The most talented team at Warsaw Community High School may be the one with the least amount fanfare. After winning the Spring Preview at Legends of Indiana Golf Club, the site of the state finals, last weekend, the Warsaw boys golf team climbed the state rankings from No. 4 to No. 1, which is a first for the team. According to head coach Ben Barkey, the Warsaw program has been ranked twice before, following the 1988 season and its state championship in 2005, but never at this point in a season. “From what I’ve seen, being ranked No. 1 hasn’t happened during the middle of the season,” he said. After winning last season’s Northern Lakes Conference, Warsaw Sectional and Homestead Regional, the Warsaw Tigers failed to reach the second round of the state finals, but return all five golfers from that team, including senior Eric Tandy, junior Tyler Ostrom, junior Bennett Hollar, sophomore Tim Ahlersmeyer and sophomore Jon Schram. “We have good, talented golfers, and it’s not just those five,” Barkey said. “It takes a lot to be ranked No. 1 and a lot has to happen. The players are excited and this is fun for us.” Warsaw opened the season ranked eighth, then moved up to four before the win at the Spring Preview launched them into the top slot. At the tournament, which took place in Franklin, and featured 10 teams ranked in the top 20, the Tigers shot a 318, which was nine shots better than No. 6 Norwell’s 327. “Our program has always had a good showing down there,” Barkey said about playing in the tournament. “It was pretty special for us to go down there and play the way we did in bad weather and to win by nine.” The tournament followed the Tigers’ third-place finish in the Hall of Fame Invitational on April 9 at Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru, and shows the Tigers’ willingness to take part in large tournaments. That participation is being noticed by coaches around the state. “It gets noticed when each Saturday, we’re playing 12 to 24 teams with half of them being ranked,” Barkey said. “That gets a lot of attention and leads to a lot of fluctuation in the rankings. We were able to move up because in front of us didn’t win, but we did. That leads to a lot of movement.” Warsaw hosts its own Tiger Invitational today at Stonehenge Golf Club, and with six of the 11 participating teams being ranked, including No. 3 Avon, No. 4 Zionsville, No. 15 Homestead, No. 16 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 17 Carmel, No. 18 Columbus North, and the Triton Trojans, who are receiving honorable mention recognition. With that many ranked teams on hand, the rankings will most likely be shuffled again. “We’ve always had ranked teams at the tournament, but this may be the best field top to bottom,” he said. What makes Warsaw so dangerous, not only in today’s tournament, but also for the duration of the season is its depth. Ostrom is the defending NLC champion and was also the medalist at the Warsaw Sectional, which was played a Stonehenge, before finishing second at the Homestead Regional, played at Orchard Ridge Country Club. But according to Barkey, Ostrom is just one of five talented golfers on the team. “All of them are really great,” he said. “Tyler Ostrom is a great player, but the young guys are right there. Jon Schram, a sophomore, has placed fifth at both tournaments we’ve been in. We have five outstanding golfers. It depends on who is best that day.” With such a deep squad, championships are always on the Tigers’ radar and a state title is no different. “It’s what we talk about every year,” Barkey said. “We want to compete at the state level. We play in so many tournaments, including the conference, sectional, regional and invitationals, but we’re always playing to win.” Along with the team’s No. 1 ranking, the Warsaw program’s 24 sectional title is the fourth most in the state and its six regional titles is tied with seven others for fourth most. “Since the 1960s, Warsaw has had a quality program,” Barkey said. “It’s not just luck or something that just happened this year. Over the years, this has been a good golf community.” Despite Warsaw being a golf community, getting those golf enthusiasts to turn out to watch the kids play has been tough, as family and friends are the only ones turning out right now. “We get family members and that’s about it,” Barkey said. “It’s unfair, but a lot of people don’t come out. I know the weather’s a factor, but people are missing some good golf shots. A lot are missing real good golf. I don’t care what sport is, a big crowd does make a difference.” With or without the fans following them around the course, the Warsaw golfers seems to be moving full-steam ahead.
