By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – It was a grand two days of golf at Prairie View this week, and the Greyhounds led the way.
The Carmel boys golf team defended its state championship on Wednesday, winning back-to-back titles for the third time in the program’s history. The ‘Hounds wound up taking all the hardware, as senior Nick Dentino won a playoff for the individual state championship and also won the Fred A. Keesling Mental Attitude Award.
Hamilton County schools claimed three of the top four spots, with Noblesville soaring to a runner-up finish for the first time in over a decade. Guerin Catholic broke through to the elite ranks, with the Golden Eagles earning medals for the first time at a golf state meet.
Carmel had only been beaten one time this season, when Zionsville nipped the Greyhounds to win the sectional championship. Carmel rebounded by winning the regional title by 29 strokes. The ‘Hounds were involved in a battle during the first day of state, with the Millers and Center Grove close by.
“We knew yesterday wasn’t our best round and we could play a lot better than that,” said Carmel coach Chard Reid. “Everyone’s going to have an off day and we just accepted that and said ‘You know what? We’re glad to be where we are, we’re still in the lead, despite shooting way beyond what we’re capable of.’
That battle continued into the early stages of the second day, with Noblesville getting within four strokes of Carmel at one point. But the Greyhounds pulled away as the meet went on, winning by 17 strokes with a score of 589, one over par. Carmel thus won its seventh boys golf state title, breaking a tie with Anderson for most championships in the sport.
Reid said the goal in mind was to “beat Prairie View,” and if his team did that, it would win. “And it ended up that way,” he said.
While Carmel easily clinched the team title, the winner of the individual championship was in doubt afterwards. Dentino had been leading for most of the day, but Noblesville senior Clay Merchent hit a birdie on the 18th hole to pull himself into a tie for the lead. Dentino and Merchent both finished four under par with 140s.
With that, the two began a playoff for the state title. Dentino only needed one hole to win it, as that time he made the birdie on the 18th hole to claim the individual championship. Dentino became the second Greyhound to win a boys individual title. The first was Don Wood in 1963, when he shared the championship as part of a three-way tie.
Dentino said once he got into the playoff, he “erased everything out of my mind and I was like, ‘Let’s just play a new hole and try to get it done,’ and it worked out.’
“My mindset going into today was to play for the team and to do everything I could to help our team score after the first day,” said Dentino. He called his second day on the course “a tale of two nines.”
“The first nine I was making lots of birdies, making lots of putts. My game was feeling really good. And then when I got to the backside, it was a matter of just holding it together,” said Dentino.
After the golf was finally finished, Dentino received yet another honor by winning the Mental Attitude Award. The son of Greg and Valerie Dentino, Nick became the third Carmel boys golfer to win the prestigious award. Kevin Stone received the award in 2017, and Charles Thoele was the first back in 1976.
Dentino, who has committed to play at Purdue, also was named to the All-State team for the third year in a row. Three of his teammates also received All-State honors: Junior Luke Prall, who earned an individual medal as well with his sixth-place finish (146), junior Clay Stirsman and senior Jack Crawford.
“Never heard of four guys on an All-State team,” said Reid. “Two’s a good number, because the way the All-State points work is generally, it’s based on your finishes. So if one guy is getting all good finishes, they’re cannibalizing points from other guys on your team. But with these guys, they’re all so talented, I mean, we’ve got five guys of No. 1 quality caliber play.”
“Back-to-back years, it’s been great,” said Stirsman. “It’s been a long ride with the boys this season.” The junior said Carmel “put a lot of effort and a lot of preparation and time,” and was rewarded.
“Couldn’t have asked for a better way to end off my career at Carmel,” said Crawford.
Dentino totaled five birdies in the second round, with senior Cole Harris making five as well. Prall had three birdies and Crawford made two.
Noblesville had an outstanding state meet, finishing in a tie for second place with Center Grove. Both teams totaled 605 for their two days. It’s the highest placing for the Millers since they took second in 2005, and the first time two teams shared the runner-up trophy since 2006.
Merchent led the way for Noblesville, with a four-under par 68 for his second day. That included six birdies, and he was named to the All-State team after the meet concluded.
“I played good,” said Merchent. He said he left a few strokes out there, but acknowledged that all golfers always leave some strokes behind.
“Wouldn’t play any different than I did,” said Merchent. “I’m really confident in my decision-making both days. Left a few shots out there yesterday, unfortunately. Nick played really well and he held me off.”
All five of the Millers’ state players were seniors. Jacob Deakyne was one of them, and he had two birdies in his second round. Deakyne, who finished with a score of 152, also was named to the All-State team.
“Carmel had a fantastic team the whole year,” said Deakyne. He said that his team was “obviously shooting for first place,” but also said that finishing second was a “huge accomplishment for our team.”
“We played solid golf,” said Deakyne, who has committed to play at Purdue Fort Wayne. “We played our game, we didn’t do anything spectacular the first day, but it didn’t take us out of the running. We still had a shot at it. Big props to our 4 and 5 guys. They played great first day and second day, keep us in the mix. Without those scores, we wouldn’t have been able to play as well.”
Everybody on the Noblesville team made at least one birdie in the second round: Joe Whallon had three, Chris Scheib had two and Jaxon Stutz made one.
“Outstanding,” said Millers coach Gary Sewell. “For this group of young men, all five seniors, to achieve this on a singular day, words can’t describe it right now.” The coach admitted that the accomplishment hadn’t quite sunk in yet, but called it “fabulous.”
“I’m so happy for the boys,” said Sewell. “They’ve worked so hard for this. We would’ve liked to have won the championship, but the best team more than likely won this one. We’re going to take our runner-up and we’re going to smile and say ‘Thank you’ and go on our merry way.”
Guerin Catholic was playing at state as a team for the first time, and the Golden Eagles made the most of it with their fourth-place finish. Guerin scored 617 over the two days. Senior Ty Gingerich finished with a two-day score of 150, including two birdies.
“Awesome,” said GC coach Mark Mathews. “The boys had a great year this year. Really proud of them and it’s a good feeling.”
While Gingerich and Keaton Modleski (who made one birdie) are seniors, the future is bright for the Golden Eagles. Two sophomores and a freshman played on Guerin Catholic’s team, with sophomore Ben Burgan draining four birdies and Andrew White making one.
“I think we will definitely continue on with the trend we’ve set,” said Mathews. “My sophomores are going to be juniors next year and my really outstanding freshman (Connor McNeely) are a good nucleus for a really good team next year.”
Hamilton Southeastern finished 10th at state with a team score of 644. Senior Daivic Akala led the way with a two-day score of 153. In the second-round birdie count, Akala and fellow seniors Sam Smith and John Cherry both made two, while junior Mekheil Garcia had one.
Fishers’ two individuals both had good tournaments. Junior Bryce Robertson scored 149 for the event, with three birdies in his second round. Senior Caleb Bopp scored 154, making one birdie.
Westfield senior Ethan Lutz finished with a 158, making two birdies.
Team scores: Carmel 299-289=588, Noblesville 303-302=605, Center Grove 305-300=605, Guerin Catholic 313-304=617, Columbus North 321-309=630, Castle 314-316=630, Penn 322-312=634, Floyd Central 311-323=634, Bishop Dwenger 315-322=637, Hamilton Southeastern 324-320=644, Evansville North 330-316=646, Yorktown 327-326=653, Crown Point 337-333=670, Warsaw 328-343=671, Plainfield 338-348=686.
Top 10 individuals: 1. Nick Dentino (Carmel) 70-70=140, won in playoff, 2. Clay Merchent (Noblesville) 72-68=140, 3. Drew Wrightson (Brebeuf Jesuit) 72-71=143, T4. Adam Bratton (Castle) 72-73=145; Nic Hofman (Harrison) 75-70=145, T6. Luke Prall (Carmel) 74-72=146; Alex Heck (Center Grove) 74-72=146, T8. Stewie Hobgood (Evansville North) 75-72=147; Kash Bellar (Peru) 70-77=147; Drew Pickering (Heritage Christian) 73-74=147.
Other Carmel scores: Clay Stirsman 74-76=150, Cole Harris 81-71=152, Jack Crawford 82-76-158.
Other Noblesville scores: Jacob Deakyne 78-74=152, Joe Whallon 77-76=153, Chris Scheib 78-83=161, Jaxon Stutz 81-82=163.
Guerin Catholic scores: Ty Gingerich 77-73=150, Andrew White 78-75=153, Connor McNeely 77-80=157, Ben Burgan 86-76=162, Keaton Modleski 81-82=163.
Southeastern scores: Daivic Akala 78-75=153, John Cherry 79-78=157, Sam Smith 82-85=167, Mekheil Garcia 85-82=167, Adam Horner 85-87=172.
Fishers scores: Bryce Robertson 74-75=149, Caleb Bopp 74-79=154.
Westfield score: Ethan Lutz 78-80=158.
The Carmel boys golf team defended its state championship Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club. The Greyhounds finished with a team score of 589, one over par. Carmel’s Nick Dentino won the individual championship and the Fred A. Keeling Mental Attitude Award. (Richie Hall)
Noblesville finished as state runner-up, tying with Center Grove for its highest finish since 2005. Clay Merchent was the individual runner-up. (Richie Hall)
Guerin Catholic finished fourth in its first appearance at the state meet. The Golden Eagles were led by two seniors, but also had several young players contribute to their score. (Richie Hall)