By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – The buildup to the 2022 IHSAA boys state golf meet was a little different this year.
There was the usual excitement of who will be contending for the state championship, and several Hamilton County teams are currently in the running after the first round of play Tuesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Guerin Catholic is the early leader, with Westfield a close second and Hamilton Southeastern waiting in the wings in fourth place. Noblesville is tied for eighth and not out of the equation.
But another unavoidable topic dominated the meet as well: The heat. Temperatures by mid-afternoon were in the mid-90s at Prairie View, with the heat index well over 100. While there aren’t official weather records, it’s likely this state golf meet is one of the hottest ever in history.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Lane Zedrick was one of three players to card a 78 for the Royals, helping them to fourth place after the first round. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
“I drank 12 bottles of water,” said Guerin Catholic coach Mark Mathews after the Golden Eagles finished their round. And if the coach is drinking quite a bit, you can bet that he is making his players do the same thing.
“We hydrate every hole,” said Mathews. “I had 60 bottles of water. Today’s one of those days and I’m a weirdo about hydration anyway, so I don’t think my guys had a problem at all.”
Heat or not heat, Guerin Catholic had to be happy about their position once it finished the first round. The Golden Eagles totaled a 299, 11 over par, which puts them four strokes ahead of Westfield going into today’s second round of the 36-hole tournament.
Connor McNeely led the way for Guerin. The senior finished his first round with a one under par 71; McNeely was the only player under par during the day. McNeely drained three birdies on his to the top of the leaderboard, although he has the team leaderboard in mind as well.
“It is a team sport today and tomorrow,” said McNeely. “You got to think about not just yourself, but your team and what the right shot is for the team.”
Jacob Modleski made four birdies for his first round, finishing with a 74. Leo Wessel was next with a 76; he played the entire back nine even par. Zach Thieme added a 78 (two birdies) and Scotty Smith scored an 84 (one birdie).
Mathews admitted that the front nine was a little shaky, but the Golden Eagles seemed to get it together for the back nine, which is a common theme for Guerin Catholic.
“We did the same thing at sectionals and regionals,” said Mathews. “We didn’t play very well on the first nine holes and played extremely well with six holes left at both of those tournaments.”
Carmel’s Owen Sander finished 14th in first-round play and is only two strokes back from the top 10. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
Westfield’s score of 303 was achieved with two freshmen leading the way. Jake Cesare and Will Harvey both totaled 74s in their first round of play; each made one birdie.
All five Shamrocks players made birdies. Cam Kooi made four, Nolan Hall had three and Alec Cesare drained two. Alec Cesare is the only Westfield player back with state experience, so the fact that the ‘Rocks are in contention made coach Josh Bryant very happy.
“The heat obviously affected everyone in the field,” said Bryant. “Our guys were prepared for it. All in all, the goal of the day was to give yourself a chance on the second day.”
Westfield, Guerin Catholic and third-place Bloomington South (308) will be grouped together for today’s round, teeing off between 9:57 and 10:33 a.m.
“We’ll go in with a similar game plan as we did today and hopefully take advantage of some good shots and short games, and chipping and putting is going to be the key for everybody,” said Bryant.
Hamilton Southeastern is only three strokes behind Bloomington South with a 311, putting the Royals in position for a podium finish today. Jordan Huxford, who had a breakout meet last week at the Muncie Central regional, continued his fine play with a team-leading 77. Huxford made birdies on holes 1 and 2.
Fishers’ Connor McMillan scored a 79 in his first round. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
Southeastern had a consistent day across the board. Cole Starnes, Lane Zedrick and Tyler Marcinko all carded 78s. Starnes and Zedrick both made two birdies, with Marcinko and Tyler Lacy each getting one.
Noblesville is in a three-way tie for eighth place with a 323. Will Perkins made three birdies on his way to a 77. Rory Bushong collected two birdies, with Brady Mangin and Drew Decker both getting one.
Carmel’s Owen Sander is playing as an individual, and had a nice round of 76. Sander made two birdies and is currently tied for 14th place. He is only two strokes back from the top 10; finishing in the top 10 at state means an automatic placement on the All-State team.
Fishers’ Connor McMillan, also playing as an individual, totaled a 79, making two birdies along the way.
SCORES
Team scores: Guerin Catholic 299, Westfield 303, Bloomington South 308, Hamilton Southeastern 311, Silver Creek 312, Warsaw 319, Valparaiso 321, Cathedral 323, Evansville North 323, Noblesville 323, Jasper 329, Leo 329, Covenant Christian 332, Penn 334, Evansville Memorial 358.
Leader: Connor McNeely (GC) 71.
Other Guerin Catholic scores: Jacob Modleski 74, Leo Wessel 76, Zach Thieme 78, Scotty Smith 84.
Westfield scores: Jake Cesare 74, Will Harvey 74, Cam Kooi 76, Alec Cesare 79, Nolan Hall 81.
Southeastern scores: Jordan Huxford 77, Cole Starnes 78, Lane Zedrick 78, Tyler Marcinko 78, Tyler Lacy 80.
Noblesville scores: Will Perkins 77, Brady Mangin 81, Rory Bushong 82, Alex Peck 83, Drew Decker 94.
Carmel score: Owen Sander 76.
Fishers score: Connor McMillan 79.