Center Grove’s Brady Schier, center, congratulates his teammates after finishing his round at Thursday’s county tournament.
Chris Williams | For the Daily Journal
The beauty of having arguably the deepest boys golf team in the state is that if someone has a bad round, his four teammates will likely pick him up.
During Thursday afternoon’s Johnson County tournament, nobody in Center Grove’s lineup needed such assistance.
The ninth-ranked Trojans were firing on all cylinders at The Legends, turning in five rounds of 74 or better on the way to a stellar team score of 287, good enough to outdo runner-up Franklin by 16 strokes.
“The boys played really well today,” Center Grove coach Matt Rodman said. “We had a good day of practice yesterday where we put up some good numbers, and that translated out here on the course today, so I’m looking forward to the form we’re rounding into as we start sectionals on Monday.”
Sophomore Brody Holubar led the charge for the Trojans, firing a 2-under-par 70 out of the No. 4 spot in the lineup to claim tournament medalist honors.
Holubar said he had hoped to knock down a few more putts on the day, but his drives and approaches were sound enough to get him a good score regardless.
“It was kind of a grind today,” he said. “Lots of fairways, lots of greens. Not making many putts throughout the day, and I finally knocked one in on 18 and it felt good.”
Center Grove also got a 71 from Nathan Springer and rounds of 73 fom Brady Schier and Noah Parsetich. James Beetz’s 74, which left him just one shot away from making the all-tournament team (top five plus ties), wasn’t needed.
With so many talented players on his roster, Rodman has been able to roll out a different lineup in almost every tournament this spring. After Thursday’s performance, he’s sticking with this group for the postseason — which begins with next Monday’s sectional at The Legends.
“We had maybe a couple of them who hit a good stride the last three weeks and worked their way up into the top five,” Rodman said. “We have had an interchangeable lineup this season with a lot of competition on our team, but it just kind of sharpens us and makes us tougher and tougher.”
Franklin’s total of 303 would have put it squarely in the title mix in many other years. While it wasn’t enough to win this time around, the Grizzly Cubs were all smiles after putting up their lowest team score of the season.
Luke Bechert led the way for the host team with an even-par 72.
“Everything seemed to be clicking,” Bechert said of his round. “You just have those days in golf where everything’s clicking and it seems like you can’t hit a bad shot.”
Kadin Gibson added a 74 for Franklin, while Jake Lock carded a 77 and both Reid Davidson and Kyle Diebold finished at 80.
Greenwood finished third as a team with a 328, six shots ahead of Greenwood Christian. Conner Chase led the Woodmen with a 76.
GCA got a 72 from Ian Reed and a 76 from Noah Reed on the way to a 334.
Whiteland (364) was fifth, led by matching 83s from Will Smith and Brayden Paterek. Indian Creek (366) got an 84 from Isaac Spurgeon, while Max Blandford’s 83 was the low round for Edinburgh (405).
More than content with how they played, the Trojans are hopeful that Thursday’s success will carry over into next week.
“Playing out here on the sectional site always helps, getting a good round in before we come back here Monday,” Rodman said. “Having some competition today was really good, too; Franklin played really well. … I hope we both play well on Monday and move onto (the regional at) Champions Pointe next Thursday.”
“The goal is to win sectionals and regionals and obviously state,” Holubar added. “We’re playing good; just keep doing what we’re doing.”
