Three area golfers advance to regional

The Herald Bulletin

Sports Reporter

NOBLESVILLE — There have been many adjectives to describe the Noblesville golf sectional, some of which are profane, but "meat grinder" may be the most common way to refer to one of the toughest sectionals in the state.

Pendleton Heights coach Hunter Cook summed it up a little more succinctly.

"It's tough when you have the hardest sectional in the state of Indiana," he said. "You have two of the top five teams in the state of Indiana, hands down. You have to have your best golf that day."

His Arabians had hopes of advancing as a team Monday at Harbour Trees, but fell five shots short of their goal, despite shooting a team score of 321 that would have won at many sectional sites across the state.

The Arabians gained a consolation prize as 2022 Madison County medalist Sam Denny and Ryan Davis both moved on as two of the top three individuals not on an advancing team.

The emotions were hard to disguise for Cook after the final scores were tallied Monday afternoon.

"Sam battled and he's been sick the last week with a pretty bad ear infection, so he really toughed it out today," Cook said. "Ryan was grinding, and all cylinders were firing today."

Denny fired a 77 (+6) and was the second-best individual to advance. He was 1-under on his first nine holes and was also disappointed in the day as he hoped the entire team would be able to move on together.

"We’re happy to get out. At least we did good enough to get out," he said. "It wasn't what we wanted, but it happens and everyone has bad days. It's a pretty tough sectional and hard to get out."

There was joy mixed with the disappointment for the Arabians, specifically with regard to Davis whose spot at regional was hanging in the balance as he and his teammates watched the final groups report their scores.

When a 79 was posted next to the name of Nathan Cox from Hamilton Heights, Davis’ trip to regional was clinched -- much to the relief of PH.

"I saw 79 come in, and it scared me a little bit seeing those numbers pretty close to mine," Davis said. "I had a lot of my teammates there supporting me, but other than that, it was pretty scary."

The PH pair will play at regional Thursday at The Players Club in Muncie and will be joined by Shenandoah senior Ryan Craig, who advanced from Greenfield-Central. The Raiders were also tantalizingly close to moving on as a team, but came up two strokes short, finishing at 343 behind the 341 from New Palestine.

Craig finished at 79 in the sectional played at Hawk's Tail in Greenfield and was the second-best individual to move on. Cohen Shores added an 82 for the Raiders, with a pair of 91s from Case Morehouse and Landon Harter rounding out the Shenandoah scoring.

The regional site is something of a home away from home for the Arabians, who have played the course several times this season. Davis and Denny said previous experience will help Thursday morning.

"I love that course," Denny said. "Hopefully, we can go low and try to get out again. It's going to be tough."

"If we come out and are firing on all cylinders, we can get two guys to state," Cook added.

Hamilton Southeastern was the sectional champion with a 292, followed by the host Millers at 304 and Tipton at 316. The Blue Devils edged Fishers by one stroke to advance, relegating the Tigers to fourth and the Arabians to fifth.

In addition to Denny and Davis, Hayden Fox and Vance Jarvis each fired an 83 for the Arabians while the team's lone senior — Cohen Gray — finished his high school golf career with an 86.

Cook said the 2022 regional qualifier will be missed.

"Cohen is hands down a fantastic young gentleman," he said. "He was a very big captain for us this year. A lot of the younger guys really looked up to him."

Frankton placed sixth at 346, matching Hamilton Heights, but the Eagles won on the tiebreaker. Liam Baker and Carson Ward paced Frankton with an 85, while Jace Scott had an 87, Jett Hiatt an 89 and Christian Knauer's 94 bettered the fifth score of the Huskies to earn the Eagles the higher finish.

Lapel finished eighth at 352, just six shots back of the Eagles and Huskies. Jacob Erwin and Bryson Hall were the low Bulldogs, each firing an 87, followed by Tyler Lutz with an 88 and Kaden Suchocki with a 90.

Anderson was ninth with an even 400. Chris Greer led the Indians with an 89, followed by Graham Kelley (93), Ethan Krick (101) and Nick Davis (117).

Elwood followed just three shots back of Anderson with Beau Brandon leading the Panthers with a 93. Zane Henry and Jayden Reese followed with matching 99s, and Isaac Wright completed the course at 112.

Daleville was next at 412 and was led by No. 2 Trevor Swingley, who carded a 90. Zach Cooper's 97, Hunter Thompson's 110 and Jaxon LeMay's 115 completed the Broncos' scoring.

Central Indiana Conference champions for the first time since 1983, Alexandria was hampered by the absence of its No. 3 player, Colton Eden, who was out due to a sudden illness. The Tigers placed 12th with a score of 415 and were led by senior Isaiah Fye with an 84. Owen Harpe fired a 99 followed by Spencer Hiser with a 113 and Brady Gast with a 119.

Contact Rob Hunt at [email protected] or 765-640-4886.

Sports Reporter

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