By RICHIE HALL
The good thing about high school golf is that you never know who will pick things up on any given day.
That was the case for Noblesville’s boys golf team, which won its third consecutive sectional championship Monday at Purgatory Golf Club. The sectional host Millers won with a score of 308 on a day when the temperatures were a little cooler, but the air was a little windy.
Fishers placed second with a 312 and claimed the overall medalist, Bryce Robertson. Hamilton Southeastern took third with a 316. All three schools qualified for the Muncie Central regional, which takes place Thursday at the Players Club in Yorktown.
Clay Merchent led the way for Noblesville with a 72. Kyle Claussen helped out the Millers with a solid score of 76. Jacob Deakyne carded a 77.
“Always happy that we can come out with a win,” said Noblesville coach Gary Sewell. “It was good to see that we had Kyle Claussen come through today and pick us up a little bit. He’s been playing well lately.
“It was just a total team effort when you come out here. These are rough conditions. The wind was extremely brutal at the start of the round. And we righted the ship a little bit. It was good that we could come out with a win.”
The sectional victory was the 16th overall for the Millers. It also marked the third time that the school won three straight titles. Noblesville won three in a row in 1989-90-91, then put together a four-year streak in 1997-98-99-2000.
Robertson’s score of 71 led the way for the Tigers, who advanced to the regional for the fourth year in a row. Robertson is the second individual medalist for Fishers. The first was Matt Lawrence, who won in 2007 at the end of Fishers’ first school year since being re-opened.
“I played really good,” said Robertson. “It was hard fighting through the wind, but I grinded and got it done.”
Caleb Bopp was next in line for the Tigers with a 79.
“I was really proud of our kids,” said Fishers coach Keith Andrews. “They battled the conditions. It wasn’t an easy golf course today. We played out here Thursday and played in a three-way with HSE and Noblesville. The course just played a little bit softer and today was a lot harder.”
Andrews said the wind did make conditions more difficult, but credited his kids with battling.
“Some of them didn’t play as well as they wanted to, but overall as a team, we played well enough to be able to advance,” said Andrews.
The Royals were led by Daivic Akala with a 75, while Sam Smith scored 79.
“At the end of the day, it’s survive and advance and move on,” said Southeastern coach David Young. “And that’s what this part of the year is about. It’s about getting good experience through the year to put yourself in this position that it shouldn’t really be too much of a question about whether you’ll get out. It’s a matter of which place you’ll be at.”
The Royals produced consistent scores, and while Young said they were “a little bit higher than our normal,” but said that 316 was enough to get the job done.
Hamilton Heights finished sixth with a score of 375. Price Knowles was the Huskies’ low man with a 91.
Team scores: Noblesville 308, Fishers 312, Hamilton Southeastern 316, Tipton 339, Pendleton Heights 359, Hamilton Heights 375, Lapel 384, Frankton 398, Alexandria 451, Elwood 457, Anderson 490.
Medalist: Bryce Robertson (Fishers) 36-35=71.
Noblesville scores: Clay Merchent 36-36=72, Kyle Claussen 38-38=76, Jacob Deakyne 38-39=77, Jack Barnes 43-40=83, Joe Whallon 46-43=89.
Other Fishers scores: Caleb Bopp 39-40=79, Shivom Patel 42-39=81, Noah Chamberlin 40-41=81, Nick Fisher 47-40=87.
Southeastern scores: Daivic Akala 38-37=75, Sam Smith 41-38=79, John Cherry 42-38=80, Mekheil Garcia 46-36=82, Adam Horner 43-44=87.
Heights scores: Price Knowles 48-43=91, Hudson Hochstedler 49-43=92, John Thuer 49-46=95, Kyle Kirtley 46-51=97, Hawkins Hochstedler 47-56=103.
Carmel placed second at the Zionsville sectional, which took place Monday at Golf Club of Indiana. The Greyhounds advance to the Lafayette Jefferson regional, scheduled for Thursday at Battle Ground Golf Club.
Carmel’s Cole Harris was the meet medalist with a 71, and all five Greyhound golfers scored under 80. Luke Prall carded a 75, followed by Nick Dentino with 76, then Clay Stirsman and Curtis Robertson both had 79s.
The host Eagles won the team championship with a 293. Brebeuf Jesuit placed third with 305. Westfield also scored 305, but the Braves beat out the Shamrocks for the third advancing spot on the fifth-man score.
Ethan Lutz scored 74 and Andrew Lewis carded a 75 for Westfield; both advance on to the regional as individuals. Drake Biggs scored a 76 for the ‘Rocks.
Guerin Catholic placed fifth as a team with a 311. Ty Gingerich carded a 73 and qualified for the regional as an individual. Keaton Modleski added a 78 for the Golden Eagles, with Ben Burgan scoring a 79.
University totaled 385 as a team. Thomas Tanselle was the Trailblazers’ low man with an 82.
Team scores: Zionsville 293, Carmel 301, Brebeuf Jesuit 305, Westfield 305, Guerin Catholic 311, North Central 352, Western Boone 367, Lebanon 378, University 385, Bethesda Christian 400.
Medalist: Cole Harris (C) 35-36=71.
Other Carmel scores: Luke Prall 39-36=75, Nick Dentino 39-37=76, Clay Stirsman 38-41=79, Curtis Robertson 41-38=79.
Westfield scores: Ethan Lutz 36-38=74, Andrew Lewis 38-37=75, Drake Biggs 35-41=76, Stephen Hildebrand 39-41=80, Sam Elliott 42-42=84.
Guerin Catholic scores: Ty Gingerich 35-38=73, Keaton Modleski 38-40=78, Ben Burgan 36-43=79, Andrew White 42-39=81, Noah Chelovitz 41-45=86.
University scores: Thomas Tanselle 41-41=82, Mitchell Bousall 47-46=93, Andy Tang 52-49=101, Anoop Jasti 54-55=109.
The Noblesville boys golf team won its third consecutive sectional championship Monday at Purgatory Golf Club. The Millers were one of three Hamilton County teams to advance to Thursday’s regional at the Players Club in Yorktown. (Tenna Merchent)
Fishers’ Bryce Robertson was the meet medalist with a score of 71. Robertson is pictured with Noblesville High School assistant athletic director Tony Oilar. (Tenna Merchent)