Tigers 3rd in sectional; Wawasee misses regional by one stroke
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
That old saying about postseason play, the one about surviving and advancing, hit close to home Friday for the Warsaw Tigers. With the top three boys golf squads from the 13-team sectional at Rozella Ford advancing to next week’s regional at Stonehenge, the Tigers shot a four-man score of 315 to grab the final qualifying spot. Warsaw coach Ben Barkey was relieved, to say the least. Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone and Culver Academies skipper Fred Haase weren’t as elated as Barkey, as their teams missed the cut by one stroke. “Everyone is just extremely thankful,” said Barkey. “It was a very unique day that I’ll remember the events of for various reasons – from the way we started to how it ended up, and the information we were receiving from people about who shot what. It was an extreme roller coaster for all of us. “For 30 seconds we thought we were in, and then we heard there was a 71 by CMA, and it happened to be the Northfield guy. So there was five minutes that we knew we weren’t getting out and we were getting Brandon Eckert prepared for a playoff as an individual. And then I don’t know who came up and told me, I think it was Coach (Phil) Jensen, that ‘no, that 71 was for Northfield.’ You don’t believe it until it’s in marker on the board, until it’s official. We’re just thankful that we were able to survive.” The Tigers have advanced to the regional every year since 1993. Columbia City, which ended a 28-year sectional championship drought last season, successfully defended its title Friday with a winning score of 303. The Eagles beat runner-up Plymouth by two strokes. Huntington North and Northfield both shot 338, followed by Triton (344), Tippecanoe Valley (347), Manchester (350), Whitko (356), Culver Community (407) and Lakeland Christian Academy (412). “We had some tremendous teams out here today with Plymouth and Warsaw and Wawasee,” said Columbia City coach Andrew Thompson. “There was some good teams out there, and it was a little bit of a tough day. I think it got tougher as it went on. There were some tough conditions out there, and I think the guys weathered them well. It was a war out there. “We fought off a very good Plymouth team. We were fortunate enough to beat them at the Wawasee Invitational, and today we were three shots behind them at the turn, so another back-nine comeback by our guys. We were fortunate, we caught a little lightning in a bottle, little bit of fire, and got the win. We’re very satisfied ... just an unbelievable feeling for Columbia City.” En route to the team win, Columbia City’s Spencer Klimek was the sectional medalist with an even-par 70, while the rest of the Eagles’ scorecard included Tyler Green’s 73, Max Dryer’s 78, Spencer McCammon’s 82 and Cameron Slavich’s 84. Plymouth’s scores read Ben Schenk 73, Hudson Yoder 76, Reis Yoder 77, John Schenk 79 and Micah Calhoun 82. Finishing third individually, Jonny Hollar led the Tigers with a 72. “He played great, played steady,” Barkey said of Hollar. “The mistakes he had, he was able to recover with pars. What an incredible up-and-down on No. 14 for par. Just one little hiccup on No. 18. “We talk to our kids all the time, every shot is important. When we were done, and everyone was predicting we weren’t gonna get out ... it’s something we talk about all the time, don’t predict. The game of golf isn’t like that. You need to respect the fact you have a lot of holes left to play and anything can happen. It’s hard to do that, even when the coaches are playing the numbers game and trying to predict. We’re just thankful that we were able to get by.” Brandon Eckert carded a 78 for Warsaw, while Ryan Cultice shot 81 and Michael Jensen and Sam Yeager both finished with an 84. Yeager was inserted into the lineup just before play started Friday morning, replacing Reid Cameron. For Wawasee, Tristen Atwood finished with a 77 and advanced to the regional as an individual. The top three individuals not on an advancing team also qualify for next week’s round at Stonehenge. Joining Atwood will be Northfield’s Brayden Schlinder (71) and Culver Academies’ Kirby Hart (76). “That’s nice for him, especially being a senior, we’re happy about that,” Coverstone said of Atwood. “We’re just upset that we missed it by a shot.” Other Wawasee scores included Cal Heinisch’s 78, Mason Germonprez’s 80, Jeffrey Moore’s 81 and Kaleb Perry’s 87. “It’s just one of those days,” said Coverstone. “Everyone had shots they could have saved out there. A putt here or there would have made a difference.” Connor Eichenauer led Manchester with a 79, while Greg Music led Triton with an 80, Corey Carson led Valley with an 82, Cole Bechtold paced Whitko with an 84 and Jacob Strickland led LCA with a 93.
WARSAW SECTIONAL (Rozella Ford, par-70) Note – top 3 teams, as well as top 3 individuals not on advancing team, qualify for the regional. Team Scores – Columbia City 303, Plymouth 305, Warsaw 315, Wawasee 316, Culver Academies 316, Huntington North 338, Northfield 338, Triton 344, Tippecanoe Valley 347, Manchester 350, Whitko 356, Culver Community 407, Lakeland Christian 412 Top 3 Individuals – Spencer Klimek (CC) 70, Braydon Schlinder (NF) 71, Jonny Hollar (War) 72 Advancing Individuals – Schlinder (NF) 71, Kirby Hart (Cul. Acad) 76, Tristen Atwood 77 Warsaw – Jonny Hollar 72, Brandon Eckert 78, Ryan Cultice 81, Michael Jensen 84, Sam Yeager 84 Wawasee – Tristen Atwood 77, Cal Heinisch 78, Mason Germonprez 80, Jeffrey Moore 81, Kaleb Perry 87 Whitko – Cole Bechtold 84, Will Peters 87, Tim Gench 90, Kaleb Busz 95, Matt Hathaway 102 Manchester – Connor Eichenauer 79, Noah Cain 86, Parker Wagoner 92, Nathan Self 93, Rainer Borgmann 103 Triton – Greg Music 80, Jordan Anderson 87, Bryce Swihart 88, Isaac Wall 89, Braden Kreft 91 T. Valley – Corey Carson 82, Bryce Zimpleman 83, Trevor Neeley 90, Jeremy Julian 92, Cole Cumberland 92 LCA – Jacob Strickland 93, Evan Bremer 101, Drew Nieveen 106, Kyle Shuler 112
