By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The annual Spring Preview meet at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel always features the best boys golf teams in the state, and this year was no exception.
Sixteen of the top 20 teams in the IHSGCA rankings, including every team in the top seven, were at Saturday’s tournament. Appropriately, it came down to battle between the two top teams, No. 1 Westfield and No. 2 Guerin Catholic.
Both teams were tied for most of the day, then the Shamrocks jumped ahead by four strokes. As the event wound up, the Golden Eagles took over the lead, and held on until the end. Guerin Catholic finished with a team score of 307, just ahead of Westfield’s 308.
The Golden Eagles were led by Jacob Modleski, who finished as the meet medalist. Modleski scored an even-par 72 to win the event, making a pair of birdies along the way.
“It was a pretty good round. Obviously the conditions were pretty tough,” said Modleski. It was a windy day at Prairie View, and there was evidence of the rains of the past couple days on the course.
In addition, there was also the hot competition. The tournament scores were constantly refreshed on GolfGenius, so everyone was aware of how close the event was. But Modleski said he stayed away from looking at the scores, therefore not getting “caught up in what needs to happen for us to win.” Instead, he just focused on playing well down the stretch.
Leo Wessel carded a 74 for Guerin Catholic, tying him for third place individually, while Connor McNeely’s 76 was good for a seventh-place tie. Both players joined Modleski in making two birdies, while Zach Thieme and Scotty Smith each made one.
“My guys certainly just hung in there,” said GC coach Mark Mathews. “We had some good scores and we had some scores that were surprisingly high for us. But all in all, it was a great day.”
The Shamrocks’ 308 included a pair of top 10 finishes. Jake Cesare tied for third with his 74, while Alec Cesare scored a 77, tying him for ninth place. Alec made two birdies at the tournament, while Jake made one. Nolan Hall and Will Harvey both had a birdie as well.
Seventh-ranked Zionsville finished in third place with a 312, followed by No. 6 Bloomington South in fourth place with a 317.
Carmel, ranked No. 5 in the state, finished in fifth place. The Greyhounds scored a 318; Patrick Michael tied for fifth individually with a 75, making two birdies along the way. Joseph Armfield also had a birdie.
No. 9-ranked Hamilton Southeastern tied for ninth place as a team with a score of 335. Cole Starnes led the way for the Royals, tying for fifth individually with his 75. Starnes made four birdies during his round.
Fishers, the No. 15 team in the state, finished in 18th place with a 354. Connor McMillan was the Tigers’ low man by carding an 80; both he and Jonathan Ash made one birdie each.
Team scores: Guerin Catholic 307, Westfield 308, Zionsville 312, Bloomington South 315, Carmel 317, Warsaw 330, Evansville North 333, Valparaiso 334, Hamilton Southeastern 335, Penn 335, Bishop Dwenger 335, Cathedral 338, Center Grove 339, Columbia City 339, Brebeuf Jesuit 342, Leo 344, Silver Creek 344, Fishers 354, Homestead 358, Franklin Community 367, Avon 416.
Medalist: Jacob Modleski (Guerin Catholic) 37-35=72.
Other Guerin Catholic scores: 36-38=74, Connor McNeely 38-38=76, Zach Thieme 42-43=85, Scotty Smith 41-45=86.
Westfield scores: Jake Cesare 37-37=74, Alec Cesare 39-38=77, Nolan Hall 39-39=78, Will Harvey 40-39=79, Cam Kooi 39-44=83.
Carmel scores: Patrick Michael 36-39=75, Owen Sander 38-40=78, Joseph Armfield 38-44=82, Kent Fujita 39-43=82, Mason Price 43-42=85.
Southeastern scores: Cole Starnes 37-38=75, Tyler Lacy 41-42=83, Nate Benson 44-44=88, Lane Zedrick 43-46=89, Tyler Marcinko 45-49=94.
Fishers scores: Connor McMillan 39-41=80, Jonathan Ash 41-47=88, Ryan Witt 44-45=89, Owen Munkholm 47-50=97, Eli Toon 49-49=98.
Westfield sent a second team to compete in the Bloomington North Invitational on Saturday at Cascades Golf Club.
The Shamrocks finished runners-up with a 315; Center Grove won the meet with a 311. Matt Shull and Cohen Steill tied for sixth place with 76s. Other Westfield scores were Jack Harris 81, Clark Schwartz 82 and Isaac Lutz 85.