The eighth-ranked Warsaw boys golf team clinched its 24th overall sectional championship and second straight Saturday at Stonehenge Golf Club.
Shooting a 309, the Tigers advanced to Thursday's Homestead Regional at Orchard Ridge Country Club along with Culver Military Academy and Triton, both of which shot 316, finishing second and third, respectively."A 309 is OK," Warsaw coach Ben Barkey said. "We had some players out there that struggled, but kept it together enough for us to come out with the win, which is important."
Warsaw was led by sophomore Tyler Ostrom, who shot two-under on the par-71 course, placing first overall. Following Ostrom's score for the Tigers were senior Kal Denlinger's 78, freshman Jon Schram's 79, junior Eric Tandy's 83 and freshman Tim Ahlersmeyer's 85.
In shooting a 69, Ostrom shot a 31 on on the par-35 front nine, a score that was being talked about throughout the course.
"I wasn't really sure what was going on," Ostrom said about his stellar play at the turn. "I was just making all my putts the first six holes, with 11 putts. I was hitting the ball well and everything just kind of clicked."
Among the admirers of the 31 was his coach.
"A 31 is an outstanding score," Barkey said. "He was four-under after nine, so to keep that level of play all the way through 18 is outstanding."
Ostrom had just won the Northern Lakes Conference meet at Stonehenge with a 74, so his latest score ranks among his best.
"It was probably one of the top rounds I've played here in competition," he said. "It was just nice to break through. I felt like, last season, I kind of struggled a little bit. This season, I've improved quite a bit."
The Triton Trojans were also hoping to break through in the tournament, entering the postseason with a 16-0 record.
"I thought it was a year that we could really push Warsaw to the limit, but we didn't," Triton coach Jack Carpenter said. "We were down 14 shots at the turn, and end up getting beat by seven. So, we picked up a few shots on the back-nine, but you just can't get down that many shots to a quality team like that."
Triton had the opportunity to finish second at the sectional, but a mistake in reporting a score dropped the Trojans to third, but not out of qualifying for the regional.
The Trojans defeated Yorktown, who was ranked 16th at the time, 310-328 at Stonehenge Tuesday, but Carpenter saw the scores spike a bit at the sectional.
"Playing in the last group is something we don't get the opportunity to do a lot, just because we don't have that quality golf team year in and year out," Carpenter said about playing with Warsaw and CMA. "It's different, but it's not like we haven't played against quality opponents in big tournaments before."
Triton's qualifying scores were all pretty even, led by freshman Quentyn Carpenter's 77, followed by junior Taran Kennedy's 78, freshman Ryan Rapp's 79 and junior Griffyn Carpenter's 82.
The Wawasee Warriors had aspirations of advancing to the regional, but shot a 329, 13 strokes out.
"We just didn't have the low score we needed today," Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone said. "We had two 80s, but we needed someone around 73 or 74 to probably give us a good shot at getting out."
The two 80s came from John Kirkwood and Anthony Gagliano, followed Ben Jackson's 83, Derek Zurcher's 86 and George Adamitis' 89.
"It's disappointing to us," Coverstone said. "We wanted to get out, but they played as hard as they could. We just didn't get the job done today."
Tippecanoe Valley finished fifth at the tournament with a 345 led by Caleb Rovenstine's 78, helping him advance to the regional as an individual. Valley's other scores Taylor Breeden's 89, Bray Swihart's 90, Ted Shepherd's 88 and Kevin Summe's 93.
Manchester finished the course with a 374, compiled by Kyle Lahman's 86, Aaron Olinger's 97, Tyler Watson's 91 and Aaron Johnson's 100.
While the seasons are over for Wawasee, Valley and Manchester, Warsaw and Triton continue, and only have one senior between the two squads.
"They're young, so ignorance is bliss," Barkey said about his team. "Even though they're young, they still have a lot of tournament experience, whether it's in high school or throughout the state of Indiana. The state of Indiana does a great job getting young kids competition-ready."
The sophomore Ostrom showed that he can handle pressure, shooting his 69 with parents, grandparents and friends following him from hole to hole.
"I always like to play under pressure," Ostrom said. "I don't know why. It's just one of those things."
If the Tigers and Trojans, both of which were undefeated in dual matches this season, continue to play like they have been, it's safe to say they'll have plenty more followers.
WARSAW 309, CULVER MILITARY ACADEMY 316, TRITON 316, WAWASEE 329, BREMEN 332, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 345, NORTHFIELD 355, PLYMOUTH 356, SOUTHWOOD 358, CULVER 370, MANCHESTER 374, WABASH 394
(Warsaw Sectional, Stonehenge G.C., Par 71)
Top 5 - 1. Tyler Ostrom (Warsaw) 69, 2. Michael Yeager (CMA) 75, 3. Andrew Eiler (CMA) 77, 4. Josh Unger (Northfield) 77, 5. Quentyn Carpenter (Triton) 77
