge every day, and that helped us adjust to the conditions today. My guys go about their business and just don’t get rattled.” Lakeland finished fourth with a 325, followed by DeKalb (326), Culver Military (327), Canterbury (330), Triton (331), Homestead (335) and Elkhart Memorial (337). Lakeland’s Spencer Mortola shot 3-over 74 and won a one-hole playoff over East Noble’s Michael Sharp to earn individual medalist honors. Mortola, Sharp and Lakland’s Cody Richardson, who shot 75, qualified for state as individuals. The Tigers were the only top 20 team in the field – Canterbury, Dwenger and Northridge are honorable mention – and they certainly played like they were the class of the field. Warsaw, which shot just two strokes above its 18-hole average despite the tricky greens, was the only team to card four scores in the 70s. Senior Tyler Ostrom, last year’s regional medalist and the defending state champ, led Warsaw with a 75. Juniors Jon Schram and Tim Ahlersmeyer carded 77s, while senior Bennett Hollar shot 79. The Tigers’ fifth man, freshman Jonny Hollar, shot 81. His round would have been the second-best score for both runner-up Dwenger and third-place Northridge. The elder Hollar was 2-over with three holes to play, but double bogeyed Nos. 16, 17 and 18. Still, Barkey was very proud of Bennett Hollar, who beat his regional score from last year by 12 strokes. “If you had told me at the start of the day that Bennett would shoot 79, I’d take it,” said Barkey. “He shot 91 here last year, and he came back as a senior and shoots 79, that’s awesome. He works so hard, and and he’s meant so much to our program for four years. My two seniors, Tyler Ostrom and Bennett Hollar, are going to play in the state finals next week for the fourth time.” The Tigers advanced to the state finals as a team for the seventh time in the past nine years. The Triton Trojans had hopes of advancing to the state finals for the second time in three years – which also would have been just the second time in school history. They missed the cut by eight strokes, and junior Quentyn Carpenter, who finished tied for 24th at last year’s state finals, missed the cut as an individual by three strokes. “The course was the same for everybody,” Triton coach Jack Carpenter said of the fast greens. “We’re not going to use that as an excuse. The scores were high, we just had a bad round.” Quentyn Carpenter led the Trojans with a 78, while Chandler Slone shot 81, Tanner Shephard carded an 85, Ryan Rapp shot 87 and Austin Kanarr finished with a 110. “He’s frustrated,” Jack Carpenter said of his son, who shot 40 on the front nine and 38 on the back. “He didn’t hit the ball well. He was 7-over after six holes. He missed probably five or six four-footers.”
HOMESTEAD REGIONAL Orchard Ridge C.C., Fort Wayne (par 71) Note – top three teams, as well as top three individuals not on advancing team, qualify for state finals Team scores – Warsaw 308, Bishop Dwenger 322, Northridge 323, Lakeland 325, DeKalb 326, Culver Military 327, Canterbury 330, Triton 331, Homestead 335, Elkhart Memorial 337 Medalist – Spencer Mortola (Lakeland) 74 (won playoff) Top individuals – Spencer Mortola (Lakeland) 74, Michael Sharp (East Noble) 74, Cody Richardson (Lakeland) 75, Tyler Ostrom (Warsaw) 75 Advancing individuals – Spencer Mortola (Lakeland) 74, Michael Sharp (East Noble) 74, Cody Richardson (Lakeland) 75 (Local teams) Warsaw – Tyler Ostrom 75, Jon Schram 77, Tim Ahlersmeyer 77, Bennett Hollar 79, Jonny Hollar 81 Triton – Quentyn Carpenter 78, Ryan Rapp 87, Tanner Shepherd 85, Austin Kanarr 110, Chandler Slone 81
