Rocks triumph at rainy state meet

Westfield holds off Center Grove; Kutchma claims individual title

By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com

CARMEL – Once the formalities of the medal ceremonies were finished at the IHSAA boys golf state finals at Prairie View Golf Club, the state champion Westfield team jumped into the pond located near the ninth green.

The Shamrocks were wet already, since the last holes of the state meet were played in the rain. But Westfield persevered through the rain and tough competition to defend its state title.

The Rocks held off Center Grove by one stroke, 592 to 593, to secure not only back-to-back state championships, but also their fifth in program history. Guerin Catholic was in the mix as well and placed a close third with 596.

In addition, Hudson Kutchma won medalist honors for Westfield, beating the Golden Eagles’ Eli Wessel in a two-hole playoff. The Shamrocks’ Will Harvey (who was there cheering on his alma mater), was the medalist last year. This marks only the third time in tournament history where a team defended both team and individual titles: Shortridge did so in 1949 and 1950, while Anderson had back-to-back sweeps in 1952 and 1953.

“We started off hot,” said Westfield coach Josh Bryant. “You could see it on the bus, the confidence. A lot of those guys had done the same thing the year before.”

Three Shamrocks were also players on last year’s state team: Kutchma, Mitchell Keene and Ryan Cesare. Junior Brayden Worthington played on Westfield’s state runner-up team his freshman year.

“No question, those guys leaned on the experience,” said Bryant.

“Our team chemistry is amazing,” said Kutchma. “Our seniors just really take care of everybody and teach all the underclassmen what to do.”

Kutchma and Cesare delivered on the 18^th hole. Playing No. 2 for the Shamrocks, Kutchma made the edge of the green on the par-five 18^th in two strokes. He sent a long putt near the hole, then drained a birdie that pushed Westfield ahead, followed by a fist pump.

“I told myself to just two-putt, just to make birdie, and that’s pretty much it,” said Kutchma.

“We thought we were down one,” said Bryant. “We may have been even. It’s hard to say on the leaderboard, but we thought were down one and we told Huddy, ‘You’ve got a good number, go for it.’ He gets a beautiful shot, ends up swinging the leaderboard our way.”

Cesare finished things off with a par that kept the Shamrocks in front, and Westfield’s first celebration was on. It was back to business minutes later, as Kutchma and Wessel were off to the first tee to begin the individual playoff.

Kutchma bested Wessel on the second green, which was getting so wet that workers had to clear away ponds of water just to make the green playable. But Kutchma took it in stride, saying the experience was like “going out there, having fun with friends and playing in the rain.”

Kutchma scored 74 during his second round, making three birdies in the second round, including the big one on the 18^th hole. Worthington scored 74, including three birdies.

Cesare made one birdie on his way to a Wednesday score of 76. Both he and Kutchma were named to the All-State team at the conclusion of the meet.

Keene scored 73 on the second day, improving five strokes from the first day. Keene drained five birdies during the second round. Sophomore Keaton Knott totaled 79, making three second-round birdies.

Westfield finished in the top two at state for the fifth consecutive year and for the ninth time since 2013.