Shamrocks, Royals & Millers round out top four at tournament
By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – With only six strokes separating first place from eighth place after the first day of the IHSAA boys golf state finals, golf fans expected a mad scramble to the top during Wednesday’s second round at Prairie View Golf Club.
Zionsville was in the lead after day one and managed to hold off Westfield for the team championship after the two teams went back and forth all day. The Eagles totaled a two-day score of 600 to claim its third state title and first in 20 years. The Shamrocks were the runners-up for the third year in a row, totaling 605.
Five Hamilton County golfers were among those who earned a place on the All-State team. Pictured: Mattingly Upchurch (Hamilton Southeastern), Will Harvey (Westfield), Leo Wessel (Guerin Catholic), Eli Wessel (Guerin Catholic), Jake Cesare (Westfield). (Richie Hall)
The tournament ended with a Hoosier Crossroads Conference sweep of the podium. Hamilton Southeastern placed third with 606, while Noblesville took fourth with 611. All four schools improved their scores greatly from the first day.
Westfield was playing with a young squad: two juniors, two sophomores and a freshman. The juniors led the way, with Jake Cesare tying for second place by totaling a one under par 143 for the tournament. Cesare went 73 for the second day, draining two birdies.
“We had a bunch of ups and downs,” said Cesare. He said the team started out “shaky, but we fought and hung in there.”
The Shamrocks’ other junior, Will Harvey, finished with a two-day score of 151. He carded 74 for the second day, an improvement of three strokes. Harvey made an eagle on the 13th hole in addition to three birdies.
“I thought we had a great season,” said Harvey. While he admitted it was disappointing to come up short, Harvey said “we grew as a team and I think that’s all we can ask for, and thanks to all the coaches for making this possible.”
Sophomore Ryan Cesare made two early birdies on his way to a second-day 76, cutting three strokes, while his classmate Hudson Kutchma snipped six strokes for 75 on Wednesday. Kutchma had one birdie. Freshman Bradyn Worthington had two birdies.
Both Cesare and Harvey were named to the All-State team at the conclusion of the meet. The All-state team consists of those who finish in the top 10 at state, then the top 10 players who accumulated points for performances in meets during the season.
“Our guys played good,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. “They played great today. They’re young. They learned a lot yesterday. Proud of them how they came back and how they settled in.”
Hamilton Southeastern placed third for the second consecutive year at state. The Royals finished with a score of 606. (Mike Navarro)
Southeastern’s Mattingly Upchurch finished tied for eighth at the state meet, earning him automatic All-State honors. Upchurch had a huge improvement from the first day to the second day, shaving off eight strokes for a second-day score of two under par 70. Upchurch had a bogey-free round, with two birdies and 16 pars.
Upchurch said the season went “a lot better than we thought. Played pretty well to start out the season and struggled at regionals but finished up real nice.”
Southeastern’s Nate Benson, who was named to the Academic All-State team after the tournament, scored 77 with two birdies. Freshman Dane Starnes, the individual Muncie Central regional champion, improved seven strokes for 73, draining four birdies. Aiden Huffer subbed in for the second round and carded 76, making two birdies.
The Royals finished in third place for the second consecutive year and improved their team score by 14 strokes over the first day.
“We just had a couple bad holes yesterday and you could tell that we had a good amount of kids pretty nervous,” said HSE coach David Young. “But we regrouped and made our new plan and really stuck to it today, and I couldn’t be more proud of them for turning it around.”
Noblesville’s low man was sophomore Tyler Marucci, who placed 11th for the tournament. His two-day score was 149; Marucci totaled 74 for the second day, cutting one stroke from the first day. Marucci had three birdies for his Wednesday round.
Noblesville reached the podium by placing fourth at state. The Millers totaled 611. (Mike Navarro)
Junior Lance Decker had four birdies for the second day and improved three strokes for 76. Junior Drew Werkley dropped two strokes to score 77, making one birdie. Senior Alex Peck also improved greatly, cutting eight strokes for 76 and draining three birdies. Senior Brady Mangin totaled 82 for his second day.
Noblesville coach Gary Deakyne said he was happy and excited for his team.
“They worked hard all year,” said Deakyne. “I told them all year that we were close, that we could do this. They bought in, they played well. We had four guys play well both days. The golf course playing difficult played into our thing because we’re not a team that shoots a really, really low score, but we’re a team that can be around 300 every time.”
Guerin Catholic, the two-time defending champion, tied for sixth as a team with 616. Senior Leo Wessel led the Golden Eagles by tying for eighth place individually. He carded 74s both days for 148 and made three birdies during his second round.
“I think we had some good highlights and I think it was fruitful for what we had to work with this year,” said Leo Wessel.
Junior Owen Nielsen scored 77 on Wednesday, putting in three birdies. Junior Will Parenteau made one birdie during his round of 80, and sophomore Eli Wessel scored a 78, draining four birdies and improving three strokes from the first round. Junior Robbie Burt subbed in for the second day and had one birdie while scoring 80.
Both Leo and Eli Wessel were named to the All-State team.
“Overall, I had a really good season,” said Eli Wessel. “And I won a big event, the State Preview, and I was really happy. I shot under par numerous times. We won some events, and we lost some events, and I was glad to have it with my best friends.”
Carmel’s Ethan Hoagland scored 154 for the two days. Hoagland scored 76 during his second day, improving two strokes and making three birdies.
Team scores: Zionsville 304-296=600, Westfield 307-298-605, Hamilton Southeastern 310-296=606, Noblesville 308-303=611, Center Grove 310-304=613, Guerin Catholic 307-309=616, Evansville North 307-309=616, Bloomington South 317-307=624, Homestead 315-310=625, Leo 309-316=625, Valparaiso 332-305=637, Floyd Central 331-318=649, Warsaw 325-328=653, Chesterton 324-340=664, Trinity School at Greenlawn 325-343=668, Cathedral 332-338=670, Castle 342-329=671, Madison 352-334=686.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Brayden Miller (Fairfield) 68-71=139, T2. Jake Cesare (Westfield) 70-73=143; Aidan Gutierrez (Valparaiso) 73-70-143; Justin Hicks (Leo) 71-72=143, T5. Daymian Rij (Gibson Southern) 72-72=144; Andrew Wall (Zionsville) 70-74=144, 7. Caleb Schnarr (Jasper) 74-72=146, T8. Mattingly Upchurch (Southeastern) 78-70=148, Leo Wessel (Guerin Catholic) 74-74=148; Max Steiner (Zionsville) 76-72=148.
Other Westfield scores: Will Harvey 77-74=151, Ryan Cesare 79-76=155, Hudson Kutchma 81-75=156, Brayden Worthington 83-84=167.
Other Southeastern scores: Nate Benson 75-77=152, Dane Starnes 80-73=153, Kai Warner 77-80=157, Jordan Huxford 89 (first day), Aiden Huffer 76 (second day).
Noblesville scores: Tyler Marucci 75-74=149, Lance Decker 79-76-155, Drew Werkley 79-77=156, Brady Mangin 75-82=157, Alex Peck 84-76=160.
Other Guerin Catholic scores: Owen Nielsen 75-77=152, Will Parenteau 77-80-157, Eli Wessel 81-78=159, Gabe Berglund 95 (first day), Robbie Burt 80 (second day).
Carmel score: Ethan Hoagland 78-76=154.