Will Harvey, Jake Cesare each go three under par
By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
CARMEL – When the Westfield boys golf team finished its first round at the IHSAA state meet on Tuesday, the Shamrocks had a one-stroke lead.
There were still other teams left to finish, and Westfield’s lead slowly grew as those final Day 1 scores came in. The Rocks completed their first round with an even-par team score of 288 and hold a six-stroke advantage over Zionsville, the defending state champion.
Westfield will battle it out with the Eagles, along with Evansville North and Homestead in Day 2 of the state finals, which take place today at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Those top four teams will tee off between 9:40 and 10:20 a.m.
The Shamrocks’ superstar seniors led the way. Purdue commit Will Harvey and Indiana-bound Jake Cesare both scored three under par 69s, which ties them for third place individually. Both are two strokes behind the co-leaders; Evansville North’s Luke Johnston and Zionsville’s Brycen Tisch scored five under 67s in their first rounds.
Cesare made five birdies, including four on the back nine, he scored 32 on the back. Harvey drained four birdies and posted a 34 in his back nine.
“It’s what you need out of your leaders,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. He called his team’s performance is “what you want to do at the first day at state.”
Westfield’s other golfers all made two birdies: Ryan Cesare, Hudson Kutchma and Mitchell Keene.
“Our job today was to make sure that we had to score well,” said Bryant. “And the boys did.”
Noblesville is presently in fifth place with 305, just six strokes back from Homestead (299) and a place on the podium. Senior Drew Werkley was the Millers’ low man with an even par 72, which put him in a seven-way tie for eighth place individually.
Werkley made two birdies in his round, as did his senior teammate Jackson Umthum. Dustin Turpin had one birdie.
Carmel is also within shouting distance of the podium. The Greyhounds are in seventh place with 307; Center Grove is a stroke ahead of them with 306. Patrick Wolf and Alex Gardner both totaled 74s, with Wolf draining three birdies and Gardner making two. Noah Johnson had one birdie.
Hamilton Southeastern is in ninth place with 316, not too far away from the podium. Mattingly Upchurch scored 76, making three birdies. Kai Warner, Dane Starnes and Blake Babb all had one birdie in their rounds.
Guerin Catholic’s two individuals had solid rounds. Eli Wessel is part of the eighth-place tie after scoring 72, while Robbie Burt scored 75. Both collected four birdies.
Fishers’ Tommy Klinker also posted a score of 72, putting him in the eighth-place tie. Klinker made one birdie in his first round.
Team scores: Westfield 288, Zionsville 294, Evansville North 295, Homestead 299, Noblesville 305, Center Grove 306, Carmel 307, Castle 311, Hamilton Southeastern 316, Lake Central 318, Cathedral 319, Elkhart 322, South Bend St. Joseph 324, Bishop Dwenger 325, Floyd Central 326, Leo 328, Franklin Community 332, Bloomington South 335.
Westfield scores: Will Harvey 69, Jake Cesare 69, Ryan Cesare 74, Hudson Kutchma 76, Mitchell Keene 84.
Noblesville scores: Drew Werkley 72, Dustin Turpin 76, Jackson Umthum 78, Tyler Marucci 79, Lance Decker 80.
Carmel scores: Patrick Wolf 74, Alex Gardner 74, Ethan Hoagland 77, Davis Hutchins 82, Noah Johnson 85.
Southeastern scores: Mattingly Upchurch 76, Kai Warner 77, Dane Starnes 80, Blake Babb 83, Brody Colburn 90.
Guerin Catholic scores: Eli Wessel 72, Robbie Burt 75.
Fishers score: Tommy Klinker 72.
Reporter photos by Julie Brown
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