Wawasee boys golf coach Steve Coverstone wanted his team to use Thursday’s night’s match at Stonehenge as preperation for next month’s sectional. Ben Barkey’s Warsaw Tigers looked like they were already in poststeason form. Playing in near-perfect conditions, the sixth-ranked Tigers made getting around the difficult course look easy, beating their Kosciusko County and Northern Lakes Conference rival 148-181. Because he is blessed with such a talented and veteran team, Barkey spent much of the evening watch his younger players. His veteran players simply went about business as usual. “It shows the maturity level of my team, the professionalism they take when they play,” said Barkey, whose team improved to 5-0 overall and 1-0 in the NLC. “The kids know the routines and the expectations. I don’t have to watch over them or police them. We’re like a big family.” Jon Schram led the Tigers with a 1-over 36, earning match medalist honors. Brothers Bennett Hollar and Jonny Hollar each shot 37, and defending state champion Tyler Ostrom and Tim Ahlersmeyer both shot 38. “The biggest thing for us is the (No. 5) guy, which is something we’ve been looking for,” said Barkey. “And done by the same guy, which is the consistency we’ve been looking for.” In Thursday’s match, that consistent play from Warsaw’s No. 5 player came from Jonny Hollar – a freshman who played more like an upperclassmen. For Wawasee, Dylan Cousins led the way with a 42, while Derek Zurcher and Luke Jackson shot 45s and Tristen Atwood and Mason Germonprez carded 49s. “We were hoping to come in here to show the guys we can play this course at the sectional, and we didn’t get the job done tonight,” said Coverstone, whose Warriors fell to 8-5 overall and 1-2 in conference action. “We had too many big holes.” Warsaw won the junior varsity match 163-195, showing off the depth off the program. The JV Tigers would have defeated Wawasee’s varsity squad by 18 strokes. “It’s a whole different course than what we play,” Coverstone said of Stonehenge, the annual site of the sectional. “You can get in a lot more trouble here. You have to think your way around. We had balls go left, right and places you just can’t hit it. That’s something we can’t do.” The Tigers and Warriors, who have already squared off four times this season between tournaments and Thursday’s match, will see each other again Saturday in the CMA Invitational.
WARSAW 148, WAWASEE 181 (Stonehenge, par 35) Medalist – Jon Schram (Warsaw) 36 Warsaw – Tyler Ostrom 38, Bennett Hollar 37, Tim Ahlersmeyer 38, Jon Schram 36, Jonny Hollar 37 Wawasee – Derek Zurcher 45, Dylan Cousins 42, Tristen Atwood 49, Luke Jackson 45, Mason Germonprez 49 Records: Warsaw 5-0 (1-0 NLC), Wawasee 8-5 (1-2 NLC) JV – Warsaw 161, Wawasee 195 Warsaw – Jared Essig 38, Will Petro 41, Ryan Cultice 42, Viraj Gokhale 42, Brandon Ekkert 42 Wawasee – Maclain Herr 47, Tyler Kissinger 48, Cole Love 50, Kaleb Perry 50, Jordan Melching 52
