The high school boys state golf meet is set for Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel as 102 of the state’s top golfers and 18 teams will compete for state championships.
What to know about the state golf meet:
Top teams to watch
Westfield is ranked No. 1. Guerin Catholic is the defending state champion and ranked No. 2. And you could easily make the argument that third-ranked Hamilton Southeastern could be the favorite. And don’t sleep on No. 4 Bloomington South or No. 5 Evansville North, either.
Westfield is probably a slight favourite, though. The Shamrocks are coming off a seven-shot win in the regional over second-place Guerin Catholic and won the sectional by 13 shots over second-place Zionsville and by 19 over Guerin. There are a lot of deep teams in the top five, but Westfield is not only strong at its first two spots with senior and Ball State recruit Alec Cesare (medalist at sectional with a 1-under-par 69) and sophomore Jake Cesare (second at regional with a 72), but also has serious depth with seniors Matt Shull and Cam Kooi and sophomore Will Harvey.
The Cesares, Harvey and Kooi were all part of the lineup for last year’s team that finished a shot behind Guerin Catholic for the title. Westfield will be grouped with Valparaiso and Center Grove in the last five groups of the day Tuesday with tee times from 9:48 am to 10:24 am
Guerin is obviously a factor. The Golden Eagles have three of their five back from last year’s state championship team in seniors Jacob Modleski and Zach Thieme and junior Leo Wessel. Modleski, a Notre Dame recruit, shot a 3-under-par 69 to win the regional at Coyote Crossing Golf Club at West Lafayette. Guerin is grouped with Penn and Floyd Central and will start at 8:18 am through 8:54 am
Hamilton Southeastern finished third at state last year after finishing third at the sectional and regional. But the Royals are a stronger team this year and believe they are a strong contender for a state title. HSE shot a 289 to win the regional at Players Club as freshman Mattingly Upchurch won the medalist honors. Seniors Cole Starnes and Lane Zedrick were part of last year’s state team and sophomore Kai Warner has been playing well, firing a 72 at the sectional.
Evansville North shot a 292 in the regional at Country Oaks, defeating Bloomington South by four shots.
Top contenders for individual state titles
>>Aidan Gutierrez, Valparaiso: The junior won a thrilling three-hole playoff against Cathedral’s Ryan Ford to win last year’s state championship. Gutierrez shot a 74 at Sandy Pines in the regional to finish in a tie for second behind teammate Colin Kaleth for medalist honors. There has not been a repeat individual state winner since South Bend Clay’s Jeremy Wilkinson did it in 1994 and ’95.
>>Jacob Modleski, Guerin Catholic: As noted above, the Notre Dame recruit shot a 69 to win the regional and tied for fifth at last year’s state meet, just three shots off the lead. Modleski also tied for second in the sectional, shooting an even-par 70 at Ulen Country Club. It would be surprising if he’s not in the hunt.
>>Alec Cesare, Westfield: The Ball State commit is focused on the team title, but could also factor into the individual race. Cesare, a senior, won the sectional at Ulen with a 69. He struggled in the first round last year, but came back to fire a 71 on the final day to keep his team in contention and tied for 15th.
>>Adam Melliere, Zionsville: The Valparaiso senior committed shot a 73 at the regional to tie for third and took ninth last year at state. Melliere was a shot off the lead at the sectional at Ulen with a 70.
>>Justin Hicks, Leo: The junior tied for seventh at state last year. Hicks fired an even-par 71 at the regional, two shots off the lead.
>>Happy Gilmore, Bloomington South: Yes, that’s his name. And yes, he can play. Gilmore tied for 17thth at state as a sophomore and is coming off a 2-under-par 70 to win the regional.
>>Jake Cesare, Westfield: The sophomore shot a 72 at the regional to finish second. He performed well in his first state meet, finishing six shots off the lead and tied for 10thth.
>>Brayden Miller, Fairfield: The sophomore fired a 2-under-par 69 to tie for medalist honors at the regional with Westview’s Silas Haarer. Miller tied for 12thth at state as a freshman.
>>Cole Starnes, Hamilton Southeastern: The senior Indiana recruit has consistently been one of the top golfers in the state this spring. He tied for 21St at state as a junior.
>>Maverick Conaway, Tipton: The senior is on a hot streak with a 2-under-par 70 at the regional (he lost a playoff with HSE’s Mattingly Upchurch) and a 70 to win the sectional.
Others to watch include Guerin Catholic junior Leo Wessel (tied for 10th at state last year), HSE senior Lane Zedrick (tied for 15th last year), Westfield sophomore Will Harvey (tied for 17th at state last year), Borden senior AJ Agnew, Evansville North sophomore Luke Johnston and HSE sophomore Mattingly Upchurch, among others.
Potential sleeper teams
Eighth-ranked Center Grove shot a 292 in the regional at Champions Pointe to win by eight strokes. The Trojans could be a team to watch this week. Nathan Springer and Brady Schier both shot a 71 and Brody Holubar a 72.
Zionsville, ranked sixth, has also been playing well at the right time. The Eagles were just two shots behind Guerin Catholic for second at the regional and nine shots behind winning Westfield.
Format
The first groups tee off at 8 am Tuesday. The final groups will go off at 10:24 am Live scoring can be viewed at BlueGolf.com. Scores will be posted hole-to-hole throughout the two days. All teams and individuals will play 36 holes. Admission is $15 per person with a ticket good for both days.
This article originally appeared on the Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school golf: What to watch for at boys state golf meet