Hamilton County golfers made their mark in the first two rounds of match play at the Indiana Golf Foundation’s Boys State Junior Championship, which is taking place at the Purdue University Kampen Course.
Twelve golfers with county ties won their first-round match Wednesday morning, then seven of them were victorious in second-round matches later that afternoon, during which temperatures reached 94 degrees. As a result, they will play in this morning’s third round, with the winners advancing to afternoon quarter-final matches.
In the first round, three local golfers needed extra holes to advance. Alec Cesare, an incoming freshman at Westfield, won his match on the 20th hole, as did Shoji Fujita, a sophomore-to-be at Carmel. Jacob Deakyne, a recent Noblesville graduate and Purdue-Fort Wayne commit, needed 19 holes to advance to the second round.
Once into the second round, all three golfers moved on to the third round in much easier fashion. Cesare won 4 & 2 over another young golfer, Valparaiso’s Aidan Gutierrez – an incoming eighth-grader who qualified for the USGA Junior Amateur tournament. Deakyne beat Carmel’s Clay Stirsman 4 & 3 in an all-county match, while Fujita won his match 2 up over Columbus’ Henry Kiel.
Westfield’s Drew Pickering, a recent Heritage Christian graduate, also won an all-county match, 3 & 2 over Fishers incoming senior Bryce Robertson. Nick Dentino, who followed up his graduation from Carmel with team and individual IHSAA state championships, was a 4 & 3 winner over Kokomo’s Kyle Sanders. Dentino is headed to Purdue this fall.
Two Guerin Catholic players rounded out the county’s second-round winners. Incoming sophomore Connor McNeely of Noblesville beat Greenwood’s Caleb Tidd 3 & 2, while Russiaville’s Ty Gingerich, a recent GC graduate, took care of another Greenwood golfer, beating Sam Slaughter 2 & 1.
Stirsman advanced to the second round with a 3 & 2 first-round win over Brownsburg’s Kevin Tillery, while Robertson beat a fellow Fishers player, Cathedral graduate Luke Mattingly, 1 up. Other first-round winners were Fishers graduate Caleb Bopp, Westfield’s Ben Burgan, a junior-to-be at Guerin Catholic, and Fishers’ Daivic Akala, who just graduated from Hamilton Southeastern.
Third-round play gets underway at 8 a.m., with the quarter-finals to follow in the early afternoon. Here’s a complete list of Hamilton County results, along with third-round pairings.
FIRST ROUND
Alec Cesare, Westfield def. Grant Norman, Fort Wayne, 20 holes
Damon Dickey, Franklin def. Jack Crawford, Carmel, 2 up
Connor McNeely, Noblesville def. Sam Booth, Carmel, 6 & 5
Caleb Bopp, Fishers def. Nels Surtani, Noblesville, 3 & 2
Ty Gingerich, Russiaville (Guerin Catholic) def. Nicholas Gushrowski, Michigan City, 3 & 1
Shoji Fujita, Carmel def. Luke DeHaven, Bargersville, 20 holes
Clay Stirsman, Carmel def. Kevin Tillery, Brownsburg, 3 & 2
Jacob Deakyne, Noblesville def. Kasey Lilly, Plainfield, 19 holes
Noah Wolfe, Kempton def. Ryan Ford, Carmel, 4 & 2
Drew Pickering, Westfield def. Logan Vernon, Bloomington, 4 & 2
Bryce Robertson, Fishers def. Luke Mattingly, Fishers, 1 up
Ben Burgan, Westfield def. Andrew Karr, Valparaiso, 1 up
Kyle Sanders, Kokomo def. Luke Prall, Carmel, 2 up
Nick Dentino, Carmel def. Danny Kimes, Leo, 1 up
Daivic Akala, Fishers def. Keenan Donze, Granger, 4 & 2
SECOND ROUND
Alec Cesare, Westfield def. Aidan Gutierrez, Valparaiso, 4 & 2
Connor McNeely, Noblesville def. Caleb Tidd, Greenwood, 3 & 2
Tyler Nickol, Avon def. Caleb Bopp, Fishers, 4 & 3
Ty Gingerich, Russiaville (Guerin Catholic) def. Sam Slaughter, Greenwood, 2 & 1
Shoji Fujita, Carmel def. Henry Kiel, Columbus, 2 up
Jacob Deakyne, Noblesville def. Clay Stirsman, Carmel, 4 & 3
Drew Pickering, Westfield def. Bryce Robertson, Fishers, 3 & 2
Dylan Gabbart, Avon def. Ben Burgan, Westfield, 2 & 1
Nick Dentino, Carmel def. Kyle Sanders, Kokomo, 4 & 3
Griffin Hare, Tipton def. Daivic Akala, Fishers, 1 up
THIRD ROUND PAIRINGS
Alec Patterson, South Bend vs. Alec Cesare, Westfield, 8 a.m.
Damon Dickey, Franklin vs. Ben Hoagland, Evansville, 8:08 a.m.
Connor McNeely, Noblesville vs. Tyler Nickol, Avon, 8:16 a.m.
Ty Gingerich. Russiaville (Guerin Catholic) vs. Shoji Fujita, Carmel, 8:24 a.m.
Jacob Deakyne, Noblesville vs. Westin Allen, Sellersburg, 8:32 a.m.
Carter Smith, Sellersburg vs. Drew Pickering, Westfield, 8:40 a.m.
Peyton Snoeberger, Williamsport vs. Dylan Gabbart, Avon, 8:48 a.m.
Nick Dentino, Carmel vs. Griffin Hare, Tipton, 8:56 a.m.
Alec Cesare (right), an incoming freshman at Westfield, is one of seven players with Hamilton County ties to reach the third round of the Indiana Golf Foundation’s Boys State Junior Championship. The third round takes place this morning at the Purdue University Kampen Course. At left is Alec’s younger brother Jake Cesare, who served as a caddy for him during Wednesday’s play. (Richie Hall)