When discussing the outlook for the upcoming season with Center Grove boys golf coach Matt Rodman, make it a point not to use the ‘R’ word.
Yes, the Trojans are coming off of a state championship season and have all but one player returning, but they’re not looking in the rear-view mirror.
Last year’s accolades mean absolutely nothing.
“We are not using the word ‘repeat’ at all,” Rodman said. “Our sole focus is on the 2018 season, and our number one goal is to win the 2018 state championship.”
The horses are certainly in place for Center Grove to make another run. Though Ethan Shepherd has graduated and moved on to play at Indiana University, Rodman still has a pair of Division I recruits at the top of his lineup in seniors Noah Gillard (Illinois) and Sam Jean (Cincinnati).
Gillard was the individual state champion in 2017, with Jean not far behind in third. Both of them shot rounds of 66 on the second day of the state finals last June to help the Trojans clinch a convincing 13-stroke win against Carmel.
The rest of the team is so deep that nobody’s spot in the lineup is set — not even junior Logan Anderson, who placed 16th individually at state last year, or classmate Luke DeHaven, who shot the low sectional round for Center Grove.
Figuring out who will play in each match could be difficult for Rodman, but it’s a problem that any other coach in Indiana would gladly be saddled with.
The Trojans head into Wednesday’s season-opening match against Plainfield as the overwhelming favorite to win another state championship, but Rodman says he doesn’t expect his players to feel more pressure as a result. If anything, he suggests, there might actually be less now that Center Grove finally won its first title after disappointing near-misses the previous two years.
Still, while that championship run is “something we’ll always remember and celebrate,” according to Rodman, the Trojans are treating the 2018 season as a blank canvas.
“We’re not discussing much about last year,” Gillard said. “I mean, it was awesome, but this is a new year. We’ve got the same goal of winning the state title, but we have a couple of new pieces to fit in, so we’ll see how things work out.”
Don’t let the “we’ll see” talk fool you, though — Center Grove knows full well what it’s capable of achieving, and the players are ready to go out and fulfill that enormous potential.
“Last year wasn’t enough for them,” Rodman said. “They want to go out there and do it again.”
Call that almost anything you want … just don’t call it a repeat.
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Center Grove Trojans
Coach: Matt Rodman
Last season: State champion; also won county, sectional and regional titles
Who’s back: Noah Gillard and Sam Jean, seniors; Logan Anderson and Luke DeHaven, juniors
Who’s gone: Ethan Shepherd
Key newcomers: Dylan Bonfield, Mitchell Sanders and Bryant Simulia, juniors; Alex Heck, Peyton Short and Caleb Tidd, sophomores
Outlook: With four of the top five players back from last year’s state championship team, including individual champ Gillard, the Trojans are the obvious favorite to win it all again. A deep group of players who made up Center Grove’s second five last year will battle to fill the vacancy that Shepherd’s graduation left in the lineup. Expect this team to be at or near the top of the heap once again when the season reaches its end, with Gillard and Jean again contending for All-State recognition.
Edinburgh Lancers
Coach: Doug Weddle
Last season: Sixth in county tournament and Mid-Hoosier Conference; 11th at Center Grove Sectional
Who’s back: Zach Burton, senior; Bladen Hancock, junior
Who’s gone: Christian Cox, Kegan Jones, Brayden McManaway
Key newcomer: Noah Childers, sophomore
Outlook: Though the Lancers return their top player from last year in Hancock, they’ll be facing a bit of a numbers crunch behind him — only three players have come out so far, leaving Edinburgh short of being able to score as a team in matches. Weddle is hoping to add a body or two and remedy that, but as it stands the focus will be on individual improvement. Hancock could be an individual contender in the Mid-Hoosier Conference.
Franklin Grizzly Cubs
Coach: Andy Findley
Last season: Won Mid-State Conference title; second in county and at Center Grove Sectional; ninth at Providence Regional
Who’s back: Javan Johnson, Matt Jordan and Luke Stultz, seniors; Blake McIntire, junior; Tanner Murphy, sophomore
Who’s gone: Emerson Downing
Key newcomers: Damon Dickey, Quin Edwards and Ian McCullough, freshmen
Outlook: Though the top half of the Grizzly Cubs’ lineup took a hit with Downing moving to Florida, Findley feels like he has a deeper team than he did a year ago. Johnson, Jordan and McIntire provide Franklin with a solid top three, and with a good crop of freshmen the competition for the other varsity spots should be stiffer. Ranked 19th in the preseason poll, the Grizzly Cubs hope to break through and make the state finals come June.
Greenwood Woodmen
Coach: Ben Beatty
Last season: Finished third in county and Mid-State Conference; fifth at Center Grove Sectional
Who’s back: Chris Ashmore, senior; Jacob Rothaar, junior, Jacob Reagan, sophomore
Who’s gone: Hayden Borges-Hardesty, Cohen Crouse, Jaden Hornebeak, Eric Moenkhaus
Key newcomer: Trent Vislay, freshman
Outlook: Beatty, in his first season coaching the varsity after working with the middle school program, is bullish on the future of the Woodmen, but this will likely be a transition year with the top three players from last year’s lineup gone. Ashmore and Rothaar both worked hard on their games in the winter, and they figure to be among those jockeying for the No. 1 position. Greenwood’s focus in 2018 is more on continuing to improve and building for the future.
Greenwood Christian Cougars
Coach: Gary Hamilton
Last season: Did not have enough players to compete as a team
Who’s back: Gabe Vessely, sophomore
Key newcomers: Cayden Bauschek, Zach Garcia, Stone Gaunce and Gavin McCabe, seniors
Outlook: After Vessely wound up being the lone Cougar to compete in the sectional last spring, new coach Hamilton now has eight players out as GCA prepares to make its debut competing at the county level. Expectations aren’t high for this growing program at the moment; success this season won’t be so much measured by wins as it will be by improvement.
Indian Creek Braves
Coach: Bob Smith
Last season: Finished fifth in county tournament and Western Indiana Conference; ninth at Center Grove Sectional
Who’s back: Scott Russell, senior; Chandler Donahue, Vincent Greene and Cohnor Park, juniors; Dakota Day, Hunter Ellis and Hunter Meredith, sophomores
Who’s gone: Jarod Ball
Key newcomers: Grant Goforth and Taylor Voris, seniors
Outlook: With almost his entire lineup back, including a solid No. 1 in Russell and a pair of returning all-conference players in Donahue and Meredith, Smith is optimistic that the Braves can contend for a WIC title and win at least 10 dual matches. Trying to get out of a brutally competitive Center Grove Sectional will again be tough, but Smith says the goal is to shoot a team score of 330 or lower and “see where that puts us.”
Whiteland Warriors
Coach: Dan Gibson
Last season: Finished fourth in county tournament, fifth in Mid-State Conference and eighth at Center Grove Sectional
Who’s back: Evan Bunton and Isaac Ebeyer, seniors; Max Pressler, junior; Brady Brewer, Colin Godar, Jacob Johnson and Zach Ricketts, sophomores
Key newcomer: Walt Brady, sophomore
Outlook: The young Warriors have shown marked improvement thus far under Gibson, and a more experienced group is hoping to continue trending upward after putting in a lot of work in the offseason. Whiteland doesn’t have any superstars, but it’s a deep and balanced team that could potentially challenge for a top-three spot in the county and in the Mid-State Conference this spring.
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