When a tournament has 64 great golfers in one match play field, upsets are bound to happen.
There were a few of them during Thursday’s first and second rounds at the Boys State Junior Championship at Purgatory Golf Club in Noblesville. The biggest one went to Jacob Deakyne, a junior-to-be for the Millers.
Deakyne entered the match play round seeded 58th, but he beat the seventh seed, Noblesville’s Nels Surtani, 4 & 3 in the first round. Deakyne followed that up with a second-round victory over Carmel’s Nick Frey; Deakyne won 2 Up, taking the 17th and 18th holes to secure a spot in the Round of 16.
Deakyne will join two other Hamilton County players in today’s Round of 16 matches. Carmel’s Jeff Doty, the top seed, advanced with wins over Tipton’s Griffin Hare 4 & 2 and Carmel’s Stephen Kocerha 2 & 1. Noblesville’s Clay Merchent, who is seeded third, was a 5 & 4 winner over Fishers’ Nick Fisher and then beat Madison’s Landon Conner 6 & 4.
Round of 16 play begins today at 8 a.m. Doty will be the first one off hole No. 1, taking on Fort Wayne’s Ashby Drummond. Deakyne tees off at 8:40 a.m., against another Fort Wayne golfer, Cameron Cook. Merchent goes off at 8:48 a.m., playing against Evansville’s Evan Brinker. Brinker defeated Westfield’s Josh Kehl 1 Up; Kehl made the highlight reel with three consecutive birdies on holes 9, 10 and 11.
The winners of their Round of 16 matches will play quarter-final matches this afternoon. The semi-finals and championship matches are set for Saturday.
FIRST ROUND
1-Jeff Doty, Carmel def. 64-Griffin Hare, Tipton; 4 & 2
33-Stephen Kocerha, Carmel def. 32-Parker Deakyne, Noblesville; 1 Up
16-Nick Katsis, Carmel def. 49-Daivic Akala, Fishers; 20 holes
48-Ashby Drummond, Fort Wayne def. 17-Cole Harris, Carmel; 1 Up
8-Mitchell Davis, Valparaiso def. 57-Billy McCullough, Carmel; 4 & 3
25-Clay Stirsman, Carmel def. 40-Trey Mayer, Avilla; 1 Up
4-Joey Ranieri, Zionsville def. 61-Curtis Robertson, Carmel; 3 & 2
52-Nicholas Hofman, Lafayette def. 13-Luke Prall, Carmel 2 & 1
5-Nick Dentino, Carmel def. Caleb Tidd, Greenwood; 4 & 3
34-Jack Crawford, Carmel def. 31-Ethan Lutz, Carmel; 1 Up
58-Jacob Deakyne, Noblesville def. 7-Nels Surtani, Noblesville; 4 & 3
39-Nick Frey, Carmel def. 26-Dylan Zink, Lanesville; 1 Up
3-Clay Merchent, Noblesville def. 62-Nick Fisher, Fishers; 5 & 4
14-Eric Brinker, Evansville def. 51-Shoji Fujita, Carmel; 20 holes
19-Josh Kehl, Westfield def. 46-Graham Vogtman, Zionsville 3 & 2
11-Logan Ryan, Fort Wayne def. 54-J.D. Dulin, Carmel 8 & 7
SECOND ROUND
1-Jeff Doty, Carmel def. 33-Stephen Kocerha, Carmel; 2 & 1
48-Ashby Drummond, Fort Wayne def. 16-Nick Katsis, Carmel; 3 & 1
8-Mitchell Davis, Valparaiso def. 25-Clay Strisman, Carmel; 4 & 3
28-Peyton Snoeberger, Williamsport def. 5-Nick Dentino, Carmel; 1 Up
2-Ethan Shepherd, Greenwood def. 34-Jack Crawford, Carmel; 4 & 3
58-Jacob Deakyne, Noblesville def. 39-Nick Frey, Carmel; 2 Up
3-Clay Merchent, Noblesville def. 35-Landon Conner, Madison; 6 & 4
14-Eric Brinker, Evansville def. 19-Josh Kehl, Westfield 1 Up
Noblesville’s Jacob Deakyne (left) takes a practice swing during his Round of 32 match with Carmel’s Nick Frey (right) during Thursday play at the Boys State Junior Championship. Deakyne won the match 2 Up, moving him into the Round of 16. (Richie Hall)