NTSPY Finalist & All-Area Teams
6/20/2018 Josh Cook (News & Tribune)

This season the area sent one team and one individual golfer to the IHSAA State Finals.

So it should be no surprise, then, that two of the three golfers from that team and that aforementioned individual state qualifier are the finalists for the NTSPY Boys’ Golfer of the Year award.

The Floyd Central senior tandem of Jack Lilly and Dylan Zink and Jeffersonville senior Jay Williams are the three golfers up for the honor this year. Ironically, they are the same three finalists from last year (Lilly was the winner).

JACK LILLY, FLOYD CENTRAL

Floyd Central senior Jack Lilly was a big reason why the Highlanders went 88-1 during the regular season, won the sectional, finished runner-up at the regional and 10th at the recently-completed state meet.

“I would say it was a really successful senior year,” Lilly said. “Just by being able to lead the team to a really great record and being able to lead the team back to state again.”

Individually, Lilly’s season was highlighted by his medalist performance at the 15-team Bedford North Lawrence Invitational. He was also the team’s low scorer at the Jasper Invitational, which Floyd won. He was also the team’s low man at the Providence Regional.

“Overall I’d say the round we had at sectional was one of the highlights, even though I didn’t play very well,” said Lilly, who made three trips to state (one as an individual, two with his team). “Shooting a 284, the best score we had in my four years, that was awesome to be a part of.”

Lilly will attend Indiana University, where he will major in accounting.

JAY WILLIAMS, JEFFERSONVILLE

The regular season didn’t go exactly the way that Jeffersonville senior Jay Williams had hoped.

“The regular season was probably my second-worst, after my freshman year, just because I didn’t win any tournaments,” said Williams, who won three times (including the sectional) as a sophomore and twice as a junior.

Williams’ regular season was highlighted by his tie for third-place at the Hoosier Hills Conference championship.

However, he saved his best golf for the postseason. Williams was the sectional runner-up (after shooting a 4-under-par 68 in regulation) then tied for second at the regional to earn his first-ever trip to the State Finals, where he tied for 17th place.

“The postseason was definitely something I can definitely be proud of,” Williams said. “Getting to state, that’s been what I’ve wanted to do since my freshman year, so it was probably my favorite year.”

Williams will continue his education, and his playing career, at Marian.

DYLAN ZINK, FLOYD CENTRAL

Much like his classmate Jack Lilly, Floyd Central senior Dylan Zink was a major reason for the Highlanders’ success this season, which included an 88-1 record during the regular season, a sectional championship, a regional runner-up finish and a 10th place at state.

“For me, it’s been a lot of fun,” Zink said after the sectional. “We have five players, who at any time can break par. … For me being a senior I know even if I don’t play my best round, in the past I would have to play great for our team to even have a chance to win, but we’ve won three or four invitationals this year, these kids have my back. It’s just been great.”

Individually Zink earned medalist honors at the Big 4 Invitational and placed third overall at the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational. He tied for fourth individually at the sectional, where Floyd posted a state-best score of 284.

2018 NEWS AND TRIBUNE ALL-AREA TEAM

FIRST TEAM: Reece Compton, Floyd Central sophomore; Harrison Eades, Floyd Central junior; Jack Lilly, Floyd Central senior; Jay Williams, Jeffersonville senior; Dylan Zink, Floyd Central senior

SECOND TEAM: Westin Allen, Henryville freshman; Bryce Crutcher, Silver Creek junior; Nolan Keeler, New Albany junior; Christian McIntosh, Floyd Central freshman; Joey Steinert, New Albany senior

THIRD TEAM: Trey Beatty, Providence senior; Sam Davidson, Henryville freshman; Fernando Diaz, New Washington sophomore; Shawn Fitzpatrick, Providence senior; Hayden Hope, Christian Academy senior

HONORABLE MENTION: Keegan Allred, Clarksville; Clayton Fields, Henryville; Michael Gillooly, Charlestown; Kameron Guess, New Albany; Will Kaiser, Providence; Harrison Paul, Jeffersonvillle; Garred Perronie, Silver Creek; Hunter Popp, Silver Creek; Jarrett Rowe, Providence; Hayden Smith, Borden; Kevin Wang, CAI.

Highlanders, Williams Earn Trip to State Finals
6/7/2018 Josh Cook (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Floyd Central and Jeffersonville’s Jay Williams punched their tickets to state Thursday.

Both were runners-up — the Highlanders for the team title and Williams for the individual title — at the Providence Regional.

Top-ranked, and defending state champion, Center Grove carded a collective 2-over-par 290 at Champions Pointe Golf Club to capture its fourth regional championship in a row. Tenth-ranked Floyd Central finished 18 shots behind the Trojans to advance out of the regional for the first time since 2015.

“Still not our best, we can totally go lower, but we got the job done on getting to state,” said senior Jack Lilly, who along with classmate Dylan Zink, was a freshman on the 2015 Highlanders team that took third at the regional. “We did what we needed to, now we get the chance to go have a lot of fun up there.”

The top three teams and top five individuals on non-qualifyinig teams advance to the State Finals, which will be Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

Center Grove senior Noah Gillard, the defending state champion, earned medalist honors with a 3-under-par 69. Williams was one of three players, along with Corydon Central’s Joey Wiseman and Bedford North Lawrence’s Ethan Stanley, to tie for second with a 1-under 71.

“I got it going pretty smooth toward the beginning, not many hiccups,” said Williams, who lost a playoff with Wiseman for medalist honors at Monday’s Providence Sectional. “I was 2-under at the turn, then just kind of choked a little bit on 17 and 18, I didn’t hold it together. But overall, I’m pretty proud of the way I played. I made some good putts, hit a lot of good shots, just kind of came out here and finally got it done.”

The tie for second earned the senior his first trip to state.

“It’s the best thing in the world, just being able to go and represent Jeff High and the city of Jeffersonville,” Williams said. “I’m truly humbled to be able to go and just play for my school.”

The Highlanders were led by Lilly, who fired a 75.

“It was good overall,” he said. “I had a stretch of bogeys on the back, but finished with a tap-in birdie, so it was a good finish. I was happy about it.”

Also for Floyd, junior Harrison Eades shot a 76, sophomore Reece Compton a 77 and freshman Christian McIntosh an 80.

“I’m proud of how we kind of grinded it out,” first-year Highlanders coach Brett Eades said. “When we were on about the 12th, 13th, 14th holes, things looked really good for us. We were about 6-over at that point. And then things began to unravel, let’s say, on 18, starting with my own son. He was 2-over going into 18 and doubled. Then the next guy bogeyed, and then my third guy is 2-over going into 18 and he takes a triple. It’s one of the hardest golf holes around here, if not the [hardest]. So I’m just glad that numbers 16, 17 and 18 aren’t at Prairie View.”

Madison and Columbus North both finished seven shots behind Floyd. The Cubs, though, earned the trip to the State Finals thanks to the fifth-man tiebreaker. Eleventh-ranked Franklin was one shot behind the Cubs and Bull Dogs.

The host Pioneers tied with BNL for ninth with a 327. Providence was led by senior Trey Beatty, who shot a 74 and narrowly missed earning an individual trip to state.

“It looked like he was going to make a good move,” Pioneers coach Victor Beeler said. “He birdied six on the back, which was deep in his nine for him. He stuck an eagle putt to within 12 feet and just barely missed it, that would’ve put him back to even.”

New Albany tied for 11th with a 328. Nolan Keeler led the Bulldogs with a 75.

“We started out really good as a team, through the first like three or four holes, then we hit 14, 15, 16, 17, somewhere in there everybody kind of went the wrong direction, made some mental mistakes and then got into some trouble,” New Albany coach Ricky Belcher said. “But I’m happy with them.”

Individually, Henryville freshman Westin Allen shot a 76.

"Westin played well today," Hornets coach Robin Embry said. "He had a few putts lip out and a couple of tough breaks. If that goes different then he's probably playing next week. It's a tough game, sometimes the putts fall and the breaks fall your way ... at other times, not so much. He's had a great season, probably the best freshman season of any player I've had. He averaged 76, was the conference and Hauser Invitational medalist, qualified for the regional, and played well today. He's represented our community, school, team, his family and himself in a high character manner." 

Meanwhile Silver Creek’s Bryce Crutcher carded an 80 and New Washington's Fernando Diaz shot a 115. 

Jennings County’s Bryce Kirchner had the shot of the day — a hole-in-one on the par-3 15th. 

PROVIDENCE REGIONAL (Champions Pointe, Henryville, par 72)

Team scores: Center Grove 290, Floyd Central 308, Madison 315, Columbus North 315, Franklin 316, Bloomington South 323, Columbus East 324, Jasper 325, Providence 327, Bedford North Lawrence 327, Roncalli 328, New Albany 328, Bloomington North 333, Southwestern 351, Jennings County 353, Heritage Hills 356, Paoli 359, Greensburg 361.

Medalist: Noah Gillard (Center Grove) 69.

Advancing individuals: Gillard (CG), Jay Williams (Jeffersonville) 71, Joey Wiseman (Corydon Central) 71, Ethan Stanley (BNL) 71, Henry Kiel (Columbus North) 73, Hunter Mefford (Southwestern) 73.

Center Grove: Noah Gillard 69, Luke DeHaven 73, Alex Heck 74, Sam Jean 74, Logan Anderson 75. 

Floyd Central: Jack Lilly 75, Harrison Eades 76, Reece Compton 77, Christian McIntosh 80, Dylan Zink 81. 

Madison: Landon Conner 74, Case Kiefer 78, Luke Ommen 80, Trent Jameison 83, Drew Barron 84. 

Columbus North: Kiel 73, Drew Smith 76, Reese Moore 81, Jackson Kerber 85, Cameron Ziegler 87. 

Franklin: Damon Dickey 76, Matthew Jordan 77, Ian McCulloug 81, Quin Edwards 82, Blake McIntire 90. 

Bloomington South: Drew Todd 75, Thomas Tierney 80, Seth Kestranek 81, Ethan Kopp 87, James Bomba 88. 

Columbus East: Kody Reynolds 76, Adrian Adams 80, Avery Foist 81, Mark Mayhew 87. 

Jasper: Bryan Hagan 74, Jack Bies 79, Evan Wolfe 84, Avery Hollind 88, Landon Kissel 92. 

Providence: Trey Beatty 74, Shawn Fitzpatrick 81, Will Kaiser 84, Jarrett Rowe 88, Caleb Popp 90. 

BNL: Stanley 71, Daylen Tidd 77, Cole Sanders 87, Corbin Bushey 92, Jeven Adams 100. 

Roncalli: Luke Poole 75, Drew Fleming 83, Mark Poole 85, Connor Wray 85, Evan Wray 90. 

New Albany: Nolan Keeler 75, Joey Steinert 82, Kameron Guess 83, Ryan Crum 88, Caiden Waiters 88. 

Bloomington North: Jace Day 80, Logan Vernon 82, Darin Woodley 84, Evan Todd 87, Charlies Bless 93. 

Southwestern: Mefford 73, Austin Kramer 88, Trenton Hadley 91, Sam Beverly 99, Dylan Peck 106. 

Jennings County: Bryce Kirchner 75, Adam Leach 88, Justin Gasper 94, Austin Roscoe 96, Joey Kelley 97. 

Heritage Hills: Carter Cox 80, Rylan Cox 83, Mitch Blasdel 93, Josh Nelson 100, Carson Leibering 103. 

Paoli: Dawson Long 76, Jordan Clark 80, Shawn Buchanan 96, Hunter Hamilton 107, Charles Meredith 108. 

Greensburg: Ben Bausback 86, Kyle Sellers 88, Curtis Bausback 90, Trevor Foster 97, Devin Winkler 107. 

Other area individuals: Westin Allen (Henryville) 76, Bryce Crutcher (Silver Creek) 80, Fernando Diaz (New Washington) 115. 

Conner's Medalist leads Cubs to 7th Straight Title
6/4/2018 James Pence (Madison Courier)

A year after finishing as the sectional runner-up by two strokes as a sophomore and one stroke as a junior, Madison’s Landon Conner went out on top at his final high school tourney at Sunrise Golf Course by firing a two-under 70 to win medalist honors and lead the Cubs to their seventh consecutive sectional team championship.

Conner, a senior who has signed to play golf at Campbellsville University next year, went out in even-par 36 and came home in two-under 34 to win medalist honors by four strokes over Southwestern’s Hunter Mefford and Scottsburg’s Carter Bowles. As a team the Cubs went on to card a 308 that was 22 strokes better than runner-up Southwestern (330) and Jennings County (339) as all three teams advanced to Thursday’s Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club.

“It feels great and I have been working for this moment for my entire high school career,” Conner said on being sectional champion. “It feels great to leave Sunrise, since this is my last match here, as sectional champion.” 

Although Mefford, a junior, tied for second on the scorecard he lost a tiebreaker to Scottsburg’s Bowles to finish third in the medals. Regardless, Mefford will be making his second consecutive trip to regional and this time he will be joined by his Southwestern teammates for the first time in a decade. 

“I am really proud of my teammates for stepping up and accomplishing that,” Mefford said on the team qualifying for regional. “I’m really proud of myself for shooting a 74. Landon and I were close coming down the stretch, but I stumbled and he didn’t. It feels really good because I shot 77 here last year and dropped it down three this year. Now it is on to Champions Pointe to try to make it out as an individual and hopefully we can make it out as a team.”

Mefford was just two strokes back of Conner when their head-to-head battle arrived at the par-5 15th tee. However, Mefford found tree trouble on the right side and took a double-bogey seven while Conner’s second shot came to rest just in front of the green where he almost chipped in for an eagle before holing out for a birdie four. Mefford birdied the par-four 16th but the damage was done and Conner closed with four straight pars for the four-stroke win.

Along with Conner’s 70 for the Cubs, Drew Barron finished with an 78, freshmen Luke Ommen shot a 79 and Case Kiefer rounded out the scoring with an 81. Trent Jameison carded a non-scoring 83.

Madison coach Dale Crafton was pleased to see his three seniors Conner, Kiefer, and alternate Hunter Liter leave Sunrise a final time as sectional champions.

“I’m excited for those guys, Landon especially played well. I’m really excited for Landon,” Crafton said. “Case didn’t play as well as he is capable of and hopefully he can bounce back on Thursday. Whenever he has a couple rounds that aren’t real good, he always bounces back and we are optimistic he’ll be fine. Hunter has been right there with us and is our sixth guy whenever we need him to step in — he’s been a treat to coach.”

Along with Mefford’s 74 for the Rebels, Austin Kramer finished with an 80, Trenton Hadley carded an 85 and Sam Beverly rounded out the scoring with a 91. Dylan Peck shot a non-scoring 92.

“I’m really happy for our guys. We set a goal this year to win conference and make it to regional and these boys put in the work and got it done,” Southwestern coach David Bright said. “We had to beat a couple really good teams to earn this spot. At the turn we were only seven shots back of Madison and I made it a point to let our boys know that. Madison is such a solid team and I knew if we stayed close to them, then we would be in good shape to advance. In the end we came up just a little bit short of the title, but we are now one of the few teams in school history to take second and advance to regional.”

Switzerland County, led by senior Kyle Whitham’s 89, finished seventh as a team with a 404. Garrett Demaree shot a 101, Tyler Konkle a 102 and Austin Wolf carded a 112. After advancing to regional as an individual last season, Whitham was five strokes off qualifying this season.

Shawe, the sectional champion back in 2010, was unable to field a complete team but had one individual, Zach Stewart, finish with a round of 107.

Jennings County, the last team to win a Sunrise Sectional other than Madison back in 2011, was 10 strokes better than Henryville’s 349, followed by Scottsburg 375, Rising Sun 397, Switzerland 404, Austin 422, South Ripley 453, New Washington 456 and Charlestown 457.

With sectional in the books, the advancing teams and individuals must now gear up for a regional where both the course and the competition will be more challenging.

Several of the top teams in the state funnel into the Champions Pointe regional so it will take a solid effort either by team or individual to advance to the state finals. Conner said the only way to do that is play one shot at a time.

“We have to not worry what anyone else is doing. We have to focus on our own game,” Conner said. “There is a lot of competition there, but we can’t worry about them. We have to go out there and execute our game plan and keep it in the fairway and keep the ball in play the whole time.”

“We have to come and be ready to play Thursday,” Mefford said. “We’ll practice there Wednesday and hopefully get to see the course and know what we have to do on Thursday.”

Crafton said a ballpark number for advancing to state will be close to if not well below 300. He saw the Cubs shoot 301 there last year and come home and the competition could be even tougher this year.

“It was 301 last year. We will have to average about a 75,” Crafton said. “The regional down there is the toughest one in the state. We’ll have to play better than we did today. My best guess is 300 as a team and a 72 as an individual.” 

Hornets edge Cougars in 3-way match
5/30/2018 Staff (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Host Henryville edged Trinity Lutheran by four strokes in a 3-way meet that also included Eastern on Thursday.

Westin Allen’s 2-over-par 38 was the meet’s top result, followed by a stroke by teammate Clayton Fields.

Trinity Lutheran’s Jacob Keith was third with a 40.

Henryville (172): Allen 38, Fields 39, Davidson 47, Furnish 48, Badger 49, Curtis 50, Miller 55. 

Trinity Lutheran (176): Keith 40, Shoemaker 44, Criswell 45, Nierman 47, Foster 47.

Eastern (Pekin) (256): Jones 53, Mosier 63, Felker 69, West 71.

Courier Journal's All Area Team
5/24/2018 Chris White (Louisville Courier Journal)

[Click Here for entire story]

SOUTHERN INDIANA ALL-AREA BOYS GOLF TEAM

Westin Allen, Henryville

Reece Compton, Floyd Central

Bryce Crutcher, Silver Creek

Nolan Keeler, New Albany

Jack Lilly, Floyd Central

Christian McIntosh, Floyd Central

Kevin Wang, Christian Academy of Indiana

Jay Williams, Jeffersonville

Joey Wiseman, Corydon

Dylan Zink, Floyd Central

Conner's 3-under 33 helps Cubs shoot 159
5/23/2018 Staff (Madison Courier)

Madison senior golfer Landon Conner fired a three-under par 33 to help Madison win a quad meet with Henryville, Jennings County and Shawe on Wednesday at Sunrise Golf Course.

Madison was forced to overcome injuries that sidelined two of its top golfers but had enough depth to still card a 159 en route to the win.

The Cubs were without No. 2 golfer Case Kiefer, who is dealing with a finger injury, and No. 4 golfer Trent Jameison, who is out with a fractured shoulder blade. Madison still bested second place Jennings County by 10 strokes. The Panthers finished with a 169 and Henryville was third at 170. Shawe did not qualify for a team score.

For Madison, Drew Barron shot a 38, Luke Ommen a 42 and Mitchell Liter a 46 to round out the scoring. Hunter Liter and Dylan Eblen shot a 48 and 49, respectively, in non-scoring rounds along with Nate Hamby’s 50.

Shawe’s Zachary Stewart shot a 56.

Henryville’s Sam Davidson led the Hornets with a 39 while Westin Allen shot a 40, Kristopher Glass a 44 and Clayton Fields and Conner Furnish each carded 47s. Cameron Miller posted a non-scoring 51.

Jennings County was led Austin Roscoe, Adam Leach and Justin Gasper, who all finished with 42s. Bryce Kirsher and Hunter Conrad each shot 43s and Joe Kelley carded a non-scoring 45. 

Madison (159): Conner 33, Barron 38, Ommen 42, M. Liter 46, H. Liter 48, Eblen 49. 

Jennings County (169): Roscoe 42, Leach 42, Gasper 42, Kirsher 43, Conrad 43, Kelley 45.

Henryville (170): Davidson 39, Allen 40, Glass 44, Fields 47, Furnish 47, Miller 51, Curts 57.

Shawe (NTS): Stewart 56.

Henryville Wins 7th Straight SAC Boys' Golf Title
5/19/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — The Henryville boys' golf team captured its seventh straight Southern Athletic Conference title Saturday at Champions Pointe Golf Club. 

The Hornets carded a collective 322 — 133 shots better than runner-up Borden and 159 better than New Washington. Crothersville, Lanesville and South Central didn't have enough players to qualify. 

Henryville's Westin Allen picked up medalist honors with a 4-over-par 76. The Hornets posted the five lowest scores on the day. After Allen, Conner Furnish shot a 78, Sam Davidson an 83, Clayton Fields an 85 and Kristopher Glass an 86. 

"Due to unusual circumstances, I wasn't able to attend the championship until the final few holes," explained Henryville coach Robin Embry, whose team has won 13 of the past 14 SAC titles. "I want to thank Evan Embry and Bill Niece for taking care of the team; Scott Ivey and Champions Pointe's staff for all their help and support; and all the SAC coaches and parents for their extra help! I especially want to thank Coach Brett James for his leadership with the event — he did a fantastic job. 

"We're happy to win the SAC championship again with a very good team score and for today's playing five to each earn All-Conference [honors]. All three seniors have carded some good scores this season and it was good to see Kris and Conner earn All-Conference again. Westin has consistently carded low scores this season and it was good to see him earn medalist honors with a nice round. Sam and Clayton expected a bit lower scores, but hung in there to card nice rounds today. We'll keep working because we're hoping to end this season with a big finish!"

The runner-up Braves were led by Hayden Smith, who shot a 100. 

The third-place Mustangs were paced by CJ Swoboda's 103. 

SAC CHAMPIONSHIP 

At Champions Pointe G.C., par-72

Henryville (322): Allen 76, Furnish 78, Davidson 83, Fields 85, Glass 86. 

Borden (455): Smith 100, Franklin 105, Coomer 123, Saylor 127, Bahan 144.

New Washington (481): Swoboda 103, Wilson 105, Diaz 132, Curry 141.

Crothersville (NTS): Amick 104, Keasley 133, Thomas 144.

Lanesville (NTS): Reynolds 89, Winstead 94, Shirley 143.

South Central (NTS): Basham 91, Lewis 92.

All-SAC: Allen (H), Furnish (H), Davidson (H), Fields (H), Glass (H), Reynolds (L).

Coach of the Year:  Robin Embry (Henryville).

Henryville Wins 3-way Match at Champions Pointe
5/15/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville hosted Clarksville and Lanesville at Champions Pointe on Tuesday and topped both teams for the 3-way victory.

The Hornets were the only complete team and finished with team score 167. Westin Allen led the way for Henryville and was the day's medalist. He shot a 34 and finished 2-under par. Sam Davidson turned in the next lowest score with a 43. Kristopher Glass and Layton Fields both shot a 45 in the win. 

"We had one really good scorecard," Henryville coach Robin Embry said of Allen. "He's been consistent for us all season. Otherwise, it was below our expectations. We seemed to lose focus on the last few holes. That simply can't happen if we want to reach our goals. We'll bounce back."

Lanesville, who also had just three play, was led by Griffin Reynolds. Reynolds had the third best score of the day with a 44.   

Henryville (167): Allen 34, Davidson 43, Fields 45, Glass 45, Miller 49, Furnish 50, Curts 50

Clarksville (NTS): Sprouls 64, Matherly 65, Cunningham 71

Lanesville (NTS): Reynolds 44, Winstead 51, Shirley 70

Hornets set 9-Hole Record
5/10/2018 Josh Cook (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Led by Westin Allen’s 2-under-par 33, Henryville set a new program record for a nine-hole score Thursday in a four-way match on the links course at Hidden Creek Golf Club.

In addition to Allen’s score, Sam Davidson fired a 37, Kristopher Glass a 38 and Conner Furnish a 41 for the Hornets, who carded a collective 149. That was 56 shots better than South Central and 63 better than Charlestown. Lanesville, which had only three players, had an incomplete team score.

“We carded a very nice score,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “The links nine can play a bit easier than most courses we play, however, you still have to get it in the hole. We’re very happy with the score.” 

Henryville (149): Allen 33, Davidson 37, Glass 38, Furnish 41, Fields 43, Curts 45, Badger 46, Miller 49

South Central (205): Lewis 39, Daugherty 49, Cunningham 50, Thomas 67

Charlestown (212): Gillooley 45, Carr 48, Martens 56, Doty 63

Lanesville (NTS): Reynolds 41, Winstead 45, Shirley 59

Henryville Wins West Clark Shootout
5/8/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville put an end to Silver Creek's 2-year winning streak at the West Clark Shootout by edging the Dragons 32-25 for the team's second win in four years. 

Henryville's Westin Allen shared medalist honors with Silver Creek's Bryce Crutcher. They both finished with 12 points via the Modified Stableford System. 

"We played fairly well," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "It's good to see the players learning to card good scores even when they do not have their A-game. This event is always fun for the players, a change of pace from stroke play. We'll keep working at it and hope to be playing our best golf in a couple of weeks."

Henryville (+32): Allen +12, Fields +9, Davidson +7, Glass +4, Furnish +2, Curts -11

Silver Creek (+25): Crutcher +12, Popp +8, Harper +6, Perronie -1, Everett -4, McCallister -5

Borden (-50): Franklin -4, Saylor -11, Smith -16, Coomer -19, Hammick -22, Bahan -27

Henryville Wins Hauser Invitational for Third Year in a Row
5/5/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HOPE —  For the third straight year, the Henryville boys' golf team won the Hauser Invitational at Clifty Creek Golf Course. The Hornets knocked off six other teams to claim the title on Saturday and made history is the process.

The Hornets shot a 316 as a team, which is a new 18-hole school record for Henryville. 

Henryville's Westin Allen was the medalist on the day with a 2-under-par 70. He was the only player in the invitational to shoot under par. He was followed by teammates Clayton Fields, who shot a 80, and Sam Davidson and Kris Glass, both of whom shot 83s.

"We carded a very good score today," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We didn't have all of our top five with us, but today's front four played very well. It was good to see all the players score better on the second nine. It's good to see the players gaining confidence."

Henryville was followed by Triton Central, which had all four players shoot in the 80s to combine for a 336. Trinity Lutheran shot a 353 and hosts Hauser finished in fourth with a score of 383. 

HAUSER INVITATIONAL (Clifty Creek GC, par 72) 

Henryville (316): Allen 70, Fields 80, Davidson 83, Glass 83, Miller 118

Triton Central (336): Seagrave 82, Sanders 83, Uhls 85, Brandman 86, Anderson 91

Trinity Lutheran (353): Keith 85, Criswell 87, Schumaken 89, Nierman 92, Foster 98

Hauser (383): Compton 77, Wallace 92, Johnson 97, Stafford 117, Gilliand 121

Morristown (401): Kistein 80, Theobald 89, S. Jones 105, Baltles 127, G. Jones 132

Southwestern (Shelbyville) (427): Schnieider 97, Robinson 102, Pappano 111, Richardson 117

Edinburgh (486): Hancock 77, Burton 131, Childers 138, Bennet 140

Henryville Wins 3-way
5/5/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

ELIZABETH — Henryville picked up a win over South Central and Borden at Chariot Run after having the two best scores of the day. 

Both Westin Allen and Sam Davidson shot 39s and both Hornets earned medalist honors. Borden was led by Hayden Smith's 46.

Henryville (163): Allen 39, Davidson 39, Fields 42, Furnish 43, Curts 48, Glass 49, Miller 58

South Central (Elizabeth)(215): Cunningham 41, Lewis 47, Daugherty 56, Thomas 71

Borden (225): Smith 46, Franklin 55, Coomer 58, Saylor 66, Hammick 67

Madison Wins Invite
4/28/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville finished third in Saturday's Madison Invitational. 

The host Cubs' A squad carded a collective 311 — 41 shots better than runner-up Southwestern and 42 ahead of the Hornets — to win the team title. 

Madison's Case Kiefer earned medalist honors with a 77. He was followed by teammate Landon Connor, who shot a 78.

Westin Allen fired an 80 to lead Henryville while Clayton Fields carded an 88.

Hayden Smith led seventh-place Borden with a 103. 

MADISON INVITATIONAL (Sunrise GC, par 72)

Madison (311): Conner 74, Kiefer 77, Ommen 79, Barron 81, Jameison 81

Southwestern (352): Mefford 82, Kramet 84, Peck 93, Phillip 93, Hadley 99

Henryville (353): Allen 80, Fields 88, Furnish 92, Badger 93, Davidson 93

Madison-B (369): Hamby 87, M. Liter 90, Eblen 91, H. Liter 101, McDowell 102

North Decatur (409): Co. Parmer 94, Spears 101, Nobbe 105, Ce. Parmer 109

Scottsburg (452): Bowles 86, Gricius 115, Campbell 117, Riley 134

Borden (455): Smith 103, Franklin 104, Saylor 119, Coomer 129, Hammack 138

Austin (NTS): Johnson 98

Madison Squeaks Past Hornets
4/26/2018 Greg Mangelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Madison defeated host Henryville and Crothersville in a 3-way meet at Champions Pointe on Thursday.

Madison shot a team score of 154, which was six shots better than the Hornets, who were led by Clayton Field's 2-over round of 38. Teammate Westin Allen was one shot off Field's score.

"We played well and carded a nice team score," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "Madison was just a bit better. We're playing well, despite limited practice time. This is a fun group to coach. They want to get better and are willing to put in the time to do so."

Madison's Case Kiefer had a medalist round of 35.

Madison (154): Kiefer 35, Conner 37, Jameison 40, Ommen 42, Barron 48, Liter 49.

Henryville (160): Fields 38, Allen 39, Glass 41, Davidson 42, Badger 45, Furnish 46, Curtis 51, Miller 55.

Crothersville (NTS): Amick 58, Riley 66, Keasley 70.

Madison Wins Wooded View Invitational
4/22/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

CLARKSVILLE — Madison won Saturday's Wooded View Invitational at Wooded View Golf Course. 

The Cubs carded a collective 317, 17 shots ahead of runner-up Franklin. Among the local schools, Henryville (353) finished fourth, followed by Christian Academy (356) and Silver Creek (372). Providence (479) took 10th while Clarksville (519) was 11th. Charlestown fielded an incomplete team score. 

Franklin's Javan Johnson, who shot an even-par 71, earned medalist honors. 

Westin Allen finished T2 with a 5-over 76 for the Hornets. 

"We have high expectations and that’s a good thing," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "That being said, we were a bit disappointed with our scores. Westin didn’t strike the ball well, but his short game was sharp enough to post a nice score.  Sam [Davidson] let a few holes get away from him and Conner [Furnish] struggled with his chipping. Clayton [Fields] and Kris [Glass] simply posted too many big numbers. We’re hoping the weather will allow for quality practice time this week.

Kevin Wang and Hayden Hope led the Warriors, firing 80 and 83, respectively. 

Bryce Crutcher led the Dragons with an 82. 

WOODED VIEW INVITATIONAL (Wooded View GC, par 71)

Madison (317): Conner 76, Kiefer 77, Barron 82, Ommen 82, Liter 102

Franklin (334): Johnson 71, Dickey 79, McIntire 85, McCullough 99

Southwestern (348): Mefford 79, Kramet 79, Hadley 88, Beverly 102

Henryville (353): Allen 76, Davidson 88, Furnish 90, Glass 99, Fields 102

CAI (356): Wang 80, Hope 83, Kahl 94, Kastenschmidt 99

Silver Creek (372): Crutcher 82, McCallister 91, Harper 98, Thomas 101, Terry 104

Providence (479): Beeler 116, Henderson 119, Juliot 121, Heidman 123, Caylor 140

Clarksville (519): Sprouls 123, Allred 124, Cunningham 136, Matherly 136

Charlestown (inc.): Carr 113, Doty 121, Martens 141

Hornets Roll at Champions Pointe
4/11/2018 Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Host Henryville shot a 174, well ahead of Charlestown and South Central in a 3-way meet.

The Hornets’ Westin Allen shot a 4-over 40 for the match’s best mark. He was followed by teammates Clayton Fields (42), Sam Davidson (46) and Conner Furnish (46).

“It was our first time on the back nine this season and it got us a bit,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “Overall, it’s been a good few opening matches for us.”

Charlestown was paced by Michael Gillooly’s 48.

Henryville (174): Allen 40, Fields 42, Davidson 46, Furnish 46, Glass 47, Curts 53, Miller 62.

South Central (219): Lewis 45, Basham 51, Daugherty 60, Cunningham 63, Thomas 71.

Charlestown (248): Gilloly 48, Carr 59, Doty 69, Marlens 72. 

Hornets Clip Eagles

4/10/2018 Josh Cook (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Thanks to four sub-45 scores, Henryville topped Austin 168-218 in a dual match at Champions Pointe.  

Sam Davidson earned medalist honors, carding a 4-over-par 40 for the Hornets.

“Again, it was less than desirable conditions, but we carded a nice score,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “We're excited about this season. Hopefully, we'll stay motivated, put in the practice time, and continue to improve.”

Henryville (168): Davidson 40, Allen 41, Glass 43, Fields 45, Furnish 45, Curts 53, Miller 65

Austin (218): T. Johnson 43, C. Johnson 55, Law 57, McNeely 63, Smith 64

Hornets Second in 4-way
4/6/2018 Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Southwestern held off Henryville on Friday with a score of 167 to the Hornets' 170 in a 4-way meet at Champions Pointe. 

Both teams were represented by medalist performances. Southwestern's Trenton Hadley and Henryville's Westin Allen both shot a 38 to lead the field. 

Henrvyille's Kristopher Glass finished with a 43 and Sam Davidson shot a 44. 

"We carded a nice team score in less than desirable conditions," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "It was cold and it was wet. However, we know we have better weather and better scores in front of us. We're excited to get the season started."

Southwestern (167): Hadley 38, H. Mefford 39, Beverly 44, F. Mefford 46, Kramer 46. 

Henryville (170): Allen 38, Glass 43, Davidson 44, Fields 45, Badger 47, Furnish 50, Miller 56, Curts 62.

Scottsburg (214): Rockey 43, Bowls 45, Garcies 58, Riley 68.

New Washington (261): Swoboda 53, Wilson 65, Diaz 71, Curry 72. 

Season Preview: Floyd Central has high hopes
4/4/2018 Josh Cook (News & Tribune)

FLOYDS KNOBS — First-year Floyd Central coach Brett Eades has high hopes for his Highlanders this season. And for good reason. 

Floyd returns three of its top four players from a team that captured the program’s 27th sectional title and 14th in 15 years last June. Plus the Highlanders have an influx of young talent.

“We have high expectations and I think we have high expectations because we have a great mixture of experienced players,” Eades said. “We have two guys that have played in three sectionals and three regionals, and another who’s played in two sectionals and two regionals.”

Floyd won this past Saturday’s Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational with a team score of 316 — 21 better than runner-up Bloomington South — which was only nine off its sectional-winning total last year. And that was without Zink, who was on spring break.

“We’re missing our No. 1, so it can only go up from here,” Lilly said. “[With him] it’s going to add another good score in. We’re really looking forward to this season, definitely.”

Compton led the way with a 1-over-par 73 under difficult playing conditions at Covered Bridge Golf Club.

“Reece, he had a tough freshman year, but he’s really game and he’s ready this year,” Eades said.

That was followed by McIntosh’s 79 and Lilly’s and Duke’s 82s.

“Our goal is to get in the 300s and bust 300,” Eades said. “We have really high expectations, and all the kids do as well. I think the competition between our own teammates will help drive us.”

To where, only time will tell. 

“We’re just going to take it one at a time and just hope we can get ready for sectional and hopefully get to state as a team,” Compton said.  

BOYS’ GOLF PREVIEWS

BORDEN

• HEAD COACH: Rob Jones (first season).

• LAST YEAR: Incomplete team score at Providence Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: None.

• KEY RETURNER: Micah Franklin (So.).

• OUTLOOK: Franklin was the only player who competed at sectional last year for the Braves. 

CHARLESTOWN

• HEAD COACH: Adam Tolliver (seventh season).

• LAST YEAR: 10th at Madison Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: None.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Brian Wolter (Sr.); Matt Carr (Jr.); Brian Hodges (Jr.); Caden Doty (So.).

• OUTLOOK: The Pirates return four of their five players, led by Hodges and Carr, from last year. They also have two freshmen, Michael Gillooly and Andrew Martens, who could contribute.

• TOLLIVER SAYS: “We’re still a young team in terms of years playing golf, so there will be bumps along the way. As a result of some of that inexperience, I don’t envision our team scores to win many matches, but individuals I hope to see work their way into some lower rounds and close to the top finishes in dual matches and improve over last year’s invitational and tournament scores.”

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

• HEAD COACH: Jordan Tillet (second season).

• LAST YEAR: Eighth at Providence Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: None.

• KEY RETURNERS: Hayden Hope (Sr.); Kevin Wang (Sr.); Dillion Kahl (Sr.); Carson Kastensmidt (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Warriors return their top four players from last year led by Hope, who has signed with Spalding. He fired an 81 at sectional last year.

• TILLETT SAYS: “My top three I really feel like are going to do something this year. I really feel like this is going to be a breakout year for them.”

CLARKSVILLE 

• HEAD COACH: Rodney Carver (first season).

• LAST YEAR: 12th at Providence Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Bennett McEwen, Blaze Golas.

• KEY RETURNERS: Keegan Allred (Jr.); Parker Sprouls (Jr.); Jordan Cunningham (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Generals only have four players on the team, but three of them return from last season.

• CARVER SAYS: “We are looking to improve every match and get ready for the sectional. Hopefully we can lower scores each week and make every match competitive throughout the year.”

FLOYD CENTRAL

• HEAD COACH: Brett Eades (first season).

• LAST YEAR: Won Providence Sectional, finished fifth at regional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Adam Rutledge, Luke Pruitt.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jack Lilly (Sr.); Dylan Zink (Sr.); Harrison Eades (Jr.); Reece Compton (So.).

• OUTLOOK: The Highlanders return several key players from the team that won the sectional, led by medalist Lilly, who shot a 69. They also welcome in a talented freshmen class that includes Christian McIntosh and Judson Dukes, both of whom played well at the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational.

• EADES SAYS: “We have high expectations and I think we have high expectations because we have a great mixture of experienced players — two guys that have played in three sectional and three regionals. And another who’s played in two sectionals, two regionals. Reece, he had a tough freshman year, but he’s really game and he’s ready this year. We have really high expectations and all the kids do as well. I think the competition between our own teammates will help drive us.”

HENRYVILLE

• HEAD COACH: Robin Embry (19th season).

• LAST YEAR: Tied for second at Madison Sectional, 17th at Providence Regional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: None.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Conner Furnish (Sr.); Brant Badger (Sr.); Kris Glass (Sr.); Clayton Fields (Jr.); Cameron Miller (So.).

• OUTLOOK: The Hornets return their top five players from last season. Furnish, was the SAC medalist, and a member of the SAC team with Fields, Badger and Glass. The Hornets also have a trio of incoming freshmen in Westin Allen, Wade Curtis and Sam Davidson.

• EMBRY SAYS: “We have an experienced and talented group of returning players as well as some talented incoming freshmen. With a limited number of players last season, we didn’t have much internal competition for playing spots. This season, we’ll have competition for those spots. Hopefully, the competition will drive us to be better as individuals and as a team. This group has the potential to compete for the top spot in our matches, invitationals, conference and sectional. We’re looking forward to the season!”

JEFFERSONVILLE

• HEAD COACH: Dusty Corum (eighth season).

• LAST YEAR: Fifth at Providence Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Allen Crews, Blake Berry, Bradley Cross.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jay Williams (Sr.); Harrison Paul (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Red Devils return only two golfers from last season, but they are significant returnees. Williams, whose season average was 76, was the sectional runner-up last year. He shot an 81 at regional. He has committed to Marian. Paul’s 18-hole average was 81 last year.

• CORUM SAYS: “Our team is light in the 4 and 5 spots so I don’t think we have the experience necessary to advance beyond sectionals.”

NEW ALBANY

• HEAD COACH: Rick Belcher (13th season).

• LAST YEAR: Second at Providence Sectional, 12th at Providence Regional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Adam Rivera.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Joey Steinert (Sr.), Nolan Keeler (Jr.), Kameron Guess (Jr.), Caiden Walters (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs return their top two scorers at sectional and regional in Keeler and Steinert, but lost No. 3 Adam Rivera.

• BELCHER SAYS: “I want to compete for a sectional title. Looking at what the kids scored last year in sectionals and knowing how much time some of them put into it, we should be better than last year, for sure. Advancing in regionals is something that I think we definitely should do, but I’d like to compete for a sectional. It’s been a long time [1997] since we’ve won a sectional title. I know we’ve got a long way to go, we’re well off of Floyd Central. … They’re going to be tough to handle. So we’ve got a long way to go.”

NEW WASHINGTON

• HEAD COACH: Bret James (seventh season).

• LAST YEAR: Ninth at Madison Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Will Meadors.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: CJ Swoboda (Jr.); Garrett Wilson (So.).

• OUTLOOK: Swoboda was the team’s low medalist from last year with a 44 average. Garrett had a 45 average. The Hornets have two newcomers in sophomore Fernando Diaz and freshman Jacob Curry. “They are doing really well learning the game,” James said. “I am impressed with Fernando. He is athletic and picking things up really nice.”

• JAMES SAYS: “I hope that we can be a little more competitive this year, and then build the young team for a even better year next year. I am hoping that CJ and Garrett are shooting in the high 30s or low 40s right away. Depending if the weather will allow us to get some rounds in. I am excited to get things under way to say the least.”

PROVIDENCE

• HEAD COACH: Victor S. Beeler (second season).

• LAST YEAR: Fourth at Providence Sectional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: None.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Shawn Fitzpatrick (Sr.); Trey Beatty (Sr.); Jarrett Rowe (Sr.); Will Kaiser (Sr.); Caleb Popp (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Pioneers won the sectional two years ago, but finished fourth there last year. “Our players were disappointed with their finish in the sectional last year,” Beeler said. “We felt that we were peaking at just the right time as a team going into the sectional only to miss qualifying for regionals by four strokes. They have used that outcome to fuel the winter workouts in the hopes for making a deep run this season in the postseason.”

• BEELER SAYS: “Our players, lead by this senior class, have the opportunity to make a deep run this postseason. [Assistant] coach [Pat] McGuire and I can both see the talent level is there and these upperclassmen are ready to put it on display. Our players realize the level of competition in both our sectional and regional tournaments and they have set some lofty goals for themselves. With the weather remaining so unpredictable early this season, our team has had to put in a great deal of practice time in our new indoor facility. They are more than anxious to be on the course to get the season started. It should be a great year for Providence golf.”

SILVER CREEK

• HEAD COACH: Matt Graston (second season).

• LAST YEAR: Third at Providence Sectional, 10th at Providence Regional.

• KEY DEPARTURES: Jacob Balz, Jacob Harper, Jared Cecil.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Garred Perronie (Sr.); Hunter Popp (Sr.); Bryce Crutcher (Jr.).

• OUTLOOK: The Dragons return their Nos. 2 and 3 players, Perronie and Crutcher, as well as their sixth man, Popp, from last season.

• GRASTON SAYS: “We have a lot of guys that don’t have much match experience, but they will get it this year and hopefully we will be peaking at the right time again this year. Last year we started slowly, but got things together at the right times to win conference and advance to regional. Those were two lofty goals we set last year and the guys worked hard to obtain them. I think if the guys continue to put in the quality practice time and continue to have a purpose when practicing, we can be back in the same spot that we were in last year.”

ON THE SPOT: IHSGCA honors Henryville's Badger
6/28/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Golf is a sport that requires great focus.

It’s hard enough when the mind, muscles and joints are on the same page. For Brant Badger, there are extra hurdles.

Badger, now 17 and about to be a senior at Henryville, was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) at 14.

EDS is a connective tissue disorder characterized by hyper-mobile joints, hyper-extensive skin and tissue fragility. It also causes migraines. The EDS led to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), which impacts blood pressure.

While dealing with EDS and POTS, Badger is a student and a member of Henryville’s golf team, which made it to the regional as a team for the first time this season.

“It’s clear to me he deals with some level of pain on a daily basis. In addition, from my perspective, one of the difficulties with this condition is that it can’t be seen,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “However, he doesn’t complain. He’s always willing to help others and his sense of humor — even if the joke is on him — is infectious. He’s a great young man to spend time with and he’s managed to become a pretty good golfer. I’ve been blessed by him and his family.”

On June 16, Badger was the recipient of the Mitchel J. Winger Award, which is presented by the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association to a player who has overcome a particular handicap in the pursuit of playing golf.

Because an in-person interview might have caused complications, News and Tribune sports reporter Justin Maskulinski, by e-mail, asked Brant about EDS, the season and receiving the award.

Question: If you remember, what was your reaction to the [EDS] diagnosis?
Brant Badger: I did not fully understand the diagnosis, so I did not really have much of a reaction. I did not fully understand how it would affect me.

Q: What sports did you play before the diagnosis? Did EDS take any sports away from you competitively?
B: Baseball, basketball, tennis, track and golf. Migraines have caused me to miss so much school and practices that it is difficult to practice enough. In regards to EDS, the more physically-demanding sports were too difficult to play because I was continually getting injured. The last year I tried to play basketball, I sprained my ankle twice and dislocated my finger in the 1-2 months that I tried.

Q: Describe how your day-to-day life is impacted by EDS and POTS. What typical activities are made difficult?
B: Originally, the POTS caused me to be light-headed, so I had to be careful during activities. My medicine has helped a lot for that.

EDS makes my joints hurt. Walking can aggravate my knees. It is hard to get a lot of exercise because of this. The symptom of EDS that causes most issues are the migraines. I miss a lot of school. I miss a lot of activities with friends.

On days when I don’t have migraines, I often still avoid activities because of what might trigger migraines. For example, I do not attend basketball games with my friends because loud noises can trigger my migraines. Since I miss so much school, my grades have dropped. I struggle to keep up with my school work.

Q: Sometimes sports can be an escape for people. Do you feel about golf that way?
B: I don’t feel that it is an escape because golfing can still trigger my migraines or I can roll an ankle. Golf is more of an opportunity for me to feel like a normal kid.

Q: Henryville had a very good golf season this spring with a regular season record of 30-8, another SAC championship, the school’s first trip to the boys’ regional. What was it like to be a part of that?
B: I loved it. It was very exciting to be part of the team. It meant even more to me because I felt I was able to contribute to the team.

Q: Coach Embry has known you your whole life. How has he helped you off and on the course?
B: Coach Embry has been great as a coach. He is very flexible with me. If I do not feel well enough to practice or play, he is very understanding. I really feel that he cares more about how I feel. If I am feeling well and we don’t have a team practice, Coach Embry has met me at the course so I can get practice. He has given me a lot of confidence.

Coach Embry has always been someone that I can contact if I need help at anything. Just knowing that he is available is a great feeling. I know he often checks on me through my dad.

Q: What was your reaction to receiving the Mitchel J. Winger Courage Award?
B: I was very surprised. Coach Embry sent me information on what the award meant. Once I fully understood the full meaning of the award, I was very honored and happy. I was excited and nervous to receive the award.

Q: Do you have college plans for the future? If yes, where and have you thought of a major?
B: Computer Engineering. Hopefully, Purdue.

Q: I’m told you have a good sense of humor. What’s your favorite joke or what makes you laugh the easiest?
B: I prefer corny jokes and jokes that make you think. Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road? It got stuck in a crack.

Henryville named Athletics Program of the Year
6/24/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

When going through Clark and Floyd counties, there are at least a couple powerhouses when it comes to athletic success.

In the past, two of those — Floyd Central and Providence — have been named as the News and Tribune Athletic Program of the Year. We at the News and Tribune strive to give as much recognition as possible to local programs. For this reason, we did more than just count sectional titles this year.

In the 2016-17 school year, one school saw four programs make history. For that reason, Henryville is the 2016-17 Athletic Program of the Year.

To say that only four programs were successful would be false, though.

Over the course of the season, the Hornets placed eight of 12 teams inside the top three of the Southern Athletic Conference. Five — volleyball, boys' and girls' basketball, boys' track and boys' golf — were SAC champions.

In the SAC All-Sports Trophy standings, the Hornet boys won and the girls placed second to Borden.

Oftentimes, the continued success of a program requires a watershed moment or two. Four Henryville programs — boys' soccer, boys' basketball, boys' golf and softball — all had program-best years that could end up being those moments.

In the fall, the Hornets saw their soccer team win a sectional title for the first time in program history.

They did it without nine starters from the previous year's team, including Jacob Janek, who scored over half of the Hornets' goals the year before.

In 2016, the team replaced Janek by committee.

"This past year's team was a very unselfish team, not that we were ever selfish at all," coach John Harris said. "Everyone kind of distributed and played and hustled their own part. They filled the shoes with three, four, five individuals. It really became a more cohesive team. We never struggled with cohesiveness, we just became more of a unit."

Due to a lack of girls' soccer numbers, Henryville plays a co-ed squad. Harris is hopeful the first sectional title can lead to more participation.

"We're trying to get a girls team going, we're just falling a little short of real numbers," Harris said. "There's a lot more guys, students and the community taking the sport a little more serious. With winning the sectional title, we saw a lot of people coming out of the woodwork with interest in playing again."

Another nice fall run was made by the girls' golf team, which placed second in its sectional to move to the regional.

The success of the fall carried into the winter, where Henryville boys' basketball won 19 games — a program record for regular season wins and the best season since the 1940s.

"I knew what we had coming back," coach Jared Hill said. "I knew with Braxton Robertson's leadership and toughness, we were going to be pretty good. Once we got the ball rolling — beating Silver Creek and winning those first couple games — the kids knew as well."

The Hornets drew a top-ranked Providence squad in the first round of the sectional and lost. The Pioneers were responsible for two of Henryville's six losses on the season.

After the initial shock and pain of loss settled, the Hornets were able to appreciate their historic season.

"We hated the way that it ended," Hill said. "We had our awards banquet and kind of did a recap of the season. We did a lot of good things — that many wins, beating Silver Creek, staying ranked most of the year — those were things that had not happened in a long time. We really did not spend any time celebrating during the season, so at the end-of-the-year awards, it was nice to kind of look back and look at some of the accomplishments."

The town rallied around the team, too. That was something Hill enjoyed.

"It's a great overall feeling," the former Hornet said. "You get to the dead of the winter and there's really not a whole lot going on other than basketball. For me, to see the people in the stands clapping and cheering and getting excited to come watch the product we were putting out, that meant a lot to me. The kids loved it, too, just seeing how excited people in their 50s, 60s, 70s — we even had at least one in their mid-90s — coming to a game."

The spring saw two successful runs from the Hornets. The boys' golf team won the Southern Athletic Conference and advanced to the regional as a team for the first time in the program's 40-plus years.

"Since we've been up at [the Madison Sectional], I think the worst we've finished is fifth," golf coach Robin Embry said. "We've been really close and quite honestly, we've shot better scores. We knew the Madison Sectional was a bit soft this year. Madison was really good, then we felt like there was about five of us that would be battling for the second and third spots."

Of all the teams at Henryville, softball had the most success. The Hornets posted a 23-7 record, had three All-SAC players and the co-Coach of the Year in rookie Amanda Embry.

Henryville won two games in the sectional by a combined score of 21-0. In the 1-game regional, it defeated Milan. It was the second regional title in program history. The first came in 2009-10.

"I was ecstatic," Amanda Embry said. "I was so proud of the girls for coming that far. That's what we worked on from January on during conditioning and practicing. You work for that, so it was exciting."

The Hornets' season ended in the semistate championship with a loss to eventual state champion Scecina Memorial. In 2009-10, the team lost one game from the state championship game.

Embry, a 2010 Henryville grad, was a pitching coach of the Hornets for a couple years but did not know what to expect in her first season as the head coach. Like Hill, the support of the team stuck out to her.

"I was very appreciative," she said. "All the families came out and stuff. At regionals, I had some of my former teammates I hadn't seen in awhile come to the game. We had so much support. It was crazy."

Whether the four program-best seasons in 2016-17 become watershed moments or not, it's clear the Henryville had a year to remember.

Boys' Golf: NTSPY Finalists and All-Area team
6/19/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

Golf, like so many other sports, is about peaking at the right time.

The three NTSPY nominees for boys' golf had strong outings in postseason events, as well as impressive scores throughout the season.

Jeffersonville's Jay Williams and the Floyd Central duo of Jack Lilly and Dylan Zink were among the low scores in the conference and postseason tournaments. For that reason, they're the nominees for Boys' Golf Player of the Year.

An independent panel has chosen the Players of the Year for each of the 19 sports, along with an overall Player of the Year, a multiple-sport Athlete of the Year, a Coach of the Year and a Team of the Year. The Girls' Track Athlete of the Year award winner will be announced at the NTSPY Awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 20 at Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville. The public is invited to attend the free event.

Here's more on the three finalists:

JACK LILLY, FLOYD CENTRAL - Like in his freshman year, Jack Lilly came on strong at the end of the season.

First, he won medalist honors at the Providence Sectional, which Floyd won as a team.

"We peaked right at sectionals, regionals," he said. "At sectionals for us to all come together was awesome."

Then Lilly advanced as an individual after a strong round at the Providence Regional. The Highlanders team missed state by eight strokes.

"These last couple weeks, I'm really getting to where I can trust my swing," Lilly said after the regional. "I'm not really having to think about it too much. The putter started rolling in, that's for sure. I can really just trust my game and let it happen."

At the state finals as an individual, Lilly tied for 52nd place with a 36-hole score of 157. His postseason success earned him the NTSPY nomination.

"It's nice to know that I have the ability to compete at a good level." he said. "Hopefully I can do it even more often next year."

JAY WILLIAMS, JEFFERSONVILLE - For the second straight year, Jay Williams was one of the area's top golfers.

As the No. 1 golfer for Jeffersonville, he led the Red Devils to one of their best years in recent memory. Though Jeff did not advance to the regional as a team, Williams moved on as an individual and was eight strokes off the cut for state.

"For me to be able to get to regionals is a highlight," Williams said. "My goal way to get to state, but I got to regionals so at least I made it out of sectionals. As a whole, I would look back on my season as better than last year. I'll take and hopefully next year I can win them all."

The NTSPY nomination is the second for Williams, who won the individual HHC championship as a junior.

"It's extremely humbling," he said. "Last year it was totally out of the blue. I didn't expect it at all. This year it was definitely something to work toward to know that all of my hard work is culminating into something. It's really special."

DYLAN ZINK, FLOYD CENTRAL - Dylan Zink was the No. 1 golfer for a talented Floyd Central squad.

The Highlanders entered the season determined to win the sectional title after Providence snapped their 13-year win streak last spring. The Highlanders placed fifth at the regional, eight strokes from advancing to state.

"We started off decent then we kind of hit a flat spot there for awhile," Zink said. "We still peaked at the right time. A few shots here or there and we make it out [of regional]. If somebody at the beginning of the year would've said [we'd finish] fourth place at regionals, I would've probably taken that."

Zink placed second in the Hoosier Hill Conference as an individual. A back injury bothered him in the sectional, but he put up a plus-6. He'll return as a determined player in his senior year. He posted a plus-11 at the regional.

"It's definitely to hold your head high about," he said of his first NTSPY nomination. "Coming short here the last couple rounds is a little unfortunate, but I'll be back for next year.

NEWS AND TRIBUNE ALL-AREA TEAM
FIRST TEAM - Jacob Balz, Silver Creek senior; Nolan Keeler, New Albany sophomore; Jack Lilly, Floyd Central junior; Jay Williams, Jeffersonville junior; Dylan Zink, Floyd Central junior
SECOND TEAM - Shawn Fitzpatrick, Providence junior; Conner Furnish, Henryville junior; Garred Perronie, Silver Creek junior; Adam Rutledge, Floyd Central senior; Joey Steinert, New Albany junior
THIRD TEAM - Brant Badger, Henryville junior; Blake Berry, Jeffersonville senior; Harrison Eades, Floyd Central sophomore; Hayden Hope, Christian Academy junior; Max Vogen, Rock Creek senior
HONORABLE MENTION - Blake Berry, Jeffersonville; Jared Cecil, Silver Creek; Allen Crews, Jeffersonville; Jacob Harper, Silver Creek; Kris Glass, Henryville; Luke Pruitt, Floyd Central; Adam Rivera, New Albany; Jarrett Rowe, Providence
COACH OF THE YEAR - Kevin Nash, Floyd Central

Floyd fifth; Lilly Advances at Regional
6/8/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Floyd Central narrowly missed the state cut at the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe on Thursday.

The Highlanders shot a team score of 309 — good for fifth place and just eight strokes behind third-place Bedford. Center Grove won with a team score of 278, 10 under par. Columbus North was second with a 290.

"I knew we had to be around 300 with the field that was here," Floyd coach Kevin Nash said. "We got off to a pretty good start. We turned and through our first nine, we were right in there. We just had a kind of rough backside and didn't quite get it done. I'm proud of the guys because we've continually gotten better all year."

Though Floyd's team season came to an end, one of its golfers played well enough to continue as an individual. Junior Jack Lilly shot a 70, or 2-under, to crack the top-5 of non-team-advancing individuals. Lilly was the medalist at Monday's Providence Sectional.

"These last couple weeks, I'm really getting to where I can trust my swing," Lilly said. "I'm not really having to think about it too much. The putter started rolling in, that's for sure. I can really just trust my game and let it happen."

In its first regional as a team, Silver Creek rounded out the top-10. The Dragons shot a 322 and were led by Jacob Balz's 79.

"I'm proud of the top-10 finish" Dragons coach Matt Graston said. "We knew coming in it was going to be stiff competition. It's probably the toughest regional in the state. We were pretty consistent today and 322 is a great score, I'll take it."

New Albany was eight strokes behind Silver Creek in 12th place. In his first season as the Bulldogs' coach, Hunter Anderson saw his team surprise with a second-place sectional finish last week.

"Losing three starters this year, as a whole, the season wasn't bad," he said. "I know a lot of people were not expecting us to make it out of sectionals, which was our goal. This regional's the toughest in the state by far. If you get out of this regional, you're playing some really good golf."

Henryville, which was also in its first regional as a team, shot a team score of 385. Conner Furnish and Brant Badger led the way with rounds of 93.

"Our guys struggled a bit," coach Robin Embry said. "They each had a big hole or two which resulted in higher than average scores. However, it was a great experience. With off-season work and improvement, we hope to use today's experience at next years regional. I'm looking forward to having them all back."

Jeffersonville's Jay Williams struggled at the start but recovered to shoot a plus-9. After a plus-8 on the front, he shot a plus-1 on the back for an 81. His score missed the state cut by eight strokes.

"Obviously, it's a hard course. It's really tough," the junior said. "It takes a lot of preparation and you have to trust your preparation. Next year I'll come back and I'll know exactly what I have to do to get around this course a little better."

Corydon Central's Joey Wiseman was the individual regional championship with his round of 67. The sophomore edged Columbus North's Matt Vorndrun in a 1-hole playoff.

PROVIDENCE REGIONAL (At Champions Pointe, Henryville, par 72)
Advancing individuals: Wiseman (CC), Osterburg (PM), Lilly (FC), Weiler (BS), Carson Pierce (Ja).
Center Grove 278: Ethan Shepherd 68, Sam Jean 68, Noah Gillard 71, Luke DeHaven 71, Logan Anderson 75.
Columbus North 290: Matt Vorndrun 67, Spencer Fairbanks 72, Bryce Turner 72, Drew Smith 79, Zachery Schiavello 86.
Bedford 301: Ethan Stanley 74, Daylen Tidd 75, Blake Martin 75, Jalen Hodges 77, Koby Robb 79.
Perry Meridian 305: Nick Osterburg 68, Corey Miller 78, Logan McSorley 78, Lucas Moriarty 81, Chase Miller 83,
Floyd Central 309: Jack Lilly 70, Harrison Eades 76, Luke Pruitt 80, Dylan Zink 83, Adam Rutledge 90.
Madison 310: Landon Conner 75, Blake Kiefer 75, Austin Mahoney 79, Case Kiefer 81, Drew Barron 81.
Bloomington South 311: Joe Weiler 70, Tanner Shapiro 79, Seth Kestranek 81, Brett Knorr 81, Ben Lewis 82.
Jasper 318: Carson Pierce 73, Bryan Hagan 79, Matt Lottes 82, Jack Bies 84, Luke Lehane 92.
Franklin 318: Matthew Jordan 75, Emerson Downing 75, Javan Johnson 76, Blake McIntire 92, Luke Stultz 99.
Silver Creek 322: Jacob Balz 79, Jacob Harper 80, Garred Peronie 81, Bryce Crutcher 82, Jared Cecil 90.
Columbus East 326: Derek Alexander 74, Thomas Ruch 79, Nathan Cesarski 84, Mark Mayhew 89, Adrian Adams 90.
New Albany 330: Nolan Keeler 80, Joey Steinert 80, Adam Rivera 84, Kameron Guess 86, Caiden Walters 94.
Bloomington North 333: Sam Wise 80, Trey Wilson 83, Evan Todd 83, Logan Vernon 87, Jace Day 87.
Heritage Hills 348: Alex Gordon 76, Dakota Deller 89, Creek Talbott 91, Rylan Cox 92, Josh Nelson 96.
Greensburg 351: Trevor Stapp 85, Anthony Treash 87, Trevor Foster 89, Kyle Sellers 90, Curtis Bausback 104.
Forest Park 379: Bryce Brosmer 91, Jacob Weisman 95, Zach Wendholt 96, Evan Weyer 97, Aaron White 98.
Henryville 385: Conner Furnish 93, Brant Badger 93, Kris Glass 97, Clayton Fields 102, Kevin Hollis 131.
Jennings County 388: Bryce Kirchner 86, Justin Gasper 98, Hunter Conrad 100, Austin Roscoe 104, Adam Leach 120.

Henryville Advances to Regional for First Time
6/5/2017 Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville shot a 350 at Monday's Madison Sectional.

That was good for third place overall and a spot in Thursday's Providence Regional at Champions Pointe — the Hornets' home course. It's the first time in program history the Hornets advanced past the sectional round.

"We're very happy to be the first boys' team from Henryville to earn a spot in the regional," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We knew if we could post both sides in the 170s, we'd have a chance. We're looking forward to representing our community and school this Thursday at Champions Pointe."

The Hornets were led by Conner Furnish, who shot an 83, and Brant Badger, who carded an 85 at the par-72 Sunrise Golf Course. Clayton Fields added an 88.

"Conner has been consistent all season and came through with a good one today," Embry said. "Brant played very well on the front nine and Clayton played very well on the back. They both posted good rounds."

Rock Creek's Max Vogen also advanced to the regional with a round of 88. New Washington shot a 411 and Charlestown a 475 on the day. New Wash was led by Will Meadors' round of 100, while Matt Carr paced the Pirates with a 106.

The host Cubs dominated the sectional with three of the top four finishers. Austin Mahoney's 71 was five strokes better than runner-up teammate Landon Conner. Jennings County finished second with a 350. The Panthers earned the tiebreaker over Henryville with a better fifth score.

MADISON SECTIONAL (Sunrise, Madison, par 72)
Madison 305: Mahoney 71, Conner 76, B. Kiefer 78, C. Kiefer 80, Barron 82
Jennings County 350: Kirchner 79, Roscoe 86, Leach 91, Gasper 94, Conrad 99
Henryville 350: Furnish 83, Badger 85, Fields 88, Glass 94, Miller 120
Switzerland County 360: Whitham 86, Ni. Braun 87, Na. Braun 91, Tice 96, Hayes 102
Southwestern 366: Mefford 77, Hadley 91, Peck 94, Beverley 104, Phillip 116
Scottsburg 373: Bowles 83, Coomer 88, Albertson 99, Everett 103, Copple 107
Rising Sun 384: Turner 89, Markland 94, Gallegos 100, Webb 101, Brown 103
Austin 418: Jordan 95, Adams 100, Johnson 105, Smith 118, Jordan 142
New Washington 411: Meadors 100, Swoboda 109, Wilson 111, Raney 121
Charlestown 475: Carr 106, Wolter 120, Crump 120, Doty 129
Rock Creek NTS: Vogen 88, Dethy 105, Floyd 123
South Ripley NTS: Thomas 102, Welch 104, Wake 105
Shawe NTS: Stewart 108

Henryville second in 4-way
5/31/2017 (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville placed second in a 3-way match at Champions Pointe on Wednesday.

The Hornets shot a team score of 178, nine strokes back from victorious Trinity Lutheran.

"It was good to be back in the 170s," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "Conner [Furnish] has played consistently well all season and Kris [Glass] is trending in the right direction. Clayton [Fields] and Brant [Badger] played well other than a hole or two. We'll put in some practice the next few days and give it our best Monday. Hopefully, we can post low 170s on each side and see where that puts us"

Furnish and Glass tied for the Hornet lead with rounds of 40, or plus-4.

Rock Creek fielded three golfers and was led by Max Vogen's 47.

Trinity Lutheran 169: Cy. Stuckwisch 39, Cd Stuckwisch 43, Jn Keith 43, Jc Keith 44, Royalty 44, Stahl 44
Henryville 178: Furnish 40, Glass 40, Fields 47, Badger 51, Hollis 61, Miller 66
Austin 212: T Johnson 46, Adams 47, C Johnson 58, Smith 61, Jordan 65
Rock Creek NTS: Vogen 47, Dethy 53, Floyd 71

Madison golfers fire 141 in win at Sunrise
5/30/2017 Sports Staff (Madison Courier)

Madison’s ‘A’ boys golf team shot an impressive 141 to win a quad meet at home on Tuesday at Sunrise Golf Course.

The Cubs, playing the back nine at Sunrise, had all four scorers break 40 in one of their best rounds in years. Blake Kiefer’s 40 was the fifth-lowest score on the day and it didn’t even count in the team scoring.

Landon Conner led the Madison charge with a three-under 33 that included an eagle on No. 11. Austin Mahoney was one-under with a 35, Case Kiefer was even par at 36 and Drew Barron shot a 37.

“We had an extremely strong outing today. Our ‘A’ teams’ total was 141 and we have been told that the school record is either a 140 or a 141. Regardless it was an incredibly good team effort,” Madison coach Dale Crafton said. “Landon Conner had a 33, which is the lowest nine hole score for any individual this year. I was pleased to see Drew and Blake bounce back after a disappointing 18 holes on Saturday. Our ‘B’ team continues to improve, which is a good sign moving into next year. We have one more match, and should we win, we will finish the season undefeated in match play.”

Madison’s ‘B’ team placed third with a 194 led by Trent Jamieson with a 45. Jon Motenko shot a 48, Hunter Lighter had a 49, Dylan White a 52 and Landon McDowell a non-scoring 54.

Henryville finished second as a team with a 181. Conner Furnish and Kristopher Glass each shot 42 to lead the Hornets, Clayton Fields had a 46 and Brant Badger a 51. In non-scoring rounds, Cameron Miller had a 58 and Kevin Hollis a 65.

“We can’t seem to get everyone in the 40s on the same day. We’ll have to drop a couple strokes per player to challenge for one of the top three spots out of the sectional,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “We’ll play again tomorrow, put in some good practice the rest of the week, and give it our best on Monday.”

Charlestown was fourth with a 239. Matt Carr led the Pirates with a 52, Brian Wolter had a 58, Ty Crump a 63 and Caden Doty a 66.

Dragons Top Hornets at Sunrise
5/25/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

MADISON — All six of Silver Creek's golfers were within five strokes of each other in a 162-186 win over Henryville at Sunrise Golf Course on Friday.

Jacob Harper and Garred Perronie led the Dragons and tied for medalist honors with rounds of 39, or plus-3. The other four Silver Creek golfers shot between 42 and 44.

The Hornets were led by Kristopher Glass, Conner Furnish and Brant Badger, who shot 43, 44 and 45, respectively.

"We've had a couple of matches cancelled, so it was good to be back in competition," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "It was our first look at the [Madison] Sectional course this season and we'll be back next week. ... We'll put in a good week next week and see where that takes us."

Madison Shawe also participated in Friday's match, but had one golfer and therefore did not have a team score. Zach Stewart shot a 50.

Silver Creek 162: Harper 39, Perronie 39, Crutcher 42, Cecil 42, Balz 44, Popp 44
Henryville 186: Glass 43, Furnish 44, Badger 45, Fields 54, Miller 59, Hollis 66
Madison Shawe NTS: Stewart 50

Henryville wins SAC for sixth straight time
5/20/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Storms shortened the Southern Athletic Conference Championship, but Henryville still emerged with its sixth straight conference title — and 12th in the last 13 seasons — at Champions Pointe on Saturday.

The championship was scored on nine holes and the Hornets shot a 180, 42 strokes lower than second-place New Washington.

"It always good to win the conference," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "The kids played well and it would have been nice to have finished all 18 holes. It appears we were going to score better on the back."

Conner Furnish, Clayton Fields, Brant Badger and Kris Glass all earned All-SAC honors for Henryville. Furnish was the medalist with a plus-3 effort.

"I'm very happy Conner obtained his goal of being medalist," Embry, who was named Coach of the Year, said. "In addition, it was nice to place four on the All-Conference team. Hopefully, we'll stayed focused and keep working to compete for one of the top three spots out of the sectional.

New Wash was led by Will Meadors' plus-15. Borden's lone golfer, Micah Franklin, shot a plus-19.

Henryville 180: Furnish 39*, Fields 44*, Badger 47*, Glass 50*, 60
New Washington 222: Meadors 51, Wilson 54, Swoboda 55, Raney 62
South Central 224: Lewis 45*, Basham 54, Stewart 61, Fisher 64, Cunningham 65
Lanesville 225: Winstead 52, Kaake 53, Hardin 57, Walker 63, Schoen 70
Crothersville NTS: Amick 49*, Riley 75
Borden NTS: Franklin 57
*denotes All-SAC

Hornets win 3-way
5/16/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville won a 3-way match with Lanesville and Clarksville at Champions Pointe.

The Hornets shot a team score of 185, led by medalist Conner Furnish's plus-5.

"We were disappointed with our overall score," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We got off to a very good start, however, we struggled on the last few holes. We need to cleanup our short game and I think we'll be OK.

Lanesville was second with a 212. Noah Winstead led the Eagles with a plus-14.

Clarksville shot a 245. The Generals were led by Keegan Allred's plus-14.

Henryville 185: Furnish 41, Badger 43, Glass 49, Fields 52, Hollis 56, Miller 62
Lanesville 212: Winstead 50, Hardin 52, Kaake 54, Schoen 56, Walker 56, Keibler 69
Clarksville 245: Allred 50, Sprouls 61, McEwen 63, Cunningham 71

Hornets win 3-way match
5/11/2017 Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Henryville beat Lanesville and Charlestown in a 3-way match at Hidden Creek.

The Hornets shot a 168 — 25 strokes better than second-place Lanesville — and were led by medalist Clayton Fields' plus-4.

"We started off a bit rough, however, the guys finished well and posted a nice score," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We're putting in the time and we're trending toward better scores. Hopefully, we'll stay committed, focused and motivated."

Matt Carr led Charlestown with a plus-10. Noah Winstead's plus-12 led Lanesville.

Henryville 168: Fields 39, Furnish 41, Glass 43, Badger 45, Miller 53, Hollis 54.
Lanesville 193: Winstead 47, Walker 48, Hardin 49, Kaake 49, Schoen 52, Keibler 59.
Charlestown 205: Carr 45, Hodges 52, Doty 54, Crump 54, Wolter 56.

Silver Creek Wins West Clark Shootout
5/9/2017 Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — All five Silver Creek golfers shot a positive score using the modified Stableford System in Tuesday's West Clark Shootout at Champions Pointe.

The defending champion Dragons scored 31 points to defeat Henryville's 6 and Borden's minus-14. Silver Creek's Hunter Popp was the medalist with 13 points in the scoring system that assigns points to hole scores rather than total strokes.

Henryville was led by Conner Furnish's 9.

"Congrats to Silver Creek. They carded a nice score today," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We become less competitive when any of our top four is missing, as was the case today. However, our two newcomers continue to improve and we still managed to card a respectable score. It was good to see our leaders play well today."

Modified Stableford System
Silver Creek 31: Popp 13, Crutcher 7, Harper 6, Cecil 6, Balz 4, Perroni 3.
Henryville 6: Furnish 9, Glass 7, Fields 6, Miller minus-16, Holls minus-23.
Borden NTS: Franklin minus-14.

Cubs’ Mahoney, Kiefer post red-number day as Madison golfers win at Champions Pointe
4/27/2017 Staff (Madison Courier)

Madison’s Austin Mahoney and Case Kiefer both shot red numbers as the Cubs rolled to a 147-196 win over Henryville at Champions Pointe Golf Course on Thursday.

Mahoney led the Cubs with a 2-under 34 that was good for medalist honors by a mere stroke over his teammate Kiefer at 1-under 35. Mahoney’s round included three birdies —including both par fives — and a bogey at the par-3 fourth hole whole Kiefer birdied two of the par fours and bogey the par-3 second hole.

“I’m very pleased with the scores today. Champions Pointe is not an easy course,” Madison coach Dale Crafton said. “Putting seemed to be the biggest issue for some of the golfers. I saw a lot of their putts rim the cups. Champions Pointe is where regionals is played so should we get out of sectionals it will benefit us to have played there as often as possible.”

Dalton Sizemore had a 2-over 38 for Madison and and Drew Barron rounded out the scoring with 40. Landon Conner and Trent Jameison each shot 41 and Blake Kiefer a 44 in non-scoring rounds.

“I am happy for Austin. He was the medalist and his scores continue to go down,” Crafton said. “Case and Dalton, also, played a great round. This is the first time this season anyone has been under par and today there were two golfers under par. It’s enjoyable to witness the success this team is having. We are undefeated so far in nine hole matches.”

Conner Furnish led Henryville with a 40, Clayton Fields had a 49, Brant Badger a 51 and Kristopher Glass a 56. Cameron Miller shot a 67 and Kevin Hollis a 71 in non-scoring rounds.

Crothersville also participated but did not field a full team. Will Amick led the Tigers with a 70 and Brandon Riley had a 72.

Madison returns to action on Saturday at the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational at Otis Park Golf Course.

Red Devils control Wooded View Invitational
4/22/2017 Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

CLARKSVILLE — Jeffersonville had the top three individuals and rolled to a 40-stroke victory in the Wooded View Invitational in Clarksville on Saturday.

Jay Williams and Allen Crews tied for first place with rounds of 76. Williams won a 1-hole tiebreaker to win the medalist honor. Teammate Blake Berry was third overall with an 80. Rock Creek's Max Vogen was fourth overall with a round of 81.

Salem finished second and Henryville was third. The Hornets shot a 375, led by Conner Furnish's 87.

"The weather made things challenging with a saturated course and the temperature hovering around 50," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "It was a mental test and the guys hung in there and posted respectable scores. We'll continue to work and improve. Hats off to [Jeffersonville coach Dusty Corum] and his team. They shot a really good score."

Jeffersonville 314: Williams 76, Crews 76, Berry 80, Cross 82, Paul 86.
Salem 354: Noel 85, Wynn 89, Weill 89, Stout 91, Magnet 94.
Henryville 375: Furnish 87, Glass 94, Fields 95, Badger 99, Hollis 118.
Scottsburg 407: Bowles 87, Alberton 97, Coomer 105, Williams 118.
Rock Creek 460: Vogen 81, Dethy 105, Pompa 136, Floyd 138.
Charlestown 482: Carr 112, Hodges 114, Wolter 128, Doty 128.
Clarksville 553: Allred 129, McEwen 134, Sprouls 142, Cunningham 148.

Henryville falls to Cougars at Shadowood
4/17/2017 (News & Tribune)

SEYMOUR — All five Trinity Lutheran golfers shot in the 40s as the Cougars defeated Henryville 171-202 in a dual meet at Shadowood.

Cory Stuckwisch led Trinity with a 41 on the par-36 course.

Henryville was led by Conner Furnish's 46. Clayton Fields finished with a 50 and Brant Barger a 54 in the loss.

"Our scoring was very disappointing," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. " I'm not sure what it is, but each season we seem to struggle a bit on this course. It's a nice, challenging course. A few holes require you to hit it very straight and most of the holes test your short game. We didn't handle the test very well today. We'll put it behind us and move forward."

Trinity Lutheran 171: Cr. Stuckwisch 41, Stahl 42, Jn. Keith 43, Royalty 45, Jc. Keith 46, Cd. Stuckwisch 47.
Henryville 202: Furnish 46, Fields 50, Glass 52, Badger 54, Miller 64, Hollis 65.

Henryville sinks New Washington
4/15/2017 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HANOVER — Henryville sunk New Washington in an 18-hole match at Butler Falls on Saturday.

The Hornets were led by medalist Conner Furnish, who was seven strokes better than any other golfer at plus-8. The Henryville team score of 349 was nearly 100 strokes lower than that of New Wash.

"We played well, particularly on the front," Hornets coach Robin Embry said. "We probably had a bit of physical and mental fatigue on the back. Conner has had a very good start to his season, and I'm happy with all the guys. We're improving every week. Hopefully, with commitment and work, our improvement will continue.

The Mustangs were led by Will Meadors' 102. All four New Wash golfers were within 18 strokes of each other.

Henryville 349: Furnish 79, Fields 86, Badger 91, Hollis 128, Miller 130.
New Washington 445: Meadors 102, Swaboda 106, Raney 117, Wilson 120.

Hornets Win 4-Way
4/12/2017 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville easily defeated three opponents in a 4-way meet at Champions Pointe.

Conner Furnish was the medalist with a 44 and teammates Brant Badger and Clayton Fields shot 46 and 47, respectively.

"Individually, we're letting a couple holes get away from us or we'd be posting a much lower scores," Hornets coach Robin Embry said. "However, I have a lot of confidence in our front four. Once we have a few weeks of matches and practices behind us, they'll be posting better scores. In addition, our three new players continue to improve. Overall, we're happy with our first few matches. We'll keep working to improve."

Brian Hodges shot a 54 to pace Charlestown. A 50 from Brice Lewis was best for South Central and Borden's Micah Franklin completed his round in 55 strokes.

Henryville 188: Furnish 44, Badger 46, Fields 47, Glass 51, Hollis 64, Miller 69.
Charlestown 240: Hodges 54, Carr 56, Crump 65, Wolter 65, Doty 70.
South Central 251: Lewis 50, Stewart 64, Cunningham 67, Basham 70.
Borden NTS: Franklin 55.

Henryville Beats Shorthanded Shawe, Borden
4/11/2017 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Host Henryville shot a 197 and beat Madison Shawe's and Borden's incomplete teams.

Conner Furnish had an outstanding round at 2-over 38 to take the medalist honor. Teammate Kristopher Glass was second with a 48 and Clayton Fields was third overall with a 50.

"With it being wet and cool, conditions were a bit challenging again," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "As of now, when we don't have our top four playing, it'll be tough to post a good team score. However, our front three posted respectable scores and I like the improvement of our newcomers."

Madison Shawe's Zach Stewart shot a 56 and Borden's Micah Franklin a 60.

Henryville 197: Furnish 38, Glass 48, Fields 50, Hollis 61, Miller 69.
Borden NTS: Franklin 60.
Madison Shawe NTS: Stewart 56.

Hornets Win Season Opener
4/7/2017 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville opened the 2017 season with a win in a 4-way meet at Champions Pointe.

The Hornets shot a 189 to defeat Southwestern, Scottsburg and New Washington.

"Conditions were a bit challenging. However, we managed to card a respectable score," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We've got some work to do, but all-in-all, it was a good start to the season. We're happy to get started."

Henryville was paced by Conner Furnish's 43. New Washington's Will Meadors shot a 58. Southwestern's Hunter Mefford was the medalist with a 6-over 42.

Henryville 189: Furnish 43, Fields 45, Badger 48, Glass 53, Hollis 68, Miller 72.
Southwestern 198: Mefford 42, Hadley 49, Beverley 50, Peck 57, Phillip 58.
Scottsburg 223: Babbs 47, Albertson 56, Coomer 58, Williams 62, Everett 65.
New Washington 251: Meadors 58, Swoboda 62, Wilson 62, Raney 69. 

Golf Preview: New Albany Hopes To Compete In Rebuilding Year
4/6/2017 by Justin Maskulinski (News & Tribune)

NEW ALBANY — In recent years, New Albany is on an upward trajectory.

Two years ago, the Bulldogs placed fifth in the sectional. Last season, it was a second-place finish. The Dogs will look to keep moving in the right direction, but it won't be easy.

New Albany enters the season having to replace three starters: Addison Greenwell, Cameron Walters and Ethan Hunter. Greenwell placed 13th in the state finals last season and currently golfs at Marian University.

The two returning starters — Joey Steinert and Adam Rivera — said they learned lessons from Greenwell.

"Addison definitely taught me a bunch," said Rivera, the Dogs' lone senior. "If there was tournaments that we didn't play well, he would talk to us about what we could improve on."

New Albany has a new coach, too. Hunter Anderson, who was the junior varsity coach at Providence last season, takes over for Ricky Belcher. The first-year coach says he's adjusting to the new position thanks to help from Belcher.

"It's a lot more responsibility," he said. "It's been an easy transition. Rick's been a great help, because I'm working with him in the school building anyways. I appreciate him helping out anyway he can."

Anderson hopes last year's All-State presence of Greenwell can influence this year's team.

"The good news is I only have one freshman, so all of them know who Addison is," Anderson said. "He's an easy example for these guys to look up to."

Steinert, a junior, says he was able to learn from last year's postseason, which ended with a sixth-place finish in the regional.

"It was my first sectional and that was the furthest we've gotten in about four years as a team," Steinert said. "It was a good experience. I think this year that sectional title is our goal."

Anderson says the open spots will lead to competition among the team's younger players.

"We lost three starters, so it's not going to be easy," he said. "We definitely have a lot of room for people to step up and become star varsity players."

After a seventh-place finish in last week's Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, the Dogs are hoping to hit their stride in the coming weeks. Sophomore Nolan Keeler was the bright spot at the invitational with his third-place finish.

"Right now, it's hard coming off the winter, but we've got to find a groove here soon," Anderson said. "I expect us to at least get out of sectionals."

Despite the three graduations, the Dogs' lone senior also hopes to make a return trip to the regional.

"We definitely have a lot of good players out here and we have a lot of potential," Rivera said. "I think we can get past sectionals this year."

BOYS' GOLF PREVIEW CAPSULES
CHARLESTOWN
• HEAD COACH: Adam Tolliver, sixth season.
• LAST YEAR: 11th at Madison Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: John Watson.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Brian Hodges (So.); Matthew Carr (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Brian Winter (Jr.); Ty Crump (Fr.); Caden Doty (Fr.).
• OUTLOOK: Coming off a winless season, Tolliver hopes to see his team grow in 2017. The Pirates don't have a senior on the roster so this will be a year to build for the future.
• TOLLIVER SAYS: "I have great kids who want to get better so although we are young, I expect it will be a fun season."

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
• HEAD COACH: Jordan Tillet (first season).
• 2016 RECORD: 6-6.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Sam Limeberry.
• KEY RETURNERS: Hayden Hope (Jr.); Zach Hampton (Jr.); Kevin Wang (Jr.); Dillion Kahl (Jr.); Carson Kastenschmidt (So.).
• OUTLOOK: With five returners, the Warriors hope to place high at sectionals and compete for a regional title.
• TILLETT SAYS: "The guys have shown me that they are willing to work hard and take instruction. This combination is whats going to take the team to new heights this year. I look forward to seeing them play to their full potential."

FLOYD CENTRAL
• HEAD COACH: Kevin Nash (17th season overall, first at Floyd).
• LAST YEAR: Sixth at HHC, third at Providence Sectional
• KEY DEPARTURES: David Shepherd.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Adam Rutledge (Sr.); Jack Lilly (Jr.); Dylan Zink (Jr.); Harrison Eades (So.); Konnor Isenburg (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Reece Compton (Fr.); Wes Jenkins (Fr.); Matthew Stoppert (So.); Luke Pruitt (Sr.).
• OUTLOOK: The Highlanders placed fourth at the competitive Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational without three of their top golfers. Floyd should be competitive in the conference, sectional, and potentially, beyond.
• NASH SAYS: "I am really excited about the upcoming year. The team has a lot of depth which makes it nice as a coach. The school won back-to-back state titles in 2006 and 2007 and has had several players or the team qualify for the state finals. This is my for first year with the program and I hope to continue the long standing tradition in the state tournament."

HENRYVILLE
• HEAD COACH: Robin Embry, 18th season.
• LAST YEAR: Fourth at Madison Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Luke Davidson, Mason Edwards.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Brant Badger (Jr.); Conner Furnish (Jr.); Kristopher Glass (Jr.); Clayton Fields (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Cameron Miller (Fr.); Kevin Hollis (Jr.).
• OUTLOOK: Davidson was a 3-time regional qualifier and 4-time All-SAC selection. Edwards was a 3-time All-SAC selection. Those two will be tough to replace, but Embry says the returners and newcomers should mix and be capable of challenging for the SAC and sectional.
• EMBRY SAYS: "I’ve been blessed to have good young men, parents, and administration for 17 seasons. This season is no different. Hopefully, as we improve their golf games, we can continue building character, honesty, and integrity in these young men. We’re looking forward to the season!"

JEFFERSONVILLE
• HEAD COACH: Dusty Corum (seven season).
• LAST YEAR: Fifth at HHC, fourth at Providence Sectional,
• KEY DEPARTURES: Zach Brinkley.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Allen Crews (Sr.); Blake Berry (Sr.); Jay Williams (Jr.); Bradley Cross (Jr.); Harrison Paul (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: None.
• OUTLOOK: Jeff started the season strong with a second-place finish in the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational. With five returning starters, Corum says the Devils are capable of winning the Hoosier Hills Conference and advancing deep into the postseason.
• CORUM SAYS: "As a team, it is our goal to make this golf season our most successful."

NEW ALBANY
• HEAD COACH: Hunter Anderson (first season).
• LAST YEAR: Fourth at HHC, second at Providence Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Addison Greenwell.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Adam Rivera (Sr.); Joey Steinert (Jr.), Nolan Keeler (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Kameron Guess (Jr.); Logan Bunch (Fr.).
• OUTLOOK: Despite the key loss of Greenwell, an All-State golfer, the Dogs expect to get back to regionals this season.
• ANDERSON SAYS: "With only two returning postseason players this year, there is a great opportunity for leaders to emerge from our team. I just hope that I am paying forward the positive experiences I had when I played high school golf."

NEW WASHINGTON
• HEAD COACH: Bret James (sixth season).
• LAST YEAR: 10th at Madison Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: John Barger.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Will Meadors (Sr.); CJ Swoboda (Sr.); Dylan Rainy (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Garrett Wilson (Fr.).
• OUTLOOK: James says he hopes his team can get to a .500 record this season.
• JAMES SAYS: "We are really young this year. If the kids work hard at it and continue to work hard through the season, I really believe we could have our best year in my six years of being head coach."

PROVIDENCE
• HEAD COACH: Victor S. Beeler (first season).
• LAST YEAR: Providence Sectional champions,
• KEY DEPARTURES: Kevin Crone, Max Leist, Kyle Oelker.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Trey Beatty (Jr.); Shawn Fitzpatrick (Jr.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Will Kaiser (Jr.); Jarrett Rowe (Jr.); Nick Barron (Jr.); Caleb Popp (So.); Gabe Vetter (So.); Austin Barnett (Fr.).
• OUTLOOK: Beeler, a Providence graduate, takes over the defending sectional champions this season. Last year's top three graduated, but the top four for this season is already set. Beeler says the fifth spot is still up for grabs. The Pioneers hope to keep the momentum going.
• BEELER SAYS: "[Assistant coach and PGA Professional] Coach [Pat] McGuire and I are excited for our first season to get underway. Our players are putting in the practice time needed to be successful. It has been encouraging to see the players grind in their practice rounds and range work in what has not been the most ideal of spring weather early in the season. Their determination and work ethic are attributes that will enable this team to succeed."

ROCK CREEK
• HEAD COACH: Kaleb Lay (fourth season).
• LAST YEAR: 12th at Madison Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: None.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Max Vogen (Sr.); Trenton Dethy (Sr.); Alex Floyd (Sr.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Annie Pompa (So.).
• OUTLOOK: With three returners and no departures, Lay hopes for improved play and competitive scores in the secitonal.
• LAY SAYS: "Last season was Trenton and Alex’s first year playing golf. I expect them to show continued improvement, a good work ethic, and to be competitive every time they step out on the course. Max Vogen has shown great potential over the past three years, and I fully expect this to be his best season yet. This is Annie’s first season playing golf, so we will work on establishing a strong foundation and joy for the game."

SILVER CREEK
• HEAD COACH: Matt Graston (first season).
• LAST YEAR: Fifth at Providence Sectional.
• KEY DEPARTURES: Cody Zimmerman.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jacob Balz (Sr.); Jacob Harper (Sr.); Garred Perronie (Jr.); Bryce Crutcher (So.).
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Jared Cecil (Sr.).
• OUTLOOK: Graston expects ups and downs from his team early, but hopes its home course, Elk Run, will test all parts of his players' games. He says the versatile course should help his team make a run at Mid-Southern Conference and Sectional Titles.
• GRASTON SAYS: "Practice makes permanent, not perfect. If these guys push themselves and continue working on things the right way, they will get their swings grooved sooner than later and it could be a very interesting and fun year for SC golf."
Note: All local schools were contacted to participate in the boys' golf preview.

NTSPY Finalist - Boys' Golf
6/16/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Although arguments could have been made for a couple other golfers to make the NTSPY finalist list, there's little question that Jeffersonville's Jay Williams, Providence's Kevin Crone and reigning Golfer of the Year Addison Greenwell of New Albany were among the best all season.

Now the question becomes which is the best. The three have nearly identical resumés, making the NTSPY Committee's job very difficult.

An independent panel chose the Players of the Year for each of the 19 sports, along with an overall Player of the Year, a multiple-sport Athlete of the Year, a Coach of the Year and Team of the Year last Friday. The Boys’ Golfer of the Year award recipient will be announced at the NTSPY Awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 21 at Eastside Christian Church in Jeffersonville.

KEVIN CRONE, PROVIDENCE
The Providence senior had a strong final campaign and came on strong when it counted. Crone improved his score by 12 strokes at Covered Bridge in one week to help the Pioneers win their first sectional championship in 18 years. A week after a round of 84 at the Legends of Indiana, Crone shot an even-par 72 at the sectional. At the regional at Champions Pointe, Crone's 76 again led Providence.

ADDISON GREENWELL, NEW ALBANY
The New Albany senior and reigning Player of the Year advanced to the state finals for the first time in his career. Greenwell shot a 1-over par 73 at last week's Providence Regional at Champions Pointe to take one of the five state finals positions designated for individual players. He finished 13th in the state with a 4-over par at the state finals to earn All-State honors.

JAY WILLIAMS, JEFFERSONVILLE
Williams had a stellar sophomore season and topped it off with the medalist honor at the Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge. The Jeffersonville sophomore was the only player to go below par with a 1-under 71. His birdie on the 13th hole helped give him a one-stroke victory over Providence's Kevin Crone. At last Thursday's regional at Champions Pointe, Williams carded an 86.

2016 NEWS AND TRIBUNE ALL-AREA TEAM
FIRST TEAM: Kevin Crone, Providence senior; Luke Davidson, Henryville senior; Addison Greenwell, New Albany senior; Jay Williams, Jeffersonville sophomore; Dylan Zink, Floyd Central sophomore

SECOND TEAM: Kamden Hurst, Borden senior; Nolan Keeler, New Albany freshman; Jack Lilly, Floyd Central sophomore; Max Leist, Providence senior; David Shepherd, Floyd Central senior

HONORABLE MENTION: Jacob Balz, Silver Creek; Allen Crews, Jeffersonville; Reilly Gray, Borden; Jacob Harper, Silver Creek; Ethan Hunter, New Albany; Carter Hurst, Borden; Kyle Oelker, Providence; Joey Steinert, New Albany; Cameron Walters, New Albany.

COACH OF THE YEAR: Ken Allender, Providence

Hornets finishes fourth at Madison
6/6/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville finished a gut-wrenching fourth at Monday's Madison Sectional at Sunrise Golf Course.

The top three teams advance to Thursday's Providence Regional at the Hornets' home course of Champions Pointe.

"We were right there again," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "Similar to last season, we struggled on the front then played well on the back. We've had another good season, winning another conference title, another Hauser Invitational title and setting the school scoring record for 18 holes. However, we're disappointed by not claiming one of the top three sectional spots and advancing to the regional. Yet, it's good to have four returning players, that with a real commitment, will have a chance to challenge for a regional spot next season."

Henryville's Luke Davidson finished sixth overall and was the first golfer on a non-advancing team. That will put Davidson in the regional as an individual for the third time.

We're very happy for Luke," Embry said. "Like the rest, he struggled on the front. However, he carded the best second nine of the sectional. He's the first [boys'] golfer we've had to advance to three IHSAA regionals. He's played solid all season and is looking forward to his opportunity on Thursday."

Madison won the sectional by taking the top four individual scores. Austin Mahoney was the sectional champion with a par-72. Scottsburg and Jennings County were the other teams to advance. The Panthers finished 13 shots ahead of Henryville.

Rock Creek's Max Vogen shot an 88. New Washington finished 11th and Charlestown 12. New Wash senior John Barger led the Mustangs with a round of 98.

MADISON SECTIONAL: Madison 298, Scottsburg 330, Jennings County 332, Henryville 345 (Davidson 79, Furnish 86, Edwards 87, Fields 93, Glass 101), Rising Sun 360, Switzerland County 365, Southwestern 371, Austin 402, South Ripley 425, New Washington 442, Charlestown 526, Rock Creek Academy NTS, Shawe NTS.

Dragons edge Braves for West Clark title
6/3/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — In the eighth-annual West Clark Shootout, Silver Creek edged Borden with a fifth-player tiebreaker to take the title.

Silver Creek's fifth-place finisher Garrett Perronie beat Borden's Josh Nunn by three points in the modified Stableford scoring system.

Defending champion Henryville finished third. The West Clark championship was the third for the Dragons and their first since 2012.

Borden's Kamden Hurst won his third straight individual title with a score of 18. The system awards eight points for a double eagle, six for an eagle, four for a birdie, two for par, zero for a bogey, minus-1 for a doublle bogey, minus-2 for a triple boys and minus-3 for any other score.

Henryville's Luke Davidson was second with a 16. Cody Zimmerman led the Dragons with a 14. Teammates Jacob Balz scored a nine and Bryce Crutcher a seven to help Creek to the team crown.

WEST CLARK SHOOTOUT
Silver Creek 35: Zimmerman 14, Balz 9, Crutcher 7, Harper 5, Perronie -4.
Borden 35: K. Hurst 18, C. Hurst 12, Gray 8, Lee -3, Nunn -7, Sowders -16.
Henryville 34: Davidson 16, Furnish 8, Edwards 6, Glass 4, Fields 3, Badger -7.

Henryville boys' golf second in 4-way meet
6/1/2016 by Staff (News & Tribune)

 HENRYVILLE — Henryville was second in a 4-way meet at Champions Pointe on Wednesday. 

Trinity Lutheran took the top spot and Austin’s Case Carter was the medalist with a par-36.

The Hornets were led by Luke Davidson’s 36 and Conner Furnish’s 40.

“Our first two spots have been fairly consistent,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “However, we continue to struggle a bit at the third and fourth spot. Hopefully, we can reduce those a few strokes and I think we’ll be OK.”

Max Vogen led Rock Creek with a round of 45.

Trinity Lutheran 166: Cd. Stuckwisch 39, Stahl 42, Cy. Stuckwisch 42, Jc. Keith 43, Jn. Keith 44, Royalty 47.
Henryville 172: Davidson 38, Furnish 40, Edwards 46, Glass 48, Fields 50, Badger 60.
Austin 197: Carter 36, Love 53, T. Johnson 54, P. Adams 54, C. Adams 59, C. Johnson 63.
Rock Creek NTS: Vogen 45, Dethy 66, Floyd 70.

Hilltoppers golfers 3rd at tri-meet
5/25/2016 by Staff (Madison Courier)

Shawe Memorial finished third in a three-way match at Sunrise Golf Course on Wednesday.

Henryville shot a 171 to win the match while Jennings County had a 184 and Shawe a 243.

Schuyler Edwards led Shawe with a 51 while Zach Stewart had a 59, Daniel Carrillo carded a 61 and Joe Lee shot a 72.

Henryville’s Luke Davidson was the low-medalist with a two-over 38. Conner Furnish had a 40, Mason Edwards and a 45 and Clayton Fields a 48 to round out the Hornets’ scoring. Brant Badger had a 49 and Kristopher Glass had a 57 in non-scoring rounds.

Bailey Wilder led Jennings County with a 40, Austin Risloe had a 44, Samson Miller a 49 and Briar Davis and Bryce Kirchner each had 51. Keegan Beal shot a non-scoring 55.

Henryville 171: Davidson 38, Furnish 40, Edwards 45, Fields 48, Badger 49, Glass 57
Jennings County 184: Wilder 40, Risloe 44, Miller 49, Davis 51, Kirchner 51, Beal 55
Shawe 243: Edwards 51, Stewart 59, Carrillo 61, Lee 72

Henryville nabs SAC title at Champions Pointe
5/21/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

 HENRYVILLE — With a strong back-nine performances by Henryville, the Hornets took home the Southern Athletic Conference Championship at Champions Pointe Golf Club on Saturday. 

Henryville has dominated the SAC, winning the last five championships and 11 of the last 12.

Henryville outlasted Borden 371-381 to take home the team prize. Crothersville finished third with a score of 468, Lanesville shot a 498 and New Washington finished with a 507.

"The course played very difficult today," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "It was a challenge. We were fortunate to win. We accepted the conditions, kept a good attitude and simply shot the lowest score we could on each hole. We're hoping for drier courses and sunny skies for the last couple weeks of our season."

The Braves led Henryville by three strokes after the first nine holes, but the top four Hornets all shot 52 or better on the back nine to clinch the win.

Davidson finished with a round of 79, including birdies on the sixth and 12th holes. Davidson has made the All-SAC squad all four years of competition. Other All-Conference Hornets were Conner Furnish and Mason Edwards. Borden's Kamdem Hurst, Riley Gray and Carter Hurst also earned the honor.

Henryville 371: Davidson 79, Furnish 89, Edwards 97, Fields 106.
Borden 381: K Hurst 83, Gray 83, C Hurst 100, Lee 115.
Crothersville 488: Ludeman 105, Elliot 115, Amick 122, Riley 146.
Lanesville 498: Wernert 111, Kaake 119, Walker 129, Winstead 139.
New Washington 507: Barger 111, Meadors 122, Swoboda 122, Ranyer 152.

Dragons Win 3-Way
5/19/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

SCOTTSBURG — Silver Creek knocked off both Henryville and Austin at Westwood on Thursday.

Despite finishing in third, Austin’s Case Carter was the round’s medalist with a score of 35.

Silver Creek was led by Garrett Perronie and Jacob Biaz, who both shot a 37.

Henryville’s Luke Davidson finished with a score of 38 in the Hornets’ runner-up finish.

“We struggled a bit with the elevated greens,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “However, we were still able to post a good score. We’ll put in some practice tomorrow and hopefully post some good scores Saturday.”

Silver Creek 156: Perronie 37, Biaz 37, Zimmerman 40, Harper 42.
Henryville 166: Davidson 38, Edwards 40, Furnish 44, Glass 50.
Austin 174: Carter 35, Love 44, Johnson 47, Beck 58.

Hornets Win 4-Way Meet
5/18/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Luke Davidson shot a 1-under par 34 to lead Henryville to a four-way meet victory over Lanesville, Charlestown and Rock Creek at Hidden Creek.

Conner Furnish shot a 39 and Clayton Fields a 40 to help the Hornets to a 45-stroke victory over runner-up Lanesville.

"We played well today," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "I'm happy the players are seeing results from their practice. I'm looking forward to seeing how we finish the season."

Charlestown and Rock Creek fielded incomplete teams. The Lions were led by Max Vogen's 37. John Watson carded a 56 to lead the Pirates.

Henryville 159: Davidson 34, Furnish 39, Fields 40, Glass 46, Badger 48.
Lanesville 204: Wernert 47, Kaake 48, Winstead 52, Walker 57, Jolley 63.
Charlestown NTS: Watson 56, Carr 57, Barrett 63.
Rock Creek NTS: Vogen 37, Dethy 54, Floyd 68.

Hornets Take Down Lanesville
5/13/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville earned a 182-253 win over conference-rival Lanesville at Champions Pointe.

Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a round of 38. He finished strong down the stretch, getting par on four of his last five holes.

“Luke carded a very good score considering the conditions,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “ With all the rain, the course was wet and the rough was tall and thick. It was a challenge to say the least. With the conditions and us missing one of our top players, I’m pleased with our score. We’ll keep working to get better.”

Henryville 182: Davidson 38, Furnish 44, Fields 45, Badger 55, Glass 61.
Lanesville 253: Walker 60, Werner 61, Winstead 64, Jooley 68, Kaake 69.

Hornets Take Hauser Invite
5/7/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HOPE — Henryville put together a solid round at Clifty Creek on Saturday and beat out six other teams to claim the Hauser Invitational.

The Hornets were led by Luke Davidson, who was the tournaments medalist with an 18-hole round of 76.

HAUSER INVITATIONAL: Henryville 332 (Davidson 76, Edwards 81, Furnish 82, Fields 96, Glass 93), Trinity Lutheran 335, Triton Central 377, Hauser 382, Morristown 402, Edinburgh 421.

Rebels Edge Braves n 4-Way
5/5/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

ELIZABETH — Southern Athletic Conference rivals Borden and South Central tied with 179-apiece in a four-way meet at Chariot Run. The Rebels took the win by benefit of a better fifth score.

Borden’s Kamden Hurst took the medalist honor with a round of 1-over-par 37. Henryville, which finished third with a 185, was led by Conner Furnish’s 43.

South Central 179: Hentrup 42, Stopinski 43, Day 45, Lewis 49, Johnson 52.
Borden 179: K. Hurst 37, Grey 42, C. Hurst 46, Sowders 54, Lee 56, Nunn 62.
Henryville 185: Furnish 43, Edwards 44, Davidson 47, Fields 51.
Crothersville NTS: Amick 63, James 66, Riley 72, Pearce DQ.

Henryville Tops Jennings County at Champions Pointe
4/28/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Luke Davidson led the way for Henryville in its 167-179 win over Jennings County at Champions Pointe Golf Club on Thursday.

Davidson shot a 36 to earn medalist honors

Henryville 167: Davidson 36, Fields 43, Edwards 44, Furnish 44, Glass 51, Badger 52.
Jennings County 179: Simmons 41, Day 45, Kirchaer 45, Wilder 48, Kelley 48, Roscoe 52.

Red Devils Win Wooded View Invite
4/23/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

CLARKSVILLE — Led by medalist Jay Williams, Jeffersonville won the Wooded View Invitational on Saturday. Williams shot 74 in the victory. 

Luke Davidson led the Hornets and Henryville came in third place in the invitational.

"Overall, we played better than we had the past couple of matches," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "However, we remain a bit inconsistent. We'll keep working."

New Albany finished fourth, paced by Kameron Guess and his round of 88.

Jeffersonville 324, Scottsburg 335, Henryville 352 (Davidson 84, Edwards 85, Furnish 87, Glass 96, Fields 96) , New Albany 379, Salem 391, Christian Academy 398, Charlestown 532, Rock Creek NTS, Clarksville NTS.

Cougars Beat Henryville
4/16/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

SEYMOUR — Host Trinity Lutheran shot a 164 to beat Henryville by 22 strokes in a dual meet Monday at Shadowood Golf Course.

Luke Davidson and Mason Edwards each shot a 43 to pace the Hornets. Cory Stuckwisch and Drew Royalty shared medalist honors with rounds of 40 for the Cougars.

"We've struggled the past couple of matches," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "Both courses exposed our short-game deficiencies and we're not getting a competitive score from our last few spots. Fortunately, we have the week to practice and prepare for this Saturday."

Trinity Lutheran 164: Cy. Stuckwisch 40, Royalty 40, Cd. Stuckwisch 41, Ja. Keith 43, Stahl 45, Jo. Keith 50.
Henryville 186: Davidson 43, Edwards 43, Furnish 46, Glass 54, Badger 56, Fields 56.
 

Hornets Finish Fifth at Crawford
4/16/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

MARENGO— Henryville didn't play as well as it would have liked at the Early Bird Invitational at the Lucus Oil Golf Course in Marengo on Saturday.

The Hornets finished fifth but were only nine shots from second place. Luke Davidson had a great round with a 39 to lead Henryville.

"We expect four scores below 45," Henryville caoch Robin Embry said. "We only had one, so obviously, it was a disappointing morning. However, we have a lot of golf in front of us. At this point we're inconsistent. We'll continue to work to improve in all phases."

EARLY BIRD TOURNAMENT (Lucus Oil Golf Course , Marengo)
Perry Central 167, Crawford County Orange 175, South Central 178, Paoli 182, Henryville 184 (Davidson 39, Furnish 47, Edwards 48, Badger 50, Fields 52), Lanesville 226, Rock Creek INC, Crawford County Brown INC.

Henryville Wins 4-Way
4/13/2016 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Henryville edged Southern Athletic Conference-rival Borden in a four-way meet at Champion Pointe on Wednesday.

Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a four-over par 40. He was tied for meet-best honors by Borden’s Carter Hurst. Conner Furnish shot a 41 and Mason Edwards for a 43 for Henryville.

“Our play is a bit inconsistent, not our best this evening.” Hornets coach Robin Embry said. ‘However, we’re making the necessary changes to allow us to score our best in late May and early June. I’m pleased with the improvements we’re making.”

Henryville 171: Davidson 40, Furnish 41, Edwards 43, Fields 47, Glass 50, Badger 59.
Borden 180: c. Hurst 40, K. Hurst 41, Gray 44, Nunn 55, Lee 59, Sowders 63.
Crothersville 262: Luedeman 49, Amick 70, Riley 71, James 72.
Charlestown 281: Hodges 68, Watson 70, Carr 71, Barrett 72.
 

Hornets Win 3-Way Match
4/12/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Led by Connor Furnish, Henryville beat both Eastern and Madison Shawe in a three-way match at Champions Pointe on Tuesday.

Furnish won medalist honors with a round of 39. Luke Davidson was just one shot off of the leader.

"I'm pleased with the scores we shot," Hornets' coach Robin Embry said. "The players are working on some necessary changes, so our scores will be a bit inconsistent for a while. I really like their attitude and effort, We're off to a good start."

Henryville 171: Furnish 39, Davidson 40, Edwards 45, Glass 47, Fields 52.
Eastern 237: Emmert 45, Marshall 55, Hoke 67, Starrett 70.
Shawe 238: Stewart 55, Edwards 57, J. Carillo 62, D. Carillo 64, Lee 69.
 

Boys Golf Season Preview
4/12/2016 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

NEW ALBANY — During his high school career at New Albany, Addison Greenwell has performed below his personal expectations in the postseason.

The Bulldog senior has advanced as an individual to the Providence Regional just once, which was last season, and not reached his ultimate destination of the state finals.

In his final prep campaign in 2016, Greenwell hopes this is the year where he can walk away from a postseason effort a proud young man by reaching state.

“I think that’s the only goal he’s got left,” New Albany head coach Rick Belcher said. “As an individual, I know that’s probably the one thing that if he does it, then he’ll think his high school career is complete.”

Greenwell shot a 93 in his freshman year at sectional as he was 17 strokes shy of being one of the top three individuals on non-advancing teams to qualify for regional.

In his sophomore season, he fired a good enough round to advance to regional with a 75. But he was disqualified on a unique ruling.

Greenwell thought he lost his ball in a hazard and he took a one-stroke penalty by taking a drop with a second ball. However, he found his original ball while making his drop and went ahead played that ball. That was against the rules as he needed to play the ball he dropped. As a result, he earned a disqualification.

Greenwell finally advanced to the regional as a junior in the 2015 sectional. He finished ninth overall with a 75, which was the second-lowest score for an individual on a non-qualifying team.

But Greenwell came up short of advancing to state at the Providence Regional. He carded a 78, which was four shots behind the final individual qualifier in Columbus North’s Spencer Fairbanks.

Greenwell has been taught one significant thing about postseason tournaments.

“You learn to take every single shot as it matters because one bad hole or one high number takes you out of it,” he said.

Greenwell says he got some instruction from Champion Pointe Golf Club head golf pro Scott Ivey during the offseason to help him make a potential run at state.

“I’ve been trying to hone in on the little things, specifically working on chipping and putting and getting closer to the hole,” Greenwell said. “My expectations are to make it further [in the postseason] than I did last year. I think I have a pretty good shot at finishing very, very high at state.”

Greenwell looked ready to compete at state during the 2015 regular season. His biggest accomplishment last season was earning medalist honors at the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus with a 75.

That victory helped increase Greenwell’s self-esteem a lot.

“That was huge because our conference is strong,” Belcher said. “To play a tough golf course — and a famous Indiana golf course — and win it I think was huge for him.”

Greenwell also fared well in three other 18-hole invitationals in 2015. He finished second at the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg with a 74. He also was the runner-up at the Floyd Central Invitational at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville with 73.

Greenwell shot a 75 to place third at the Bud Bennett Memorial Invitational at Old Capital Golf Club in Corydon.

Those top-three finishes enabled Greenwell to earn the 2015 News and Tribune Player of the Year award.

“I just tried to stay calm and know that every shot is not going to be a good one,” Greenwell said. “I tried to get to the hole as fast as possible in the lowest amount of strokes as possible.”

Belcher said Greenwell has come a long way since he was a freshman.

“Considering where we started his freshman year, [Ivey] started tearing his swing apart. Normally during the season, you don’t mess with a kid’s swing. You just kind of get through it, then in the offseason, we’ll work on it. But I didn’t want to wait,” Belcher said. “It worked out great because his ball striking is unbelievable.

“He had a good homemade swing that he had [as a freshman], but he’s so much better. He understands his golf swing now.”

Another goal Greenwell has this season is leading the entire New Albany team to a regional berth, which has not happened in his high school career. The Bulldogs’ last trip to regional was in 2011.

“That is a very big goal,” Greenwell said.

Greenwell has signed a letter of intent to play golf next season at Marian University, an NAIA school in Indianapolis. He plans on studying business at Marian.

TEAM-BY-TEAM PREVIEWS
BORDEN
• CO-HEAD COACHES: Ben Pine (first season at Borden and overall), Jim Schuld (first season at Borden and overall).
• HOME COURSES: Champions Pointe, Elk Run.
• LAST SEASON: Third at Southern Athletic Conference meet, ninth at Providence Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Elijah Franklin.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Kamden Hurst, Sr.; Reilly Gray, Sr.; Carter Hurst, Jr.; Logan Lee, Sr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Josh Nunn, Jr.; Nick Sowders, Sr.; Devin Morrow, Sr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: Kamden Hurst is the Braves’ leader as he has qualified for regional the past two seasons. Pine says his No. 1 golfer has his sights set on qualifying for the IHSAA State Finals this season. Gray will attempt to join the elder Hurst at regional as an individual qualifier. Pine expects big things from his current No. 3 golfer, Carter Hurst.
• PINE SAYS: “We’ll have some good competition this season. But to be honest, I’m not concerned about any of our competition this year. That may be a cliché, but if we play our game the way I know we can, our competition can worry about us. I truly believe we should be in the conversation as a main contender to win our conference and sectional. Our coaching staff’s golf experience is deep, and if our guys work hard, we have high expectations.”

CHARLESTOWN
• HEAD COACH: Adam Tolliver (fifth season at Charlestown and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek.
• LAST SEASON: Incomplete teams at Mid-Southern Conference meet and Madison Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Brady Christman.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: John Watson, Sr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Matthew Carr, Fr.; Brian Hodges, Fr.; Ryan Barrett, Sr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Pirates have only four players on their roster with three of them having limited varsity experience. Tolliver looks for improvement from each of his players throughout the season. He expects Corydon Central and Scottsburg to be the main contenders for the MSC title and Madison to be the favorite at the Madison Sectional.
• TOLLIVER SAYS: “I know we won’t compete for any titles and will struggle in most, if not all, matches. But you can’t improve unless you’re out here playing, so I am happy with the guys that I have out and their willingness to work at it. I look for them to continue to work hard and improve their games to their personal potential, even if that level isn’t up to some of the other teams around.”

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY
• HEAD COACH: Scott Limeberry (second season at Christian Academy and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Champions Pointe.
• LAST SEASON: 12th at the Providence Sectional.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Sam Limeberry, So.; Kevin Wang, So.; Zach Hampton, So.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Hayden Hope, So.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: Coach Limeberry is encouraged by the improvement he has seen from Wang, Hampton and Sam Limeberry since last season. The Warriors’ boss says Hope has the potential to be a solid player. After playing just eight regular-season matches last season against mainly junior varsity teams, Christian Academy currently has 13 regular-season meets on its schedule this season. Coach Limeberry thinks Corydon and South Central will be the Warriors’ toughest opponents.
• COACH LIMEBERRY SAYS: “We have a great group of players this year, which [includes] one freshman, five sophomores and three seniors. I am very optimistic about our upcoming season. We had our first match against North Harrison and Charlestown [last Tuesday] and I am happy to announce our first win for the 2016 golf season, so we’re off to a great start.”

CLARKSVILLE
• HEAD COACH: Nick Murrell (first season at Clarksville and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Wooded View.
• LAST SEASON: Incomplete team at MSC meet, did not compete in a sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Charlie Lauffer, Luis Disoso.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Gavin Hagan, Jr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Keegan Allred, Fr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: Hagan and Allred are the only two players on the Generals’ roster. The main thing Murrell wants both players to do this season is enjoy themselves on the course. Former Clarksville standout Nick Cappola is an assistant coach for the Generals.
• MURRELL SAYS: “All we expect this year from Gavin and Keegan is to have fun. We don't have enough players to field a team entry score, but I expect them to do their best and be competitive. Seeing some of the golfers from other schools will pose a mental issue for our team. But I think by the end we will come out a better golf team then how we started.”

FLOYD CENTRAL
• HEAD COACH: Mike Cason (16th season at Floyd Central and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Valley View.
• LAST SEASON: Third at Hoosier Hills Conference meet, first at Providence Sectional, third at Providence Regional, 15th at state finals.
• KEY LOSSES: Clayton Crum, Billy Sleight.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: David Shepard, Sr.; Jack Lilly, So.; Dylan Zink, So.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Matt Stoppert, Fr.; Konnor Isenberg, Fr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Highlanders have a young squad for the second season in a row. However, their main goal remains the same, which is to return to the state finals. A difficult regular-season schedule should prepare Floyd Central for the postseason. Cason thinks the Highlanders must contend with Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus East, Madison and New Albany to win this year’s HHC meet, which will be at Valley View. Floyd expects challenges from Providence and the host Bulldogs at the Providence Sectional.
• CASON SAYS: “We will be a young team again this year, so I expect a lot of ups and downs. We have some talented players, so I feel we will be good at the end of the season, and our goal is play and do well in the state tournament [Prairie View Golf Club) at Carmel.”

HENRYVILLE
• HEAD COACH: Robin Embry (17th season at Henryville and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Champions Pointe.
• LAST SEASON: First at SAC meet, fourth at Madison Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Charlie Lefevbre, Bailey Reister.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Luke Davidson, Sr.; Mason Edwards, Sr.; Conner Furnish, So.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Kris Glass, So.; Brant Badger, So.; Clayton Fields, Fr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Hornets have their sights set on finishing in the top three spots of the Madison Sectional and qualifying for the Providence Regional. Henryville was seven strokes behind third-place Scottsburg for the final regional spot at last year’s sectional. Davidson has qualified for regional as an individual the past two seasons. Embry is expecting Davidson and Edwards to provide the Hornets plenty of leadership this season.
• EMBRY SAYS: “Our numbers are down from last season. However, the six we have are pretty good players. We'll have good competition within the team this season. I've enjoyed watching the improvement they have already made. Hopefully, individually and as a team, we'll put in the time to continue to improve throughout the season. If we do, we can have a very good season.”

JEFFERSONVILLE
• HEAD COACH: Dusty Corum (sixth season at Jeff and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Elk Run.
• LAST SEASON: Eighth at HHC meet, seventh at Providence Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Evan Craig, Nick Rasdon, Andrew Baldwin.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jay Williams, So.; Blake Berry, Jr.; Jordan Blackwell, Sr.; Zach Brinkley, Sr.; Allen Crews, Jr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Bryce Morrow, Sr.; Bradley Cross, Jr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: With several returning players on their roster, the Red Devils have high hopes this season. They expect to be a contender for the HHC championship and think they can make it out of the Providence Sectional. If Jeff does not reach the Providence Regional, then Corum thinks Williams, Crews and Berry can qualify as individuals. Corum says the Red Devils will have to contend with Floyd, Columbus East and Madison if they are to win the HHC title.
• CORUM SAYS: “Our team will be the strongest it has been in years. We expect to finish at the top [of the HHC], giving Floyd Central, Columbus East, and Madison Consolidated a run for their money. Jay Williams, Allen Crews, and Blake Berry should all make it out of sectionals on their own, if not as a team.”

NEW ALBANY
• HEAD COACH: Rick Belcher (12th season at New Albany and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Valley View.
• LAST SEASON: Fourth at HHC meet, fifth at Providence Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Kunal Bhanushali.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Addison Greenwell, Sr.; Cameron Walters, Sr.; Ethan Hunter, Sr.; Joey Steinert, So.; Adam Rivera, Jr.; Matt Joyce, So.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Nolan Keeler, Fr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs have high expectations for this season. They have four of their top five players back, and Belcher hopes that experience will result in his team advancing to the Providence Regional for the first time since 2011. New Albany should be tested by a tough regular-season schedule that includes tournaments hosted by Brownsburg and Bloomington North and four teams currently ranked in the top 16 in the state. Belcher thinks the teams his players will have to contend with at the Providence Sectional are Floyd Central, Jeff and the host Pioneers.
• BELCHER SAYS: “I have high expectations for this year. I only lost one senior last year, and I’m returning four of my top five. Addison, Cameron and Ethan should provide the leadership for my youth. If we can just put it together on the same day, [the Bulldogs can be pretty good]. It’s the toughest schedule we’ve had since I’ve been coaching.”

PROVIDENCE
• HEAD COACH: Ken Allender (sixth season at Providence and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Covered Bridge.
• LAST SEASON: Second at Providence Sectional, eighth at Providence Regional.
• KEY LOSSES: Mitchell Allender, Evan Wilson, Ben Arnson.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Kevin Crone, Sr.; Max Leist, Sr.; Jarrett Rowe, So.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Kyle Oelker, Sr.; Shawn Fitzpatrick, So.; Trey Beatty, So.; Will Kaiser, So.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Pioneers’ inexperienced roster will be led by Crone, who is one of the most talented players in the Clark-Floyd area. Providence is currently without Leist because of an injury. Allender hopes to have Leist back in the lineup by May. The Pioneers will have a tough slate to contend with along with being a fairly inexperienced team. But Allender believes his team can stun some people come sectional time.
• ALLENDER SAYS: “Providence is in a bit of a rebuild due to graduation and injuries. I have some hard working kids with which to build on. By season’s end, we could be a pleasant surprise. Our schedule is one of the toughest in the state.”

ROCK CREEK
• HEAD COACH: Kaleb Lay (third season at Rock Creek and overall).
• HOME COURSE: Elk Run.
• LAST SEASON: 11th at Madison Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Torin Jenkins, Ben Hill, Luke Thompson, Blake Joseph, Will Brown.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Max Vogen, Jr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Trenton Darby, Jr.; Alex Floyd, Jr.; Cole Davis, So.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: The Lions have several inexperienced players so they are expected to find out how tough the varsity level is in 2016. Lay has high hopes for Vogen, who is Rock Creek’s No. 1 golfer and will be relied upon for leadership.
• LAY SAYS: “My expectation is to see steady improvement each day from the newcomers and a desire to work hard and get better. As for Max, I expect him to build upon the foundation he already has, and to focus on keeping himself in the moment with the right state of mind. He certainly has the tools to do well this season, and if he puts in the work, he will be very successful.”

SILVER CREEK
• HEAD COACH: Jeff Harrell (first season at Silver Creek, eighth season overall).
• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek.
• LAST SEASON: Fourth at Mid-Southern Conference meet, sixth at Providence Sectional.
• KEY LOSSES: Sam Garr.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Cody Zimmerman, Sr.; Jared Cecil, Jr.; Jacob Balz, Jr.; Jacob Harper, Jr.
• KEY VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Hunter Popp, So.; Calan Daniel, So.; Tucker Everitt, So.; Garrad Perronie, So.; Zach Sullivan, So.; Bryce Crutcher, Fr.; Cooper Smith, Fr.; Jackson Thomas, Fr.
• 2016 OUTLOOK: Harrell, who is the Silver Creek athletic director, became the full-time head coach Sunday as longtime Dragons’ boss Joe Ledbetter is currently recovering from hip replacement surgery and will be out the entire season. Harrell coached golf at Christian Academy for seven seasons. So far, Harrell likes the work ethic his players have shown in practice and matches. He expects Corydon to be tough to beat in the MSC Tournament and Floyd Central, New Albany and Jeff to be formidable foes at the Providence Sectional.
• HARRELL SAYS: “We’ve got a great group of kids. They work really hard. I expect us to do well. I told them that we have to work hard and we will see what happens in the next six to seven weeks, then take it from there.”

NOTE: Information on New Washington was unavailable at press time.

Hornets, Mustangs Battle Weather at Champions Pointe
4/8/2016 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Despite awful conditions, Henryville put together a solid match at Champions Pointe. The Hornets got their season off to a good start and topped New Washington, 167-213.

"We were anxious to get the season started," Henryville coach Robin Embry said. "We're excited to see how good we can get."

The Hornets' Mason Edwards was the lead man and his round of 40 earned him medalist honors.

"Considering the conditions, I was very pleased with the scores we posted," Embry said of his team. "It was windy and cold, brutal golf conditions. Both squads showed mental toughness in battling the elements and completing the match."

New Washington's Will Meaders turned in the Mustangs' top scorecard with a 51.

Henryville 167: Edwards 40, Furnish 41, Davidson 43, Fields 43, Glass 51
New Washington 213: Meadors 51, Barger 52, Raney 54, Swoboda 56, Goedeker 58

Lefebvre Receives IHSGCA Mitchel J. Winger Courage Award
6/20/2015

Over his high school career Charlie earned All-Conference honors twice and contributed to Henryville winning conference titles each year, a Hauser Invitational Title, and setting school records for 9-hole & 18-hole scoring.

Boys Golf: NTSPY Semifinalist / All-Area Team
6/18/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

During the 2014-15 school year, five Player of the Year semifinalists will be named in each of the 19 local high school sports.

The spring sports finalists will be named in the next few days and the Player of the Year for each sport will be announced at the second annual NTSPY Awards at IU Southeast’s Paul W. Ogle Community Center on Thursday, June 25. 

Here are the semifinalists for the 2014-15 Boys’ Golf Player of the Year honor:

MITCHELL ALLENDER, PROVIDENCE

The senior finished in a three-way tie for sixth place at the Providence Sectional on June 8 at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg with a 2-over-par 74. Allender’s score helped the Pioneers finish second and advance to the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville. At regional June 11, Allender fired a 76 as the Pioneers placed eighth as a team. Allender finished his career by being in the starting lineup in each of Providence’s matches and tournaments during his four-year Pioneer tenure. Allender participated in two IHSAA State Finals during his career. In 2011 as a freshman, Allender helped Providence qualify for state as a team. In 2012 as a sophomore, Allender qualified as an individual for state. He has signed a national letter of intent to play golf next season at IUPUI.

KEVIN CRONE, PROVIDENCE

During the regular season, the junior shared medalist honors in the annual Big 4 Classic at Champions Pointe Golf Club, involving the Pioneers, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville and New Albany, with a 1-under-par 35. Crone finished third at the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational with a 76 and placed fourth in both the Center Grove Trojan Classic (73) and the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational (75). He finished third overall at the Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge Golf Club with a 2-under 70, leading the Pioneers to a berth in the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe. Crone fired a 79 at regional.

ADDISON GREENWELL, NEW ALBANY

The junior finished in the top three spots in four 18-hole tournaments during the regular season. Greenwell’s most impressive round was earning medalist honors at the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus with a 3-over-par 75. He was second in both the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational (74) and the Floyd Central Invitational (73) and third in the Bud Bennett Memorial Invitational (75). Greenwell collected medalist honors in several nine-hole matches during the regular season. He qualified for the Providence Regional as an individual by finishing ninth overall with a 75 at the Providence Sectional. Greenwell shot a 78 at regional. Greenwell’s nine-hole scoring average in 2015 was 37.9 and his 18-hole average was 75.8.

MAX LEIST, PROVIDENCE

The junior placed fifth overall at the Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge Golf Club with a 1-over-par 73. The score enabled the Pioneers to finish second as a team with a team score of 295. At the Providence Regional, Leist carded a 78. During the regular season, Leist placed second overall at the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational at Covered Bridge with a 74 and third in the Legends of Providence Invitational at Champions Pointe Golf Club with an even-par 72.

JACK LILLY, FLOYD CENTRAL

The freshman showed his potential in the postseason. Lilly claimed medalist honors at the Providence Sectional by shooting a 3-under-par 69 in regulation, followed by winning a one-hole playoff against Corydon Central senior standout Timothy Wiseman. At the Providence Regional, Lilly finished sixth overall with a 73 as the Highlanders finished third as a team and qualified for the IHSAA State Finals. At state at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Lilly carded a two-round score of 181 (37-over).

2015 ALL-AREA TEAM

FIRST TEAM:  Mitchell Allender, Providence senior;  Kevin Crone, Providence junior;  Addison Greenwell, New Albany junior; Max Leist, Providence junior; Jack Lilly, Floyd Central freshman

SECOND TEAM:  Clayton Crum, Floyd Central senior; Luke Davidson, Henryville junior; Sam Garr, Silver Creek senior; Kamden Hurst, Borden junior; Billy Sleight, Floyd Central senior

THIRD TEAM:  Ben Arnson, Providence sophomore; Kunal Bhanushali, New Albany senior; David Shepard, Floyd Central junior; Evan Wilson, Providence senior; Dylan Zink, Floyd Central freshman

HONORABLE MENTION:  Andrew Baldwin, Jeffersonville senior; Evan Craig, Jeff senior; Mason Edwards, Henryville junior; Reilly Gray, Borden junior; Carter Hurst, Borden sophomore; Charlie Lefebvre, Henryville senior; Miles Matthews, Charlestown sophomore; Nick Rasdon, Jeff senior; Matt Wilson, New Washington senior.

COACH OF THE YEAR:  Mike Cason, Floyd Central

Floyd makes State with surprising effort
6/11/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — After struggling for most of the regular season, Floyd Central stunned the field Monday at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg by winning the Providence Sectional with a team score of 290.

The Highlanders kept shocking people Thursday at Champions Pointe Golf Club.

Floyd Central qualified for the IHSAA State Finals for the 17th time in program history by finishing third in the Providence Regional with a score of 306. The top three teams and top five individuals on non-advancing squads advanced to state, which will be Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

Highlanders’ head coach Mike Cason used one word in what helped his players at regional — confidence.

“I think Monday gave them some confidence for today, and confidence is a big thing in golf,” Cason said. “It’s the way I expected us to play all year. If I could put my finger on it, I could make a million dollars. The kids are starting to believe in themselves.”

Floyd Central senior Clayton Crum says the Highlanders have been more focused on each individual stroke lately.

“Our new motto is ‘shot by shot,’” Crum said. “Every individual player is focusing more. We’ve had more time to practice since school has been out.”

Fellow Highlander senior Billy Sleight thinks the players have been more confident and aggressive with their shots.

“Our coach always stresses how we can’t be timid with shots and how we always have to be confident,” Sleight said. “That’s where the focus comes in because if you aren’t focused, you’re going to be somewhat timid on almost every shot.”

Thursday was another chapter in the Highlanders’ unbelievable turnaround since the regular season ended. The last time Floyd Central played an 18-hole tournament at Champions Pointe was the Legends of Providence Invitational on May 30, where it finished sixth with a 314 against a field that included several regional opponents. In the Providence Invite, three Highlanders shot in the 70s with the lowest score being a 76.

But Thursday, Floyd Central was one of two teams to have all five of its players shoot in the 70s. The other squad was top-ranked and regional champion Center Grove, which fired a 290. No. 8 Bloomington South placed second with a 298, led by medalist Joe Weiler with a 2-under-par 70.

Freshman Jack Lilly, who earned medalist honors at sectional with a 69, led the Highlanders again Thursday. He shot a 1-over 73, which included an even-par 36 on the back nine.

Sleight shot a 77, while teammates David Shepard and Dylan Zink each fired a 78. Crum chipped in a 79.

“I told these kids all year that from one to five they have probably the best team in the state because they all can shoot good scores — every one of them,” Cason said. “It just kind of proves that what I’ve been telling them is true and they’re finally starting to believe some of the things I’ve been telling them.”

Crum says he and his teammates have been working on their chipping and putting as of late, and it has paid off so far in the postseason.

“We’ve been practicing on our short game [a lot] the past couple of weeks,” Crum said. “Those are the shots that count. You can hit the ball bad. But if you have a good short game, you can still score low.”

Cason thinks his team’s difficult regular-season schedule and his players’ knowledge of Champions Pointe were key factors Thursday. The Highlanders have had a good portion of their practices this season at Champions, while their traditional home course - Valley View Golf Club - was being renovated.

“We knew how the course was going to play, so I think that helped us a little bit,” said Cason, who thanked Champions Pointe and head professional Scott Ivey for their hospitality this season. “We’ve played some tough courses and some tough competition, and that always makes a difference.”

Providence came up five positions short of advancing to state, placing eighth with a 314. Senior Mitchell Allender paced the Pioneers with a 76. Providence junior Max Leist fired a 78, while fellow junior Kevin Crone carded a 79. Also for the Pioneers, sophomore Ben Arnson had an 81 and senior Evan Wilson shot a 94.

“We left some shots out there. We are a better team than 314. But you’re not always going to play your best every time out,” Providence head coach Ken Allender said. “The one thing about Providence High School is that we go up against the biggest schools on that board year in and year out, and we’re there. We’re proud of our kids. We’re proud of the work ethic they have and the dedication they have to their sport.

“We didn’t get any breaks. If you are a team that is in the running to get that second or third spot, you’ve got to have some things go right for you. We swam uphill all day. We just didn’t really get anything going for us today. We didn’t make a lot of putts and you’ve got to make putts.”

No Clark-Floyd players were among the top five qualifiers on non-advancing teams.

New Albany junior Addison Greenwell ended his great season with a 78, shooting 39 on both the front nine and the back.

“It wasn’t exactly his best day out there,” Bulldogs’ head coach Rick Belcher said. “He made good shots, but he got some bad breaks. His short game wasn’t there today.”

Borden junior Kamden Hurst fired an 84 in his second consecutive regional appearance. Hurst carded a 44 on the front nine and a 40 on the backside. On May 27 at Champions Pointe, Hurst fired a 74 to earn medalist honors at the Southern Athletic Conference meet.

“I know he’s disappointed. He shot a 74 at conference there a couple of weeks ago, and I think he expected to do that again,” Borden head coach Tony Wagoner said. “He’s disheartened, but I’m proud of the kid.”

Henryville junior Luke Davidson posted an 85 at his home course. After shooting a 39 on the front nine, he struggled on the back nine with a 46.

“Luke played consistently well all season, so it was difficult to watch him struggle on the back. A couple of shots got away from him and his short game faltered,” Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry said. “However, I'm happy with the season he's had and the improvement he’s made. He works hard and is deserving of all the good results and honors he has received. Fortunately, we’ll have him back next season and look forward to the opportunity to play here again.”

No. 12 Corydon Central wound up sixth with a 309. One Panther was an individual state qualifier as Mitchell Frederick carded a 73. Ball State recruit Timothy Wiseman and fellow Corydon player Ryan Crawford each added a 75. Also for the Panthers, Quinton Coffman shot an 86 and Steven Coleman had a 95.

North Harrison’s Chase Spencer concluded his season with an 80. Scottsburg placed 14th as a team with a 347, led by Luke Taylor with an 80.

2015 IHSAA Providence Regional: Center Grove 290, Bloomington South 298, Floyd Central 306, Franklin 308, Indianapolis Perry Meridian 309, Corydon Central 309, Columbus North 311, Providence 314, Heritage Hills 318, Columbus East 319, Jasper 323, Bedford North Lawrence 334, Madison 337, Scottsburg 347, Bloomington North 348, Greensburg 353, Jennings County 364, Springs Valley 367, Henryville (Davidson 85).

Hornets Fall Short of Regional, Finish Fourth at Madison Sectional
6/8/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville fell one spot short of qualifying for the Providence Regional, as it finished fourth in the Madison Sectional on Monday at Sunrise Golf Club with a team score of 338.

The top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing teams advanced to the regional Thursday at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville.

Hornet junior Luke Davidson qualified for his second consecutive regional as an individual with a 7-over-par 79. The other two individual regional qualifiers on non-advancing squads were Rising Sun’s Brady Murray (80) and Austin Armstrong (82). Davidson will be playing on the Hornets’ home course at Thursday’s regional.

“Luke has been consistent all season and continues to improve. He works hard and I’m happy to see him getting good results,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “I expect him to play well on Thursday.”

Three other Hornets shot in the 80s. Freshman Conner Furnish carded an 85, junior Mason Edwards fired an 86 and senior Bailey Reister had an 88. Henryville senior Charlie Lefebvre wound up with a 94.

The Hornets fired a team score of 181 on the front nine, but rebounded with a 157 on the backside.

“We were disappointed with our front nine performance,” Embry said. “However, I was very happy to see all five players post good scores on the back nine. They showed a lot of character on the back.

“We’re all happy to see Luke advance, but our expectations were to advance as a team. We just dug too big of a hole. We’ve had a really good season. We just came up a little short today.”

Embry said the Hornets’ two seniors in Lefebvre and Reister have been crucial in the Henryville’s recent success.

“The past four years, we’ve won four [Southern Athletic] conference titles, a Hauser Invitational title, and set school records for nine- and 18-hole team scores. They’ve been a big part of our success,” Embry said.

Madison won the sectional with a 303. Jennings County was second with a 330, and Scottsburg placed third with a 331. The Cubs’ Dylan Bilz was the medalist with an even-par 72. The Warriors’ Luke Taylor finished second overall with a 74.

New Washington finished 10th with a 456. The Mustangs earned the spot by winning a fifth player tiebreaker with Rock Creek, which was 11th with a 456. Charlestown fielded an incomplete team.

2015 IHSAA Madison Sectional: Madison 303, Jennings County 330, Scottsburg 331, Henryville 338 (Davidson 79, Furnish 85, Edwards 86, Reister 88, Lefebvre 94), Rising Sun 341, Switzerland County 358, Southwestern 398, Madison Shawe 419, Austin 427, New Washington 456, Rock Creek 456, Charlestown NTS, South Ripley NTS.

Hornets Win 3-Way
6/5/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Luke Davidson shot a meet-best 37 — 1-over par — to help Henryville edge Trinity Lutheran by two strokes in Thursday's 3-way meet at Champions Pointe.

Charlie Lefebvre carded a 42, Conner Furnish a 43 and Bailey Reister a 45 to support Davidson's medal round.

Henryville 167: Davidson 37, Lefebvre 42, Furnish 43, Reister 45, Edwards 48, Glass 50, Buysman 54, Kopp 55, Badger 56
Triinity Lutheran 169: Criswell 41, Cd. Stuckwisch 45, Cr. Stuckwisch 44, Stahl 49, Royalty 44, Keith 40, Pottschmidt 54
Morristown 233: Jones 61, Platt 64, Johnson 55, Redd 54, Battles 63

Hornets win tri-meet at Champions Pointe
6/1/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Junior Luke Davidson earned medalist honors with a 3-over-par 39 to lead Henryville to a first-place finish in a triangular meet Monday at Champions Pointe Golf Club with Austin and Rock Creek. The Hornets shot a team score of 169, followed by the Eagles with a 217. The Lions fielded an incomplete team.

Henryville had three players shoot in the low to mid 40s. Senior Bailey Reister fired a 42, while junior Mason Edwards and freshman Conner Furnish each carded a 44.

“It wasn’t the best scoring conditions. Yet, we still posted a good score,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “However, this group isn’t satisfied. They know they can shoot lower. We’re looking forward to our [regular-season] closing match on Thursday and the [Madison] sectional on Monday.”

Rock Creek had only two golfers. Sophomore Max Vogen shot a 54 and senior Will Brown had a 55.

Henryville 169: Davidson 39, Reister 42, Edwards 44, Furnish 44, Badger 48, Glass 52, Lefebvre 54, Buysman 57, Kopp 63
Austin 216: Carter 40, Beck 58, T. Johnson 58, C. Johnson 61, Love 65, Nease 70
Rock Creek Academy NTS: Vogen 54, Brown 55

 Panthers edge Henryville at Sunrise
5/27/2015 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Jake Simmons shot a meet-best 37 to help Jennings County get by Henryville by five strokes at Sunrise Golf Course in Madison on Wednesday.

Luke Davidson’s 40 paced the Hornets, who also got 45s from Charlie Lefebvre and Conner Furnish.

"Overall, we didn’t play our best today,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “Maybe its a bit of a letdown after playing well at the conference. We’ll work these last couple of weeks, preparing to play well the next time we’re at this course.”

Jennings County 171: Simmons 37, Doonnell 44, Kelley 45, Wilder 45, Sawyer 48, Day 48
Henryville 176: Davidson 40, Lefebvre 45, Furnish 45, Glass 46, Reister 47, Edwards 48, Kopp 49, Badger 51, Buysman 54
Shawe NTS: Hambrick 53, Corillo 57
 

Henryville, Hurst Win SAC Titles
5/23/2015 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Henryville easily out-stroked South Central to win the Southern Athletic Conference championship Saturday at Champions Pointe.

Borden’s Kamden Hurst edged the Hornets’ Luke Davidson by a stroke to win the individual SAC crown. Hurst took the lead with a birdie on the second hole and held on for a 2-over 74 despite a bogey on the final hole.

Charlie Lefebvre and Mason Edwards backed up Davidson with an 85-apiece to help the Hornets repeat as champions. Conner Furnish’s 89 also helped Henryville’s cause.

Reilly Gray shot an 87 and Carter Hurst a 91 for Borden, which was beaten by the Rebels by a single stroke for second place.

New Washington finished sixth, led by Matt Wilson’s 113.

Teams: Henryville 334 (Davidson 75, Edwards 85, Lefebvre 85, Furnish 89, Reister 104), South Central 348, Borden 349, Lanesville 421, New Washington 479, Crothersville NTS.

Henryville Comes Out on Top at Hidden Creek
5/21/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Henryville put together a solid performance and was able to come away with the win over Silver Creek and Austin at Hidden Creek Golf Club on Thursday.

As a team Henryville shot a 158, just three strokes better than Silver Creek’s 161. Austin finished with a 204. Silver Creek’s Sam Garr posted the best score of the day. He shot a 1-under-par 34, which was good enough for medalist honors.

The Hornets were led by Luke Davidson, who just missed tying Garr with a 35. Mason Edwards finished with a 38, Charlie Lefebvre shot a 40, Conner Furnish a 45 while Bailey Reister and Brant Badger rounded the Hornets out with a 47 and 49.

“I’m really pleased with the improvement we’ve had over the past few weeks,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “Hopefully, we can continue over the final part of our season.”

The Dragons’ Cody Zimmerman and Jacob Harper both shot a 42. Jared Cecil added a 43, Chris Cunningham finished with a 45 and Hunter Popp shot a 55 for Silver Creek.

Henryville 158: Davidson 35, Edwards 38, Lefebvre 40, Furnish 45, Reister 47, Badger 49
Silver Creek 161: Garr 34, Zimmerman 42, Harper 42, Cecil 43, Cunningham 45, Popp 55
Austin 204: Carter 41, Beck 45, T. Johnson 58, Love 60, C. Johnson 64, Nease 62
 

Hornets Win Quad-match
5/14/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “We’re playing well and are very close to posting really good scores. We’re just a couple of strokes per player away. I like the direction we’re headed.”

Henryville 173: Davidson 39, Lefebvre 42, Edwards 44, Reister 48, Grimm 49, Furnish 57
Lanesville 200: Shephard 41, Kennedy 49, Patterson 53, Mason 57, Kaake 61, Hardin 63
Clarksville NTS: Bruner 72
Crothersville NTS: Ludeman 40, P. Adams 55, C. Adams 60

Henryville Wins West Clark Shootout
5/12/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “I think this is an important match for each of the schools, so it’s always nice to win. It was very windy, so overall, I’m pleased with the scores. Hopefully, we can play well this Thursday and start building some momentum and confidence heading into the last few weeks of our season.”

Henryville 15: Davidson 5, Furnish 4, Lefebvre 3, Reister 3, Edwards 2, Glass -2
Silver Creek 8: Garr 9, Cecil 3, Harper -2, Zimmerman -2, Dean -9
Borden -2: K. Hurst 10, Franklin 1, Nunn -6, Fraschella -7, Kruer -8, C. Hurst -9
Note: Modified Stableford scoring system was used for this match

Davidson Shines as Hornets Take Hauser Invite
5/9/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HOPE — After a first-place finish on Saturday at Clifty Creek Golf Course, the Henryville boys’ golf team finally got over the hump that was the Hauser Invitational.

Henryville finished with a team score of 337 and defeated second-place Trinity Lutheran by 17 strokes.

The Hornets were led by Luke Davidson, whose score of 78 was good enough to earn the event’s medalist honors. Davidson struggled early, but was able to clean up his play on the back nine and bring home medalist honors for a second straight year.

Mason Edwards finished with an 81 for the Hornets. His afternoon went the opposite of Davidson’s. Edwards scored well on the front nine, but he faded towards the end of the invitational.

Henryville’s Bailey Reister continued to improve and posted a career-low of 88.

“This course really tests your short game,” Embry said. “At times, we didn’t measure up. However, all in all we played well. We simply want to keep getting better.”

Teams: Henryville 337 (Davidson 78, Edwards 81, Reister 88, Lefebvre 90, Furnish 99), Trinity Lutheran 354, Hauser 379, Edinburgh 383, Triton Central 403, Morristown 425, Columbus Christian 426, Southwestern (Shelbyville) 434.

Hornets finish second in four-way
5/5/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “Our short game was tested today and we struggled. We’ll keep working with the goal to be playing our best golf in a few weeks.”

South Central 166: Day 40, Gabhart 41, Henthrup 42, Stopinski 43, Goforth 46, Brown 51
Henryville 172: Edwards 41, Furnish 42, Davidson 43, Lefebvre 46, Glass 49, Reister 51
Borden 184: Hurst 40, Franklin 46, Gray 48, Fraschella 50, Nunn 52, Kruer 57
Crothersville NTS: Ludeman 44, P. Adams 59, C. Adams 65

Henryville defeats Charlestown
4/28/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Henryville coach Robin Embry: "It was good to get three in the 30's.  However, we need consistency from the 4 and 5 spot.  We continue to improve and with the right commitment, we could be shooting some very good scores by the end of this season.

Henryville 158: Lefebvre 36, Davidson 38, Edwards 39, Glass 45, Furnish 47
Charlestown NTS: Matthews 43, Jackson 49, Christman 51

Hornets Take Fourth at Shawe Invitational
4/25/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville battled through rough conditions and finished in fourth place at the Madison Shawe Invitational with a team score of 177 Saturday at Sunrise Golf Club. The tournament was shortened to nine holes.

The Hornets played a solid round, but first-place Madison was still 19 strokes better. Henryville took a second team to the invite and that group shot a 223. The medalist was Madison’s Dylan Bilz with a 2-over-par 38.

Conner Furnish put together a good round and led the Hornets with a score of 40. Teammate Luke Davidson was right behind him, shooting a 42. Charlie Lefebvre finished with a 46, Bailey Reister shot a 49 and Mason Edwards closed out the first Henryville team with a 50.

Kristopher Glass led Henryville’s second team with a 52. Wyatt Kopp shot a 55, Brant Badger had a 56 and Will Buysman fired a 60 for the Hornets.

“The rain, cool temperatures and wet course provided a challenge for everyone,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “I was pleased with how our players handled the conditions. Our short game continues to be a weakness. We need to commit to making it a strength. Overall, we continue to improve and I believe our best golf is yet to be played.”

Teams: Madison 158, Madison No. 2 168, Jennings County 169, Henryville 177 (Furnish 40, Davidson 42, Lefebvre 46, Reister 49, Edwards 50), Scottsburg 190, South Decatur 198, Southwestern 215, Henryville No. 2 223 (Glass 52, Kopp 55, Badger 56, Buysman 60), Madison Shawe 244.

Henryville wins at Shadowood
4/20/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

SEYMOUR — Henryville managed to squeak by Trinity Lutheran 181, 184 Monday at Shadowood.

The Hornets were led by medalist Luke Davidson. Davidson shot a 41 in the nine holes and finished with a two-stroke victory.

Henryville was provided with strong outings from its top three golfers. Davidson finished in first, and teammate Mason Edwards was right behind him with a 43. Charlie Lefebvre also finished in the top five with his 47.

Henryville 181: Davidson 41, Edwards 43, Lefebvre 47, Furnish 50, Glass 51, Reister 55
Trinity Lutheran 184: Criswell 43, Cd. Stuckwisch 44, Stahl 48, Pottschidtt 49, Keith 50, Criswell 51

Trinity Lutheran JV 208: Cy. Stuckwisch 44, D. Royalty 46, A. Royalty 59, Prentice 59, Fleener 66
Henryville JV 224: Badger 49, Grimm 55, Kopp 60, Buysman 60

Jeff takes Wooded View title
4/18/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

CLARKSVILLE — Jeffersonvile’s picked up its biggest win of the year with its first-place finish in the Clarksville Wooded View Invitational on Saturday.

Jeffersonville just squeaked past the field and held off second-place Scottsburg by three strokes, 321-324.

The medalist was Scottsburg’s Luke Taylor, who shot a 75 on the day.

Jeffersonville was led by Jay Williams, who was just one shot behind Taylor’s medalist performance. Andrew Baldwin shot a 77 and Allen Crew shot a 79 for the Red Devils. Evan Craig and Nic Rasdon both finished with a 89.

New Albany finished with a score of 331 that landed the Bulldogs in third place. Cameron Walters led New Albany with a 77 and Ethan Hunter shot a 79.

Henryville took home fourth with a final total of 343. Luke Davidson was the low man for the Hornets with his 77. Charlie Lefebvre shot a 85 and Conner Furnish finished with a 87 for Henryville.

“This was similar to last Saturday,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “We played well on the front and a bit indifferent on the back. Hopefully, next weekend we can play well on both sides. Luke competed for medalist honors. However, three consecutive bogeys in the middle of his round had him playing catch up. He and the others are playing well. We want to continue to work and improve.”

Silver Creek put together a 344 and finished in fifth place on the day. Sam Garr shot a 79 for the Dragons.

Borden finished in seventh place and tallied a final score of 365. Borden was led by Kamden Hurst’s 84.

Rock Creek followed Borden, finishing with a score of 432. Max Vogen shot a 88 for the Lions.

Charlestown finished in 10th place with a total of 474. The Pirates’ top finishers were Miles Matthews, Kyle Jackson and Brady Christman. Matthews shot a 100.

New Washington and Christian Academy both shot a 477. New Washington was led by Matthew Wilson, who shot a 105, while Sam Limeberry finished with a 104 to lead the Warriors.

Teams: Jeffersonville 321, Scottsburg 324, New Albany 331, Henryville 343 (Davidson 77, Lefebvre 85, Furnish 87, Edwards 94, Reister 95), Silver Creek 344, North Harrison 354, Borden 365, Henryville #2 425 (Glass 96, Badger 101, Kopp 108, Buysman 119), Rock Creek 432, Salem 449, Charlestown 474, New Washington 477, Christian Academy 477

Henryville wins at Champions Pointe
4/15/2015 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “We’re improving and we want to continue to improve. It’s been fairly tough conditions for our first few matches and we’ve still managed to post respectable scores.”

Henryville 177: Davidson 40, Edwards 43, Lefebvre 46, Furnish 48, Reister 50, Badger 55, Glass 55
Borden 192: K. Hurst 41, Kruer 48, Gray 50 Frascella 53, Franklin 55, Nunn 57, C. Hurst 60
Charlestown 220: Matthews 48, Jackson 54, Watson 58, Christman 60

 Hornets win four-way
4/13/2015 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Luke Davidson shot a meet-best 2-over-par 38 to lead Henryville to an easy four-way victory at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville on Monday.

Davidson earned birdies on three of his first four holes to lead the Hornets to a score of 176, which was 12 strokes better than runner-up South Central. Eastern was third with a 235 and Shawe was fourth with a 246.

Charlie Lefebvre carded a 42, Mason Edwards a 45, Bailey Reister shot a 51 and Conner Furnish a 52 for the Hornets.

Henryville 176: Davidson 38, Lefebvre 42, Edwards 45, Reister 51, Furnish 52, Badger 54
South Central 188: Brown 44, Henthrup 46, Day 48, Stopinski 50, Gabhart 50
Eastern 235: Emmert 52, Young 54, Shaffer 64, Hoke 65
Shawe 246: Edwards 49, Carrillo 62, Hambrick 66, Carrillo 69

Henryville Wins Season Opener
4/10/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Luke Davidson earned medalist honors with a 43 to lead host Henryville to a 183-244 season-opening victory over New Washington in a dual meet at Champions Pointe Golf Club on Friday.

The Hornets’ Mason Edwards shot a 44, while teammate Conner Furnish fired a 46.

“It was good to get the season started,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “Our players didn’t score as well as they’d like. However, it was tough conditions. It was a bit cool and the course was very wet.”

Collin Schindler and Matt Wilson led the Mustangs, each firing a 56.

Henryville 183: Davidson 43, Edwards 44, Lefebvre 50, Reister 50, Furnish 46, Badger 55
New Washington 244: Schindler 56, Wilson 56, Barger 66, Curry 66, Miles 71, Meadors 68.

Boys' Golf Season Preview
4/3/2015 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

FLOYDS KNOBS — Last year’s IHSAA State Finals had one major omission from the tournament field.

For the first time since 2008, perennial state power Floyd Central did not qualify for the state meet. The Highlanders placed fifth in last season’s Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Henryville, as the top three teams advanced to the state finals.

Prior to last season, Floyd Central had reached state in nine of the last 10 seasons.

Veteran Highlander head coach Mike Cason says his golfers have tons of determination to return to the state finals, which will be June 16-17 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.

“We had a team meeting the other day, and we set our one goal to be getting back to state,” Cason said. “Our regional is one of the strongest in the state, so we’ll have to play well. But our team is capable of playing well.”

Floyd Central’s top six players include four returning players and a couple of talented freshmen.

The returning quartet is seniors Clayton Crum and Billy Sleight, junior David Shepard and sophomore Adam Rutledge. Those players must pick up the slack left by last year’s two seniors in NTSPY Player of the Year Conner Welch and Jack Sparrow.

The two freshmen are Jack Lilly and Dylan Zink, and Cason thinks both rookies will be key factors in the Highlanders’ quest to qualify for state.

“They are the key to our season really,” Cason said. “They’re both smart players. They just need some seasoning and experience.”

Like most coaches, Cason is stressing to his players the importance of their short game if the Highlanders are going to make a deep run in the postseason.

“All of the kids are good ball strikers. They’ve got to work on their chipping and putting. But all of our kids are skilled,” Cason said.

The Highlanders’ challenging schedule should get them ready for the state tournament. Floyd Central will compete in three challenging invitationals in the first half of the season. They are the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational on Saturday at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg, the Hall of Fame tournament Saturday, April 11 at Rock Hollow Golf Club in Peru and the Spring Preview tournament Saturday, April 18 at the Legends Golf Club in Franklin.

Cason expects the Bedford North Lawrence Invitational on Saturday, May 2 at Otis Park Golf Course in Bedford and the Legends of Providence Invitational on Saturday, May 30 at Champions Pointe to be tough tournaments as well.

Cason says the Highlanders must contend with Columbus East and Bedford at the Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament on Saturday, May 16 at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus.

That formidable slate should get the Highlanders ready for the Providence Sectional on Monday, June 8 at Covered Bridge. They will expect the host Pioneers and No. 14 Corydon Central to battle them for the sectional title.

“I think we’ll be pretty darn good by the end of the year. I’m real excited about our team this year,” Cason said.

Boys' Golf Preview Capsules:

Borden

• HEAD COACH: Tony Wagoner, ninth season.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Elijah Franklin, Sr.; Kamden Hurst, Jr.; Reilly Gray, Jr.; Niko Frascella, Jr.; Carter Hurst, So.; Josh Nunn, So.

• NEWCOMERS: Logan Lee, Jr.; Brett Kruer, Fr.; Elijah Nunn, Fr.

• DEPARTURES: Tony Wagoner III.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Henryville, South Central, Wooded View Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: Wagoner thinks his top three players in Franklin, Gray and Kamden Hurst are solid golfers. The Braves need a couple of other players to play well at the No. 4 and 5 spots. Kamden Hurst qualified for the Providence Regional last year, and Wagoner thinks the junior and Gray each have a shot to advance to regional this season. Wagoner thinks Borden is in the Southern Athletic Conference championship mix with the Hornets and the Rebels.

• WAGONER SAYS: “Our top three players are solidified. Reilly and Kamden both have the potential to get out of [sectional] this year. The conference is going to be a tossup between two or three of us.

CHARLESTOWN

• HEAD COACH: Adam Tolliver, fourth season.

• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek Golf Club, Sellersburg.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Brady Christman, Sr.; John Watson, Jr.; Brevin Stubbins, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Kyle Jackson, Sr.; Miles Matthews, So.

• DEPARTURES: Chris Ison.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Silver Creek, Brownstown Central, Corydon Central, Jeffersonville, Wooded View Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: Tolliver expects big things from Christman and Watson and looks for Stubbins to contribute a lot. He also likes what he sees from his two newcomers.

• TOLLIVER SAYS: “I’m looking forward to [the season]. Brady continues to grow in a leadership role. Watson improved a lot from his junior to senior year. Kyle Jackson and Miles Matthews have got potential.”

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY

• HEAD COACH: Scott Limeberry, first season.

• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek Golf Club, Sellersburg.

• ROSTER: Sam Limeberry, Fr.; Nate Bilkey, Jr.; Kevin Wang, Fr.; Zach Hampton, Fr.; Logan Cooley, Jr.; Dillon Kahl, Fr.; Josh Roy, So.

• OUTLOOK: For the first time in several seasons, the Warriors are fielding a complete team. Coach Limeberry’s plan is to get his players to learn the game and improve on their skills each day. Part of Christian Academy’s schedule consists of varsity matches, while the rest of the slate is junior varsity meets. The JV meets include matchups with Providence, Corydon Central and Silver Creek. The Warriors will play North Harrison, Crawford County, Clarksville and Lanesville on the varsity section of their schedule.

• COACH LIMEBERRY SAYS: “This is really a rebuilding year for us. I saw the need [for a team at CAI] and volunteered to coach and try to revitalize the program. We have a lot of younger kids and many new to the game altogether. So my expectation for this year is for my boys to learn and fall in love with the game of golf. I want this to be a year of growth to be built on by future seasons. Getting a program started has its challenges, but I have a great group of young men and am looking forward to a fun and productive season.”

CLARKSVILLE

• HEAD COACH: Scott Schermerhorn, second season.

• HOME COURSE: Wooded View Golf Course, Clarksville.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Charlie Lauffer, Sr.; Cody Bruner, So.; Luis Disoso, Sr.

• NEWCOMERS: Gavin Hagan, So.

• DEPARTURES: Brent Potter, Keigan Fetz.

• TOUGH TOURNAMENTS: Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: Schermerhorn thinks the Generals have a shot to finish in the middle of the pack at the Mid-Southern Conference tournament. He expects his players to learn a lot about the game and enjoy playing it.

• SCHERMERHORN SAYS: “Basically, I want the boys to be students of the game. I want them to enjoy the game and have fun.”

FLOYD CENTRAL

• HEAD COACH: Mike Cason, 15th season.

• HOME COURSE: Valley View Golf Club, Floyds Knobs.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Clayton Crum, Sr.; Billy Sleight, Sr.; Adam Rutledge, So.; David Shepard, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Jack Lilly, Fr.; Dylan Zink, Fr.

• DEPARTURES: Conner Welch, Jack Sparrow.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Columbus East, Bedford North Lawrence, Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Hall of Fame tournament, Spring Preview tournament, Bedford North Lawrence Invitational, Legends of Providence Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: After missing the state finals for the first time since 2008 last season, the Highlanders are motivated to get back to state. Floyd’s top two freshmen — Lilly and Zink — are expected to play key roles in the Highlanders’ attempt to return to the state finals. Floyd Central’s difficult schedule should get it ready for competitive fields at the Providence Sectional and Providence Regional.

• CASON SAYS: “We had a team meeting the other day, and we set our one goal to be getting back to state. Our regional is one of the strongest in the state, so we’ll have to play well. But our team is capable of playing well.”

HENRYVILLE

• HEAD COACH: Robin Embry, 16th season.

• HOME COURSE: Champions Pointe Golf Club, Henryville.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Charlie Lefevbre, Sr.; Bailey Reister, Sr.; Luke Davidson, Jr.; Mason Edwards, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Cole Grimm, Jr.; Will Buysman, So.; Brant Badger, Fr.; Kristopher Glass, Fr.; Conner Furnish, Fr.; Wyatt Kopp, Fr.

• DEPARTURES: none.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Providence, Silver Creek, Borden, Lanesville, Crothersville, Salem, Trinity Lutheran, Wooded View Invitational, Madison Shawe Invitational, Hauser Invitational, West Clark Shootout, SAC Championship.

• OUTLOOK: Embry thought his four returning players each improved last season, and he expects their games to continue to grow this year. Embry hopes that constant improvement will help his team advance out of the Madison Sectional on Monday, June 8. The Hornets will be led by Davidson, who qualified for the Providence Regional last season.

• EMBRY SAYS: “I expect our returning players to have good seasons. They improved considerably last season and they’ll continue to improve this season. Our new players have the potential for some good scores and will provide us with some depth. We’re excited to get started and improve throughout the season. Madison and Jennings County will probably be the top couple of teams [at sectional]. In addition, Scottsburg, Southwestern and Rising Sun will be good. However, by the end of the season, we may be able to compete for one of the top three spots and advance to the regional.”

JEFFERSONVILLE

• HEAD COACH: Dusty Corum, fifth season.

• HOME COURSE: Elk Run Golf Club, Jeffersonville (formerly Jeff Elks).

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Evan Craig, Sr.; Nick Rasdon, Sr.; Andrew Baldwin, Sr.; Jake Melin, Jr.; Zach Brinkley, Jr.; Jordan Blackwell, Jr.; Allen Crews, So.; Blake Berry, So.

• NEWCOMERS: Jay Williams, Fr.; Brendan Benning, So.

• DEPARTURES: Dillon Willis.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central, Providence, New Albany, Madison, Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Hoosier Hills Conference Tournament.

• OUTLOOK: Corum likes the veterans he has on this year’s team and has high hopes for Williams, who is expected to be the Red Devils’ No. 1 golfer. Corum says Williams is capable of shooting between 36 and 38 in nine-hole matches. The Jeff coach thinks his team can win more than half of its matches this season.

• CORUM SAYS: “We finally have the experience. We’ve got six guys who can be solid. They can shoot in the upper 30s to low 40s [in nine-hole matches].”

NEW ALBANY

• HEAD COACH: Rick Belcher, 11th season.

• HOME COURSES: Covered Bridge Golf Club, Sellersburg; Champions Pointe Golf Club, Henryville; Elk Run Golf Club, Jeff (The Bulldogs are using those courses while their original home course — Valley View Golf Club — is under construction.)

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Addison Greenwell, Jr.; Cameron Walters, Jr.; Kunal Bhanushali, Sr.; Ethan Hunter, Jr.; Adam Rivera, So.; Digby Langness, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Matt Joyce, Fr.; Kameron Guess, Fr.; Joey Steinert, Fr.

• DEPARTURES: Jonny Smith, Bret Walts.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Bloomington South, Corydon Central, Floyd Central, Providence, Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Bud Bennett Memorial Invitational, Floyd Central Invitational, HHC Tournament, Legends of Providence Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs have four upperclassmen with lots of experience in Greenwell, Walters, Bhanushali and Hunter. Bhanushali advanced out of the Providence Sectional last season and Greenwell was in position to qualify for regional, but got disqualified at sectional. With its experience, New Albany has a solid chance to advance to regional as a team.

• BELCHER SAYS: “I expect to continue to improve and compete at sectionals. Addison and Kunal both shot in the 70s at sectionals last year. If we can get them there again or lower, with Cameron and Ethan possibly getting there as well, then we should be good. Our practice scores haven’t been great so far, but so many of them are still knocking the rust off and remembering how to score. I just have to figure out which of my underclassmen will step up to fill that No. 5 spot.”

NEW WASHINGTON

• HEAD COACH: Bret James, third season.

• HOME COURSE: Spring Hill Golf Course, Hanover.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Matt Wilson, Sr.; Collin Schindler, Sr.; John Barger, Jr.; Mike Curry, Jr.; Andrew Wilson, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Logan Miles, Sr.; Will Meadors, So.

• DEPARTURES: none.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Henryville, SAC Championship.

• OUTLOOK: James expects Matt Wilson and Schindler to step up their leadership roles. The Mustangs’ boss likes the work ethic his underclassmen are displaying and hopes that will show up in their scores.

• JAMES SAID: “This will be our best year so far since I took over as coach. We have several returning players that are getting better with each round. Matt Wilson and Collin Schindler should be our leaders this year. But some of the underclassmen are really taking it serious and working hard to get better. I’m looking forward to getting Matt Wilson off to a great start, and Collin Schindler will follow his lead. Our goal is to break the 200 mark [on nine holes] this year.”

PROVIDENCE

• HEAD COACH: Ken Allender, sixth season.

• HOME COURSE: Covered Bridge Golf Club, Sellersburg.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Mitchell Allender, Sr.; Kevin Crone, Jr.; Max Leist, Jr.; Evan Wilson, Sr.

• NEWCOMERS: Ben Arnson, So.; Jarrett Rowe, Fr.

• DEPARTURES: Erich Day.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Center Grove, Corydon Central, Floyd Central, New Albany, Sollman Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: Like Floyd Central, the Pioneers are trying to return to the state finals. They have fallen short of qualifying for state the past two seasons after making five consecutive trips from 2008-2012. Ken Allender thinks he has the experience to advance to state. It is just a matter of how well his team can play in the ultra-competitive Providence Regional on Thursday, June 11 at Champions Pointe.

• COACH ALLENDER SAYS: “I expect to have a real good season. We’ve got great senior leadership. I think we can be a very dangerous team come sectional time. We’re in a very strong regional. We should be right there. If we play well that day, we should be in the running.”

ROCK CREEK

• HEAD COACH: Kaleb Lay, second season.

• HOME COURSES: Wooded View Golf Course, Clarksville; Elk Run Golf Club, Jeff.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Max Vogen, So.; Torin Jenkins, Sr.; Ben Hill, Sr.; Luke Thompson, Sr.

• NEWCOMERS: Blake Joseph, Sr.; Will Brown, Sr.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS: North Harrison, Scottsburg.

• OUTLOOK: Lay expects Vogen to have better performances than last season. The Lions’ mentor is looking for consistency from Jenkins, Hill and Thompson.

• LAY SAYS: “I expect Max to improve upon last season in the scoring column. He has a great natural swing, and now with a year under his belt, I expect his match performances to improve. I also expect Torin, Ben and Luke to be more consistent and really work on their ball striking. Blake and Will display the dedication it takes to improve over the course of the season and make an impact come sectional time. Hopefully, we can grow as a team and be competitive in all our matches.”

SILVER CREEK

• HEAD COACH: Joe Ledbetter, 23rd season.

• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek Golf Club, Sellersburg.

• RETURNING PLAYERS: Sam Garr, Sr.; Jacob Harper, So.; Cody Zimmerman, Jr.; Ryan Baker, Jr.

• NEWCOMERS: Jacob Balz, So.; Chris Cunningham, So.

• DEPARTURES: None.

• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Corydon Central, Floyd Central, New Albany, Providence, Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Mid-Southern Conference tournament.

• OUTLOOK: Ledbetter expects a big year from Garr. The senior, who Ledbetter says is the second-longest hitting golfer he has coached in his 23 seasons at Creek, has the potential to earn a berth at the state finals. The Dragons’ team goals are the same — compete for the MSC title and try to make it out of sectional. Ledbetter says he has 15 players in his program this season after 22 tried out for the squad.

• LEDBETTER SAYS: “I kind of sound like a broken record, but we’re going to try to win conference or compete well at conference and try to make it out of sectional. I’m looking for big things out of Sam this year. He’s worked on his course management. It wouldn’t shock me [if Garr makes state].”

News and Tribune All-Area Boys' Golf Team
6/30/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

FIRST TEAM
Connor Welch, Floyd Central senior (Player of the Year)
Mitchell Allender, Providence junior
Kevin Crone, Providence sophomore
Addison Greenwell, New Albany sophomore
Jack Sparrow, Floyd Central senior

SECOND TEAM
Kunal Bhanushali, New Albany junior
Luke Davidson, Henryville sophomore
Mason Edwards, Henryville sophomore
Sam Garr, Silver Creek junior
Kamden Hurst, Borden sophomore

THIRD TEAM
Clayton Crum, Floyd Central junior
Max Leist, Providence sophomore
David Shepard, Floyd Central sophomore
Billy Sleight, Floyd Central junior
Tony Wagoner III, Borden senior

HONORABLE MENTION
Blayze Damron, Jeffersonville; Erich Day, Providence; Reilly Gray, Borden; Collin Schindler, New Washington; Dillon Willis, Jeff; Evan Wilson, Providence; Matt Wilson, New Washington.

Floyd, Providence fail to reach state
6/12/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Memphis —  For more than a decade, it was a virtual lock that a boys’ golf team from the Clark-Floyd area would advance to the IHSAA State Finals.

But that trend ended on Thursday at Champions Pointe Golf Club.

For the first time since 2003, a squad from the area will not play in next week’s state finals at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin.

No. 15 Floyd Central placed fifth at Thursday’s Providence Regional with a team score of 312. The finish concluded the Highlanders’ five-year streak of making state and a stretch of nine state appearances in the past 10 seasons.

Floyd Central coach Mike Cason said the key factor for the Highlanders at regional was their short game.

“It was the same problem we had all year, which was chipping and putting,” Cason said. “Those two things are what you need to score with.”

The host Pioneers finished 13th with a 328. Providence tied Roncalli for 12th, but the Rebels got the spot by receiving the tiebreaker for the lowest No. 5 player score. The Pioneers did not make the state finals as a team for the second consecutive year after earning five consecutive trips to Legends from 2008-12.

“I’m pleased but a little disappointed,” Providence coach Ken Allender said about his team’s round. “Some of the kids didn’t play as well as I thought they should, but it happens. Everybody’s entitled to a bad round.”

In addition, it was the first time in several years that an individual golfer from the Clark-Floyd area failed to qualify for state. The top three teams and top five individuals on non-advancing squads at regional advanced to the state finals.

Floyd Central seniors Jack Sparrow and Connor Welch ended their careers on Thursday, shooting 75 and 76, respectively. Welch won medalist honors at the Providence Sectional on Monday with a 4-under-par 68.

Junior Clayton Crum was a stroke behind Welch with a 77.

“All three of them just missed so many opportunities to score low. [The short game] is the way you score low in high school golf,” Cason said. “But I’m proud of Connor and Jack. They’ve had really good careers. We’ve been to state three times with them and they’ve done well.”

Also for the Highlanders, junior Billy Sleight and sophomore David Shepard each shot an 84.

Despite losing Welch and Sparrow, Cason is optimistic about next season with Crum, Sleight and Shepard leading the way. The Floyd Central coach also hopes to have junior Eric Lamm back to 100 percent. Lamm battled injuries throughout the 2014 campaign.

“The three kids will have a lot of experience because they played varsity all year, and Eric Lamm has been injured pretty much all year so he’ll be back,” Cason said. “We should have a pretty good team next year.”

Providence junior Mitchell Allender came up short of returning to the state finals, firing a 76. Allender made state with the entire Pioneers’ team in 2012 and as an individual in 2013.

“I know he’s disappointed in that,” Coach Allender said. “He got off to a bad start. But the best thing I can say is that he never stopped trying. He never let go and he kept hitting some good shots. On the front nine, I think he hit eight greens. He just couldn’t get enough putts to fall. But I’m really proud of him for hanging on.”

Providence sophomore Max Leist shot a 79. It was a rough day for the Pioneers’ No. 1 golfer, Kevin Crone. The sophomore wound up carding an 85.

“He started losing his tee ball and he couldn’t get it back,” Ken Allender said about Crone. “It seemed like there was no [consistency hitting the ball in the fairway]. It was either left or right. He just couldn’t regain his composure.”

Also for Providence, senior Erich Day shot an 88 and junior Evan Wilson had a 100.

Day is the only senior the Pioneers say goodbye to. Like Cason, Coach Allender thinks his team can be very strong next season with four starters back.

“We have a solid nucleus coming back and I think I’ve got some help coming [in the incoming freshman class],” the Providence boss said. “There’s some really, really fantastic freshmen and a couple of other guys on the team that are working hard. We should be really talented.”

New Albany junior Kunal Bhanushali scored an 84, which pleased Bulldogs’ coach Rick Belcher.

“There was nothing outstanding in his round, but nothing terrible either,” Belcher said. “It was a long golf course for a short hitter. It was a big test for him when you are hitting 4- and 5-iron into the greens where most of the kids are hitting wedges and 9-irons. It’s a big difference. But he managed the course well and he played well. I was proud of the way he handled himself because sometimes when you know you’re not going to shoot the number you need to shoot to get out, you end up shooting a 90. But he just kind of stayed steady. An 84, I have no problem with.”

Three players from the West Clark Community Schools Corporation competed at the regional. Henryville sophomore Luke Davidson was the top player of the trio with an 83 in his first regional appearance.

“His ball-striking was off a bit and his short game was off a bit as well. Instead of getting up and down and making pars, he was missing greens and had several bogeys. He just couldn’t offset the bogeys,” Hornets’ coach Robin Embry said. “But he’s had a very good season and he handled himself well today.”

In his second regional trip, Silver Creek junior Sam Garr shot an 86. Borden sophomore Kamden Hurst wound up with a 90 in his first regional trip.

“It was good to see all three West Clark schools in the regional with Sam and Kamden. I was really proud of West Clark, in general,” Embry said.

No. 8 Corydon Central was one stroke shy of earning its first state berth since 1968. The Panthers finished fourth with a 304, while ninth-ranked Bloomington South placed third with a 303. No. 2 Columbus North won its fourth consecutive regional title with a 298. No. 7 Center Grove placed second with a 301.

Two Corydon players qualified for state as individuals. Timothy Wiseman and Mitchell Frederick each shot a 73, and then competed in a five-way playoff to determine the final four individual berths. On the first hole of the three-hole playoff, which was the par-4 10th, Wiseman sank a birdie putt and Frederick made par to earn their state berths. Meanwhile, Bedford North Lawrence’s Trey Turner and the Heritage Hills’ pair of Corey Teaford and Preston Vanwinkle each made a bogey.

After Turner, Teaford and Vanwinkle each pared the 18th hole, Vanwinkle had a birdie and Turner made par on the final playoff hole at the 10th to qualify for state. Teaford had a bogey on the third playoff hole.

Also for Corydon, Ryan Crawford and Tommy Wiseman each carded a 79 and Steven Coleman had an 82.

Columbus North’s Christian Fairbanks won medalist honors with a 3-under 69. Perry Meridian’s Nick Osterburg was the first individual state berth for a non-advancing team with an even-par 72. 

Henryville's Davidson advances to regional
6/9/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

MADISON — Henryville sophomore Luke Davidson earned his first-ever berth in the Providence Regional on Monday at Sunrise Golf Club.

Davidson was one of the top three golfers on non-advancing teams to qualify for the regional by shooting a 79 at Monday’s Madison Sectional. The other two golfers who advanced to Thursday’s regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club were Scottsburg’s Luke Taylor (79) and Christian Burch (81).

Davidson shot an even-par 36 on the front nine. He had birdies on the sixth and seventh holes and made par on five holes.

But he struggled on the back nine with a 43, as he bogeyed seven holes. Still, it was good enough to make it to regional at Champions Pointe, the Hornets’ home course.

“Luke has been consistent all season,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “His short game was excellent on the front. He struggled a bit on the back, but hung in there and advanced. I’m very happy for Luke and look forward to watching him play in his first regional.”

Henryville was the highest-finishing area team, placing fifth with a school-record team score of 338.

Hornets’ sophomore Mason Edwards was two strokes shy of qualifying for regional. He shot an 83 and was the only Henryville player to post a lower score on the backside (39) than the front (44).

Rounding out the scoring for the Hornets were junior Charlie Lefebvre with an 85 and Bailey Reister with a 91.

“We played very well, especially the front,” Embry said. “We were on pace to shoot in the 320s or even better if we would’ve maintained on the back. We faltered a bit on the back. However, we still carded a season-best and new school record. Luke, Charlie and Bailey shot personal-bests and Mason was just a shot off his personal-best. I’m very happy with the improvement this group has made this season.”

Rock Creek ended up eighth with a 421. Freshman Max Vogen led the Lions with a 91, while teammate Jeremiah Wilkinson shot a 94.

New Washington was 10th with a 439. Allen Crews posted the Mustangs’ lowest score with a 106.

Charlestown finished 11th with a 455. Brady Christman had the Pirates’ best score with a 106.

Madison won the sectional with a sectional-record 289. Jennings County placed second with a 308, and Rising Sun was third with a 317. The top three teams advanced to the Providence Regional.

Hornets capture regular season finale
6/5/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Hornets win three-way
6/2/2014 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Henryville second at Madison
5/31/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville claims three-way at Hidden Creek
5/24/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — Henryville’s golf team set a school record on its way to claiming a three-way match on Tuesday at Hidden Creek. The Hornets recorded a 152, which was a record for a nine-hole team score. The mark surpasses the old record, which was set in 2012 when the Hornets shot a 158, also at Hidden Creek.

“We’re gaining confidence and improving in all phases,” Hornet coach Robin Embry said. “We played well today. It’s been a good couple of weeks for us.”

Henryville was led by not one, but two, medalists. Charlie Lefebvre and Madison Edwards both took earend top-score honors with a 37 apiece.

Luke Davidson shot a 38 and Bailey Register rounded out the Hornets score with a 40.

“Hopefully we’ll continue to work, improve and finish the season with our best golf,” Embry said.

The Hornets beat runner-up Austin 158-208. The Eagles were led by Case Carter’s 41. John Watson’s 51 led Charlestown, who only played three players and didn’t have a team score.

Henryville (152): Ewards 37, Lefebvre 37, Davidson 38, Reister 40.
Austin (208): Carter 41, Love 52, Mullins 56, Beck 59.
Charlestown (NTS): Watson 51, Christman 54, Stubbins 56.

Henryville golf claims SAC title
5/24/2014 by Hanson Crafton & Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

SOUTHERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
At Champions Pointe, Memphis, par 72.

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “We played very well today and were fortunate to win. We've been improving throughout the season and took another step in the right direction today. Our kids always seem to step up for the conference. All four played well. Mason and Charlie shot personal best; Luke started off rough but hung in there and Bailey shot a good round. It was a good day for us.”

Medalist: Mason Edwards (H) 82.

Henryville (352): Ewards 82, Lefebvre 86, Davidson 87, Reister 97.
Borden (355): Wagoner 87, Gray 89, Hurst 89, Franklin 90, Frascella 104.
South Central (387): Hentrup 87, Gabhart 94, Stopinski 101, Day 105, Johnson 155.
Crothersville (391): Money 88, Luedeman 90, Doyle 102, Petty 111, Adams 130.
New Washington (502): Wilson 112, Schindler 118, Crews 130, Barger 142, Curry 137.
Lanesville (NTS): Shepherd 88

Henryville second in tri-match
5/15/2014 by Hanson Crafton & Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “We have to stay away from big numbers on any given hole. Each of our players had at least one seven or eight and that makes it tough to shoot the scores we want to shoot.”

South Central (185): Gabhart 39, Stopinski 45, Hentrup 48, Day 53, Johnson 70
Henryville (186): Davidson 43, Edwards 47, Lefebvre 48, Reister 48
Clarksville (NTS): Fetz 55, Potter 61, Louffer 64 

Hauser Invitational Results
5/10/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

HAUSER INVITATIONAL
Clifty Creek G.C., Hope, par 72

Team scores: Trinity Lutheran 345, Henryville 364 (Davidson 82, Edwards 92, Lefebvre 95, Reister 95), Hauser 366, Edinburgh 401, Morristown 422, Triton Central (NTS), Southwestern (Shelbyville) (NTS).

Medalist: Luke Davidson (H) 82.

Meet notes: Davidson won medalist honors by defeating Trinity Lutheran’s Cory Stuckwisch in a one-hole playoff. Davidson made par on the playoff hole, while Stuckwisch settled for bogey.

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “The course only plays about 6,000 yards. However, it exposed our short game. We really struggled inside of 50 yards. We’ve improved 40-plus shots from our first tournament. Hopefully, we’ll get our short game in shape, continue to improve and play our best golf at the end of the season.”

Borden wins quad-match
5/6/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Borden coach Tony Wagoner: “Kamden, Reilly and Elijah continue to be consistent in their scores. Tony faltered a little bit today compared to yesterday. Overall, I was content with what we shot today, but I feel we haven’t played our best golf yet.”

Borden (180): K. Hurst 42, Gray 43, Franklin 46, Wagoner 49, Frascella 55, Nunn 58, C. Hurst 64
South Central (198): Hentrup 37, Stopinski 45, Day 48, Johnson 68
Crothersville (208): Luedeman 45, Petty 50, Doyle 55, Adams 58, O’Sullivan 59
Henryville (NTS): Davidson 39, Edwards 45, Lefebvre 49

Shawe Invitational Results
4/26/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “Luke played a nice round. He’s very close to putting some scores in the 70s. Mason continues to improve and and is just a couple holes away from the 80s. Charlie and Bailey are committed to getting better. Overall, it was a 30-plus stroke improvement from our first invitational. We need to continue to improve.”

Madison (305), Jennings County (350), Southwestern (352), Scottsburg (354), South Decatur (370), Henryville (371), Shawe (NTS)
Henryville - Davidson 83, Edwards 92, Lefebvre 94, Reister 102.

Trinity Lutheran wins at Shadowood
4/21/2014 

Trinity Lutheran (179): Terry 41, Cy Stuckwisch 45, Criswell 46, Cd Stuckwisch 47, Pottschmidt 50, Stahl 55.
Henryville (NTS): Lefebvre 46, Edwards 49, Davidson 50.
 

Henryville wins Tri-match
4/16/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “Luke carded another good round battling the cold windy conditions.  Charlie had a rough start but held on to shoot a decent score.  Mason moved down in the 40s and Cole is improving.  With dedication, this group will continue to get better.”

Henryville (182): Davidson 39, Lefebvre 46, Edwards 46, Grimm 51.
Borden (195): K. Hurst 44, Gray 45, Wagoner 49, Franklin 57, C. Hurst 63, Franscella 64.
Charlestown (241): Christman 54, Ison 56, Watson 62, Payne 69, Stubbins 70.

Henryville Defeats Eastern
4/14/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville coach Robin Embry: “Considering the cool and wet conditions, Luke and Charlie posted good scores. If it hadn’t been for a couple of holes, Mason and Cole would have been in the 40s. We need to continue working and improving.”

Henryville (188): Davidson 40, Lefebvre 42, Edwards 52, Grimm 54.
Eastern (234): Emmert 46, Young 59, Shaffer 59, Hoke 70.
 

Wooded View Invitational
4/12/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Team scores: Scottsburg 325, Silver Creek 354, North Harrison 357, Borden 369, Jeffersonville 373, Henryville 405, Salem 414, Rock Creek 451, New Washington 467, Charlestown 478, Clarksville 501, Austin Inc.

Medalist: Sam Garr (SC) 76.

Silver Creek: Garr 76, Zimmerman 84, Harper 101, Cecil 108, Polston 93.
Borden: Wagoner 93, Gray 80, Hurst 91, Franklin 105, Frascella 114.
Jeffersonville: Baldwin 88, Damron 91, Craig 96, Melin 98, Rasdon 102.
Henryville: Davidson 87, Lefebvre 96, Edwards 106, Grimm 116.
Rock Creek: Kastetler 85, Vogen 98, Hill 140, Jenkins 128.
New Washington: Wilson 131, Schindler 116, Crews 128, Barger 92, Powell 170.
Charlestown: Ison 117, Christman 126, Watson 118, Stubbins 117, Payne 146.
Clarksville: Potter 118, Lauffer 116, Fetz 127, Bruner 140.

Henryville Edges Crothersville
4/8/2014 by Hanson Crafton (News & Tribune)

Henryville picked up a tough win against Crothersville on Tuesday.

Henryville was able to squeeze by Crothersville by one stroke, in large part due to the performances of Luke Davidson and Charlie Lefebvre.

Davidson led the field with a 39, and Lefebvre was right behind him shooting a 41. Mason Edwards shot a 53 and Cole Grimm shot a 55 to round the evening off for the Hornets.

Henryville (188): Davidson 39, Lefebvre 41, Edwards 53, Grimm 55.
Crothersville (189): Money 45, Luedeman 45, Doyle 49, Weddle 50, Petty 51, Adams 64. 

Golf Preview: Providence eyes return to State
4/1/2014 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

SOUTHERN INDIANA — Entering his fifth season as the Providence boys’ golf coach, Ken Allender will lead one of the youngest teams in his Pioneer tenure.

But he also has one of the most talented squads in his career.

Allender hopes that talent will continue to develop this season and result in a return trip to the IHSAA State Finals June 17-18 at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin.

“From a class standpoint, we’re a little younger than in the past,” said Allender, whose team came up short of reaching state last season after making five consecutive trips to Legends from 2008-2012. “Our potential is going to be really, really good. If we can develop, we could get back to state.”

The Pioneers’ top three players should be their foundation. Providence will be led by its No. 1 player, junior Mitchell Allender.

The coach’s son has been to state the past two seasons, qualifying last year as an individual. Mitchell Allender finished 24th at state last season with a two-round score of 147 (3-over-par).

The Pioneers’ other two returning letterwinners are sophomores Kevin Crone and Max Leist. Crone showed his potential several times last season, which included a fourth-place finish in the Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge Golf Club with a 2-over 74.

Coach Allender says a big factor in his team getting back to state is finding a No. 4 golfer who can consistently shoot in the low to mid 70s. He will look to three players to try to be that fourth scorer in seniors Erich Day and Austin Happel and junior Evan Wilson. Freshman Ben Arnson, who is currently injured, could play into the No. 4 mix once he gets healthy.

Coach Allender thinks his team must shoot a team score between 302 and 306 at the Providence Regional on Thursday, June 12 at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis to have a chance to qualify for state. The top three teams at regional will advance to state.

“A lot will depend on our No. 4 golfer,” Ken Allender said. “Our top scorers must go lower than they did in the past. Mitchell and Kevin must get around even-par. If we put up a 306, I’ll take our chances. But I would feel better with a 302 or 303.”

A challenging regular-season schedule should prepare Providence for the postseason.

The 18th-ranked Pioneers will compete in nine 18-hole invitational tournaments with some of them featuring several top-20 teams. Those tournaments include the Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational next Saturday at Champions Pointe, the Legends Spring Preview on Saturday, April 19 and the New Castle Invitational on Saturday, May 24.

Providence’s most important regular-season tourney will be its own tournament, which is the Legends of Providence Invitational on Saturday, May 31 at Champions Pointe.

“It could be one of the best invitationals in the state. We have a lot of college scouts who come to watch our invitational,” Ken Allender said. “We’ve tried to increase the level of competition in our schedule.”


PROVIDENCE
• COACH: Ken Allender, fifth season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Mitchell Allender, Jr.; Kevin Crone, So.; Max Leist, So.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Evan Wilson, Jr.; Erich Day, Sr.; Austin Happel, Sr.; Ben Arnson, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: The Pioneers have the potential to earn a berth in the IHSAA State Finals. But they must find a reliable No. 4 golfer to achieve that goal. Providence also looks to give Floyd Central, which has won 11 consecutive sectional titles, a run for its money in the Providence Sectional this season.
• COACH ALLENDER SAYS: “From a class standpoint, we’re a little younger than in the past. Our potential is going to be really, really good. If we can develop, we could get back to state.”

REST OF THE AREA TEAMS

BORDEN
• COACH: Tony Wagoner, eighth season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Tony Wagoner III, Sr.; TJ Fraley, Sr.; Elijah Franklin, Jr.; Reilly Gray, So.; Kamden Hurst, So.; Niko Frascella, So.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Carte Hurst, Fr.; Josh Nunn, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: The Braves’ primary goal is to win the Southern Athletic Conference championship for the first time in program history. They definitely have the experience to do that with six returning letterwinners. Coach Wagoner hopes his players can build off shooting their lowest team score of the season at last year’s sectional.
• COACH WAGONER SAYS: “I believe we will be more competitive against other teams this year with Henryville, Silver Creek, North Harrison and Scottsburg being some of our tougher opponents. How well we play in the invitational at Wooded View [Golf Course on Saturday, April 12] and against those teams will be a gauge for us heading into conference and sectional.”

CHARLESTOWN
• COACH: Adam Tolliver.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Chris Ison, Sr.; Brady Christman, Jr.; John Watson, So.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Chris Shanks, Sr.; Brevin Stubbins, So.; Wyatt Payne, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: Tolliver is looking for Ison and Christman to each shoot in the mid 40s or lower in nine-hole matches on a consistent basis. The Pirates’ coach likes the improvement Watson has shown in his game. Former Charlestown standout Jake Atkins has returned to the team as an assistant coach.
• TOLLIVER SAYS: “Right now, we are still struggling with a shot or two per hole that aren’t being hit solid. If we can eliminate these, then all the guys have room to drop quite a few strokes from their rounds. All the guys are good kids so it will be an enjoyable season watching these guys improve their games as we move on.”

CLARKSVILLE
• COACH: Scott Schermerhorn, first season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Charlie Lauffer, Jr.; Brent Potter, Jr.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Keigan Fetz, Sr.; Cody Brunner, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: Lauffer is the only player back from last season’s team. Potter returns to the Generals this season after sitting out last year. Fetz is a transfer from Charlestown.
• SCHERMERHORN SAYS: “We’re going to go out there and try to have a good time. We hope to get better as the season goes on.”

EASTERN
• COACH: Jason Nelson, second season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Nick Emmert, So.; Evin Young, Jr.
• OUTLOOK: The Musketeers lack numbers as Nelson is trying to convince more kids to come out for the team. He said three freshmen might join his squad. If Nelson adds more players to his players, he will rely on Emmert and Young to provide them leadership.
• NELSON SAYS: “Evin and Nick are pretty solid players. We’re just trying to learn the game and learn how to compete.”

FLOYD CENTRAL
• COACH: Mike Cason, 14th season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Jack Sparrow, Sr.; Connor Welch, Sr.; Eric Lamm, Jr.; Clayton Crum, Jr.; Billy Sleight, Jr.; Logan Minzenberger, Jr.; David Shepard, So.
• OUTLOOK: The expectations remain the same for the Highlanders. Their goals are to win the Hoosier Hills Conference, the Providence Sectional and the Providence Regional and make a serious run at the state championship. Sparrow, Welch and Lamm provide Floyd Central lots of experience. But Cason says the production from the bottom part of his lineup will be critical this season. As always, the Highlanders will play a difficult schedule that will take them all over the state to face several ranked teams.
• CASON SAYS: “By the end of the season, I think we’ll be really good. Our three experienced guys got better over the summer. They have improved tremendously. Finding reliable fourth, fifth and sixth guys are going to be the key to our season.”

HENRYVILLE
• COACH: Robin Embry, 15th season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Luke Davidson, So.; Charlie Lefebvre, Jr.; Mason Edwards, So.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Cole Grimm, So.; Collin Scott, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: Embry thinks his top three golfers are pretty solid in Davidson, Lefebvre and Edwards. The question for the Hornets is who will step up to be a sound fourth golfer. Embry says Borden is the favorite to win the SAC.
• EMBRY SAYS: “The three players who are returning are greatly improved. I think we have three solid scores. We’ve just got to come up with a fourth.”

JEFFERSONVILLE
• COACH: Dusty Corum, third season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Dillon Willis, Sr.; Blaze Damron, Sr.; Nick Rasdon, Jr.; Jake Melin, So.; Andrew Baldwin, Jr.; Evan Craig, Jr.; Zack Brinkley, So.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Jordan Blackwell, So.
• OUTLOOK: The Red Devils expect to be more competitive this season with several veteran players back. But Corum says his players still have some room for improvement. The third-year coach thinks his team can finish in the middle of the pack at the HHC meet.
• CORUM SAYS: “Basically with the returning players we’ve got, we’re going to be more competitive. As for the rest of the players, we’ve got them for the future years. This will be a building year for us.”

NEW ALBANY
• COACH: Rick Belcher, 10th season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Addisson Greenwell, So..; Jonny Smith, Sr.; Bret Walts, Sr.; Kunal Bhanushali, Jr.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Cameron Walter, So.; Ethan Hunter, So.
• OUTLOOK: The Bulldogs look to return to the Providence Regional after not qualifying for it the past couple of seasons. Belcher has high expectations for his four returning lettermen, who he expects to lead New Albany back to regional. Belcher thinks Madison, Bedford North Lawrence and Columbus East each have a shot of contending with Floyd Central for the HHC championship.
• BELCHER SAYS: “I’m going to expect a lot from those top four players. I think they are pumped up, but we have to see what happens.”

NEW WASHINGTON
• COACH: Bret James, second season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Matthew Wilson, Jr.; Collin Schindler, Jr.; Caleb Griffith, Jr.; Dakota Dieterlen, Sr.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Seth Holloway, Fr.; Andrew Wilson, So.; Aaron Powell, So.; John Barger, So.; Isaac Smith; Michael Curry, Jr.; Allen Crews, Fr.
• OUTLOOK: Matthew Wilson is the leader of the Mustangs, who is comprised primarily of inexperienced players. James plans on playing Schindler at the No. 2 spot. Dieterlen played on the team his freshman year, but did not play as a sophomore or junior.
• JAMES SAYS: “Matt Wilson has some potential to be a nice little golfer. We have a bunch of kids on the golf team that want to play and want to learn. We’ve got good hard-working kids.”

ROCK CREEK
• COACH: Kaleb Lay, first season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Brett Kastetler, Sr.; Jeremiah Wilkinson, Sr.; Ben Hill, Jr.; Torin Jenkins, Jr.; Luke Thompson, Jr.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Max Vogen, Fr.; Evan Popp, Jr.
• OUTLOOK: Kastetler qualified for the Providence Regional last year after firing an 81 at the Madison Sectional. Kastetler has his sights set on returning to regional this year. Lay, a Silver Creek graduate, thinks Vogen and Wilkinson have a chance of making it out of sectional this season.
• LAY SAYS: “I’m expecting our No. 1 to do well and build on last year’s sectional. Our goal is to eventually make it out of the sectional as a team.”

SILVER CREEK
• COACH: Joe Ledbetter, 23rd season.
• RETURNING LETTERWINNERS: Sam Garr, Jr.; Ryan Baker, So.; Cody Zimmerman, So.; Cam Carder, Jr.; Dylan Dean, Jr.
• KEY NEWCOMERS: Phil Polston, Sr.
• OUTLOOK: Garr, who helped the Dragons’ boys’ basketball team win the Class 3A North Harrison Sectional last month, advanced to last season’s Providence Regional by shooting 76 at the sectional. He hopes to duplicate that feat this season. Ledbetter expects the Dragons to compete against Corydon Central and Scottsburg for this season’s Mid-Southern Conference title.
• LEDBETTER SAYS: “[Garr] is done with basketball now, so he can concentrate on golf. I don’t know how we stack up in the conference. Our sectional is still tough.”

Madison Sectional
6/3/2013 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Rock Creek Academy’s Bett Kasteler shot an 81 and beat Switzerland County’s Clint Swanson on a playoff hole to advance to Thursday’s Providence Regional.

Madison easily won the title with a 293, which was 25 strokes ahead of runner-up Jennings County. Scottsburg was the third team to advance.

Henryville finished sixth with a 365. The Hornets were led by Luke Davidson and Mitchell Fields, who each shot a 16-over-par 88.

Charlestown finished 10th overall. Chris Braun’s 82 — one stroke from advancing — led the Pirates.

New Washington placed 12th and was paced by Collin Schindler’s 104.

Madison 293, Jennings County 318, Scottsburg 331, Rising Sun 335, Southwestern 344, Henryville 365 (Fields 88, Davidson 88, Hairston 93, Edwards 96, Lefebvre 102), Shawe 369, Switzerland County 379, South Ripley 390, Charlestown 392, Austin 492, New Washington 497, Rock Creek Academy NTS

Madison Sectional Preview
6/1/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Three Clark County teams — Charlestown, Henryville and New Washington — have been moved from the Providence Sectional to the Madison Sectional this season. Those three teams will join fellow Clark County school Rock Creek Academy, which has participated in the Madison Sectional the past few years. The sectional will take place on Monday at Sunrise Golf Club in Madison.

Henryville coach Robin Embry says the host Cubs are the favorites to win the sectional, while Jennings County is expected to finish second.

Embry says Rising Sun and Scottsburg, which also switches from the Providence Sectional to the Madison Sectional this year, to be the top contenders for third place. But Embry believes there is a possibility that someone outside the projected top four will battle for third.

“You’ve got to play well to get into the top four and possibly the top three,” Embry said. “But it’s high school golf — anything can happen.”

Henryville loses regular-season finale
5/30/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

MEMPHIS — The Henryville boys’ golf team suffered a dual-meet loss to Trinity Lutheran at Champions Pointe Golf Club on Thursday in its regular-season finale, 179-184.

Freshman Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a 43. Henryville’s Mason Edwards, Cole Hairston and Bailey Reister each shot a 47 to round out the Hornets’ scoring.

“Luke has played consistent for us all year,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “But we need other guys to get their scores toward the low 40s.”

Trinity Lutheran (179): Terry 41, Criswell 42, Pottschmidt 45, Herweber 51, Rodriquez 62
Henryville (184): Davidson 43, Reister 47, Edwards 47, Hairston 47, Fields 49, Furnish 50, Lefebvre 51, Freitus 61
Salem (WD):

Borden nips Henryvlle in 18-hole match
5/24/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

SELLERSBURG — In an 18-hole dual match on Friday at Covered Bridge Golf Club, the Borden boys’ golf team shot a team score of 361 to edge West Clark rival Henryville. The Hornets fired a 368.

It was a good warm-up for the Braves, who will play in the Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge on Monday, June 3.

Junior Tony Wagoner III topped the Borden scorecard with an 84. Teammate T.J. Fraley shot a 91, while Braves’ freshman Reilly Gray carded a 92. Also for Borden, freshman Kamden Hurst shot a 94 and sophomore Elijah Franklin had a 96.

Henryville freshman Luke Davidson earned medalist honors with an 83. Rounding out the scoring for the Hornets were senior Mitchell Fields with a 90, Mason Edwards with a 97 and sophomore Charlie Lefebvre with a 98. Henryville senior Cameron Furnish recorded a 105.

“Hats off to the Borden kids. They shot really well on the front side,” Hornets’ coach Robin Embry said. “As for our kids, we still need to fill a couple of holes. We need to start shooting in the high 80s to low 90s instead of the mid to high 90s.”

Borden (361): Wagoner 84, Fraley 91, Gray 92, Hurst 94, Franklin 96
Henryville (368): Davidson 83, Fields 90, Edwards 97, Lefebvre 98, Furnish 105, Reister 107; Hairston 88, Freitus 108

Hornets second at Sunrise
5/22/2013 by Sports (News & Tribune)

Henryville finished second in a three-way meet at Sunrise Golf Club in Madison on Wednesday.

The Hornets shot a 178 — 24 shots behind first-place Jennings County. Madison Shawe didn’t field a complete team.

Luke Davidson and Mason Edwards led Henryville with 43 apiece at the par-36 course. The Hornet duo was nine shots off the mark set by Jennings medalist Jake Simmons.

Bailey Reister shot a 45, Charlie Lefebvre a 47 and Cameron Furnish a 51 for Henryville.

Jennings County (154): Simmons 34, Copeland 38, Donnell 40, Sharp 42, Ralston 44, Clerkin 47
Henryville (178): Davidson 43, Edwards 43, Reister 45, Lefebvre 47, Furnish 51, Fields 52, Freitus 59
Shawe (NTS): Mingione 39, Fry 42, Petterson 44

Hornets take conference crown
5/18/2013 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

SOUTHERN INDIANA — Henryville won its second straight Southern Athletic Conference championship and its eighth in nine years on Saturday at Championship Pointe Golf Club.

It took a strong performance by all five Hornets.

The top four Henryville players all shot under 100 to help the Hornets shoot a 372 and edge Crothersville by one stroke and Borden by two.

“It like the way our kids hung in there and played consistently,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said.

Freshman Luke Davidson led the way for the Hornets with a critical 83. He was three strokes behind medalist Brian Money of Crothersville.

Mitchell Fields shot a 95, Cameron Furnish a 96, Charlie Lefebvre a 98 and Mason Edwards a 101 for Henryville.

“We always want to win conference,” Embry said. “That’s definitely always a goal for us.”

Borden had three all-conference performers in T.J. Fraley, who shot a 91, and Tony Wagoner III and Kamden Hurst, who both completed the course in 93 shots. Reilly Gray shot a 97 for the Braves.

Matt Wilson led New Washington with a 110.

Henryville 372 (Davidson 83, Fields 95, Furnish 96, Lefevbre 98, Edwards 101), Crothersville 373, Borden 374, Lanesville 392, South Central 426, New Washington 504

Conference Golf Preview: Hornets to vie for another SAC title at Champions Pointe
5/17/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville will try to win its second consecutive SAC championship and its eighth conference crown in nine seasons on Saturday at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis.

“I think we have a good chance, but it’ll take a good round,” said Hornets’ coach Robin Embry, whose team ended up fifth in the Southern Indiana Open with a 366. “I have a lot of confidence in our players. However, it’s only one day — you have to play well that day.

“We’ve been improving throughout the season. We’re still a bit inconsistent, but we’re working on it.”

Champions Pointe is Henryville’s home course. But Embry thinks playing at home will only give his players a small edge.

“I think it’s a slight advantage for any team playing on their home course,” Embry said. “However, I think all the teams have played it this season, so there will be no surprises for anyone.”

Embry expects this year’s SAC meet to be very competitive. One team that has a chance to be in the SAC title mix is Borden, which ended up eighth at the Southern Indiana Open.

“It should be close. Five of the six schools are capable of winning,” Embry said. “It comes down to your performance on that day.”

New Washington also is scheduled to play in the SAC meet on Saturday.

Hornets take first in tri-meet
5/16/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville fired a team score of 162 to win a triangular meet on Thursday at Hidden Creek Golf Club’s Links Nine course. Silver Creek finished second with a 172, followed by Austin with a 237.

Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a 37, followed by teammate Mason Edwards with a 39. Also for Henryville, Mitchell Fields carded a 42 and Charlie Lefebvre and Cameron Furnish each shot a 44.

“We’re improving. The kids are working hard and the hard work is starting to pay off,” Hornets’ coach Robin Embry said.

The Dragons’ Sam Garr earned medalist honors with an even-par 35. Rounding out the scoring for Silver Creek were Cody Zimmerman with a 43, Nick Tinsley with a 45 and Ryan Baker with a 49.

Henryville (162): Davidson 37, Edwards 39, Fields 42, Furnish 44, Lefebvre 44, Reister 49
Silver Creek (172): Garr 35, Zimmerman 43, Tinsley 45, Baker 49, Moore 50, Dean 51
Austin (237): Carter 42, Barrett 63, Bowman 64, Mullins 68

Pioneers dominate Southern Indiana Open
5/11/2013 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

JEFFERSONVILLE — All five Providence boys’ golfers shot 88 or better as the Pioneers won the Southern Indiana Open at Hidden Creek Golf Club by 14 strokes on Saturday.

Cory Cahalan led the Pioneers and tied West Washington’s Brady Millholland for medalist honors with a 77 before falling to Millholland in a playoff.

Max Hupp added a 79 on the par-72 course. Kevin Crone shot an 81, Mitchell Allender an 83 and Robert Waiz an 88 for Providence. The Pioneers shot 320 as a team.

New Albany finished runner-up to the 18th-ranked Pioneers, led by Garrett Arnold, who was third overall with a 78. Kunal Bhanushali finished 12th with an 84 for the Bulldogs.

Jeff finished third in the meet as Jordan Lacy and Dillion Willis tied for fifth with 81s. Dalton Naisor was a shot behind his teammates.

Clarksville’s Nick Cappola tied Crone, Lacy, Willis and Scottsburg’s Luke Taylor for fifth place overall. Henryville finished fifth as a team with a 366, led by 14th-place Luke Davidson’s 85. Mitchell Fields finished his round in 90 shots and Cole Hairston finished in 94 for the Hornets.

“Overall, we played pretty well,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “However, each of the guys had a couple of holes that hurt their total. We’ll keep improving because these guys will keep working.”

Borden finished eighth with a 377. Reilly Gray had a Braves-best 89, T.J. Fraley shot a 92 and Tony Waggoner III a 96.

Andrew Shaw shot an 88 and Chris Braun an 89 for Charlestown, which finished 12th. Sam Garr led 14th-place Silver Creek with a 98. Jayson Arrell had a team-best 92 for Christian Academy.

Providence 320, New Albany 334, Jeffersonville 338, Scottsburg 343, Henryville 366 (Davidson 85, Fields 90, Hairston 94, Edwards 97, Furnish 98), North Harrison 371, Southwestern (Hanover) 373, Borden 377, Providence JV 379, West Washinton 379, Lanesville 390, Charlestown 395, Clarksville 432, Silver Creek 433, CAI NTS

Hornets win dual meet
5/9/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville had two players shoot in the high 30s as it won a dual meet over an incomplete Christian Academy team on Thursday at Hidden Creek Golf Club’s Links Nine course.

The Hornets shot a team score of 161, with Cameron Furnish firing a 38 and Luke Davidson shooting a 39. The Warriors’ Jayson Arrell was the medalist with a 37, while teammate Chris Kidd had a 39.

Henryville (161): Furnish 38, Davidson 39, Edwards 40, Fields 44, Reister 44, Hairston 44, Lefebvre 49
CAI (NTS): Arrell 37, Kidd 39, Bilkey 62

Hornets win tri-meet
5/6/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Medalist Luke Davidson shot a 42 and Mason Edwards had a 43 to lead Henryville to a triangular-meet home victory over South Central and Christian Academy on Monday. The Warriors’ Jayson Arrell carded a 47.

Henryville (182): Davidson 42, Edwards 43, Furnish 45, Fields 52, Reister 52, Hairston 53; Lefebvre 51, Freitus 67
South Central (205): Gabhart 47, Day 52, Hentrup 53, Stopinski 53, Hess 58
CAI (236): Arrell 47, Kidd 50, Bilkey 69, Cooley 70

Hornets lose a heartbreaker
5/4/2013 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Henryville led Saturday’s Hauser Invitational at the turn, but Morristown came from behind to edge the Hornets.

Morristown shot a tournament-best 363, one stroke ahead of Henryville.

“We’re improving, but that’s a tough loss,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “We struggled to close the round. We lost several strokes on the last few holes. Obviously, every stroke counts. One stroke better and we win by fifth-player tiebreaker. However, two weeks ago we were in the 380s and today we shot in the 360s. Hopefully we can continue that rate of improvement.”

Luke Davidson and Mitchell Fields tied for team-best honors with an 88, which was tied for fifth in the meet. Cameron Furnish finished the round in 92 strokes and Mason Edwards shot a 96 for the Hornets, who were the only team with five golfers under 100.

Morristown 363, Henryville 364 (Davidson 88, Fields 88, Furnish 92, Edwards 96, Reister 99), Trinity Lutheran 377, Hauser 381, Triton Central 381, Edinburgh 396, Southwestern (Shelby) 401

Henryville wins at Chariot Run
4/30/2013

Henryville (184): Davidson 44, Fields 45, Furnish 46, Reister 49, Hairston 50, Edwards 51; Lefebvre 56
South Central (194): Hentrup 47, Stopinski 47, Day 48, Grabhart 52, Hess 66
Charlestown (213): Braun 47, Shaw 48, Donahue 59, Ison 59, Christman 61
Rock Creek Academy (217): Casteller 40, Wilkinson 56, Hill 59, Jenkins 62, Thompson 64

Hornets win West Clark Shootout
4/25/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Silver Creek’s Sam Garr tied the meet record in the West Clark Shootout on Thursday at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis. The triangular meet used the modified Stableford scoring system.

Garr’s score was 13, sharing the meet record with former Dragon Brandon White and ex-Henryville player Evan Embry.

The Hornets won the meet with a team score of two, followed by Silver Creek with a minus-11 and Borden with a minus-16.

Freshman Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a score of three, while teammate Mason Edwards had a one.

“It was a good win. The conditions were a bit tough, but it was the same for everybody,” Hornets’ coach Robin Embry said. “Sam Garr played a nice round. That was some good golf from him.”

Henryville (2): Davidson 3, Edwards 1, Fields 0, Lefebvre -2, Furnish -13, Hairston -13 
Silver Creek (-11): Garr 13, Baker -4, Tinsley -9, Moore -11, Dean -13, Zimmerman -17   
Borden (-16): Wagoner 4, Hurst -6, Gray -7, Franklin -7, Frazcella -10, Vick -18

Hornets prevail in quad meet
4/23/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Henryville fired a team score of 169 to win a quadrangular meet on Tuesday at Hidden Creek Golf Club’s Links Nine course. Lanesville finished second with a 171, followed by Charlestown (189) and Rock Creek Academy (205).

The Lions’ Brett Castetler collected medalist honors with a 38. Luke Davidson led the Hornets with a 39, followed by teammate Cole Hairston with a 41.

Senior Chris Braun paced the Pirates with a 41.

Henryville (169): Davidson 39, Hairston 41, Furnish 44, Fields 45, Edwards 46, Reister 48; Lefebvre 37, Freitus 60
Lanesville (171): Wells 40, Shepherd 42, Cox 44, Petty 45, Ferree 57
Charlestown (189): Braun 41, Shaw 48, Donahue 50, Ison 50, Christman 58
Rock Creek (205): Castettler 38, Wilkinson 50, Hill 55, Thompson 62, Jenkins 65

Pioneers finish third, Hornets seventh at Sunrise
4/20/2013 by Jon Reiter (News & Tribune)

Providence shot a 364 and Henryville a 385 at Saturday’s Madison Shawe Invitational, which was won by Madison.

Max Leist led the Pioneers with a 36 and Luke Davidson & Mason Edwards had a Henryville-best 92 at Sunrise Golf Course.

Madison’s Jordan Griffith won medalist honors with a par-72.

Madison 310, Jennings County 349, Providence 364, Shawe 364, South Decatur 372, Southwestern 383, Henryville 385 (Davidson 92, Edwards 92, Furnish 100, Fields 101, Reister 104)

Weeks top Performances
4/13-19/2013 by Jon Reiter (News & Tribune)

• Mitchell Allender, Providence: Allendar’s meet-best 36 helped the Pioneers edge Corydon Central 152-154 at Covered Bridge on Tuesday.

• Jayson Arrell, Christian Academy: Arrell shot a 37 to lead all golfers in the Warriors’ 204-223 win over Rock Creek on Monday.

• Luke Davidson, Henryville: Davidson had a match-best 40 on the par-40 Shadowood Course as Henryville defeated Trinity Lutheran 188-201 on Monday.

• Tony Wagoner III, Borden: Wagoner shot a 46 to pace the Braves in Thursday’s 192-197 loss to Lanesville at Old Capitol in Corydon.

Hornets win at Shadowood
4/15/2013 by Kevin Harris & Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Henryville went to Seymour and defeated Trinity Lutheran 188-201 at Shadowood Golf Club on Monday.

Henryville freshman Luke Davidson earned medalist honors with a 4-over-par 36. Mitchell Fields shot a 47 and Cole Hairston a 50 for the Hornets.

Henryville (188): Davidson 40, Fields 47, Hairston 50, Reister 51, Lefebvre 58, Furnish 59; Freitus 62
Trinity Lutheran (201): Criswell 43, Terry 46, Pottschmidt 55, Rodriguez 57, Herweger 60

Embry continues to support Henryville boys’ golf program
4/15/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

HENRYVILLE — Last year as a senior on the Henryville High School boys’ golf team, Evan Embry provided a lot of guidance to his teammates as he qualified for his only IHSAA State Finals.

Even though Embry has graduated from HHS, he is still giving advice to the Hornet golfers.

Embry, who is attending Indiana University Southeast this semester, is now a volunteer assistant coach at Henryville. Despite not playing the links this spring as a member of the Hornets, Embry has enjoyed being around his former teammates.

“I definitely miss playing, but it has been a good experience helping the guys out,” Embry said.

Current Henryville senior Cameron Furnish says having Embry back as an assistant has been beneficial for the entire team.

“He has come back and coached us some, which is really cool,” Furnish said. “He has helped the people that are back this year that knew him before. They saw what he can do and they obviously listen to him. He helps out a whole lot.”

Whether Embry is playing or coaching, Hornet senior Mitchell Fields says Embry’s message remains the same to the Henryville players.

Photos by Joe Ullrich & C. E. Branham

“He tells us to stay positive. He’s very uplifting,” Fields said. “He was always positive [as a player] and never let his emotions show.”

During his brief stint as an assistant, Embry has been trying to encourage the Hornets to work hard on their games and overachieve on the course.

“The main thing I tell them is they can be as good as they want to be. If you’re going to be just average at golf, you won’t be successful,” Embry said.

Embry is one of the most accomplished golfers in Henryville history. He is the second Hornet to ever play in the state finals, with the first being Konrad Guernsey in 1999.

Embry holds the school record for the lowest nine-hole score at 30. He made the All-Southern Athletic Conference team in each of his four seasons at Henryville. In fact, he was the medalist at the SAC meet during all four years of his prep career.

Henryville coach Robin Embry, Evan’s uncle, says his nephew is a major role model for his current players.

“There is no doubt that he’s one of the best that we’ve had,” Robin Embry said. “They look up to him not only in how he scored, but how he conducted himself. That’s a bonus for not only the older kids, but the younger kids as well.”

The Hornets have had three meets this season, and so far they have done well without Embry in the lineup.

Henryville has won all three meets — all of which were nine-hole triangular meets — with an average team score of 186.7.

The Hornets have benefited from the addition of five freshmen, especially Luke Davidson. The rookie has earned medalist honors in each of the three meets. Davidson fired 39s in the first two meets of the season and shared medalist honors with Fields with a 44 in last Wednesday’s meet at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis, the Hornets’ home course.

“Our best freshman has posted a couple of sub-40 rounds in less than ideal conditions, and that’s been a big boost,” said Robin Embry, who also has sophomores Bailey Reister and Charlie Lefebvre on his roster. “Will his score be 10 strokes lower in four years from a 39? I doubt it. But I think his consistency will get better.”

The other freshmen on the team are Mason Edwards, Kody Freitus, Cole Grimm and Cole Hairston.

“It‘s a good group,” Robin Embry said about his freshmen. “It’s one of the best classes from a numbers and a talent standpoint.”

Furnish says the freshmen have made a big impact during the 2013 season.

“I think our season has been going pretty good,” Furnish said. “Our freshmen that we’ve got this year have been pulling through super strong. They’ve been pulling in really low scores for us. They’ve actually helped us out a lot.”

If there is one area the Hornets have been working on a lot lately, it is their short game. Fields says chipping and putting are points of emphasis in practice.

“We’re starting to show improvement there,” Fields said.

When the postseason arrives, the Hornets will be playing in a new sectional. They will play in the Madison Sectional at Sunrise Golf Club in Madison after competing in the Providence Sectional the past few seasons.

Robin Embry, who is in his 14th season at Henryville, sees some positives in playing in the Madison Sectional, like not having to play perennial state powers Floyd Central and Providence in the Providence Sectional. The top three teams at sectional advance to the regional.

“It will be tough to get one of the top three spots [at Madison],” said Robin Embry, who will be joined by fellow area teams Charlestown and New Washington at the Madison Sectional. “But I do think you have to remember not only was Floyd and Providence getting one of the top three sports in the sectional, many times they are getting the top three spots in our regional.

“I don’t want to say it will be easier [to get out of the Madison Sectional], but there hasn’t been a lot of state finals teams that have come out of that sectional.”

For the Week
4/6-12/2013 (News & Tribune)

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK

Luke Davidson, Henryville: The Hornet freshman earned medalist honors with a 39 in a three-way meet against Madison Shawe and Eastern last Monday at Champions Pointe.

WEEK’S TOP PERFORMANCES

• Jack Sparrow, Floyd Central: Sparrow had a team-best 76 in last Saturday’s Hall of Fame Classic at the par-72 Rock Hollow Golf Club in Rochester.

• Mitchell Fields, Henryville: Fields tied Davidson for a team- and meet-best 44 in Wednesday’s win over Borden and Charlestown at Champions Pointe.

• Conner Welch, Floyd Central: Welch led a balanced Highlander attack with a Floyd-best and medalist one-over-par 37 in a big dual meet against Providence on Tuesday at Covered Bridge.

Henryville gets by Borden, Charlestown
4/10/2013 by Matt Koesters (News & Tribune)

Mitchell Fields and Luke Davidson each shot at 44 at Champions Pointe on Wedneday to help Henryville defeat Borden and Charlestown.

Chris Braun led Charlestown with a 46 and Tony Wagoner shot a Borden-best 47 on the par-36 course.

Henryville (187): Fields 44, Davidson 44, Furnish 49, Reister 50, Edwards 52, Lefebvre 52; Hairston 52, Freitus 64
Borden (197):
Charlestown (216):

Henryville tops Shawe, Eastern
4/8/2013 by Greg Mengelt (News & Tribune)

Luke Davidson shot a 39 to help Henryville shoot a 186 and defeat Madison Shawe and Eastern at Champions Pointe Golf Club on Monday.

Mason Edwards shot a 48 and Mitchell Fields a 49 for the Hornets. Tyler Neal’s 47 led the Musketeers.

Henryville (186): Davidson 39, Edwards 48, Fields 49, Furnish 50, Reister 51, Lefebvre 55; Hairston 51, Freitus 69
Shawe (220): Mingione 42, Russ 57, Peterson 58, Hambrose 63
Eastern (Pekin) (226): Neal 47, Young 55, Emmert 60, Hein 64

Hornets win tri-meet
4/4/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

Luke Davidson shot a 39 to earn medalist honors, leading Henryville to a triangular-meet victory at Champions Pointe Golf Club. Christian Academy’s Jayson Arrell fired a 47 as the Warriors fielded an incomplete team.

Henryville (187): Davidson 39, Edwards 46, Reister 51, Lefebvre 51, Fields 52, Furnish 53; Hairston 49, Freitus 64
Crothersville (212): Money 49, Petty 53, Doyle 55, Ludeman 55, Comer 60, Street 72
CAI (NTS): Arrell 47, Kidd 50, Cooley 72

Golf Preview: FC still has some work to do
4/1/2013 by Kevin Harris (News & Tribune)

FLOYDS KNOBS — On paper, it appears the Floyd Central boys’ golf team has a great chance to vie for another state championship this season.

The Highlanders have three key players back from their team that finished fifth in the 2012 IHSAA State Finals at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin. Coaches across the state have taken notice of Floyd Central’s potential in 2013 by ranking it third in the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association preseason poll.

But as far as Highlanders’ coach Mike Cason is concerned, this team has some work to do if it is going to reach the state finals for the fifth consecutive season and win the program’s third state title.

...

On Saturday, April 13, the Highlanders will play in the Tiger Invitational at Stonehedge Golf Club in Winona Lake, followed by the Spring Preview tournament on Saturday, April 20 at The Legends Golf Club. Floyd Central also will compete in the Bloomington North Invitational on Saturday, May 4 at the Indiana University course in Bloomington.

“We’re going to be playing a lot of different courses this year, so that should get us ready for state,” Cason said.

REST OF THE AREA TEAMS

BORDEN - Led by juniors Tony Wagoner III and T.J. Fraley, coach Tony Wagoner II says it is one of the most talented teams he has had since he took over the Braves. But Borden is young with sophomore Elijah Franklin and freshmen Reilly Gray, Kamden Hurst and Niko Frascella.

“I think we’ll show a lot of improvement this season,” the elder Wagoner said. “We play in four 18-hole invitationals and an 18-hole match with Henryville, so that should help us.”

CHARLESTOWN - The Pirates’ top two players are seniors Chris Braun and Jordan Scott, and sophomore Brady Christman is one of C’town’s key returnees. Coach Adam Tolliver expects contributions from freshmen Cody Donahue and Andrew Shaw.

“I think Braun and Jordan will carry us,” Tolliver said. “[Braun’s] got a good attitude and will probably shoot in the low 40s for us.”

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY - Senior Jayson Arrell hopes this is the year he advances to regional. He came up two strokes shy of making it out of sectional as a sophomore and missed a regional berth by one shot at last year’s sectional.

Arrell’s supporting cast will be senior Chris Kidd, who Warriors’ coach Tim Byrd said has improved his game in the offseason, and freshmen Nathan Bilkey and Logan Cooley.

CLARKSVILLE - Senior Nick Cappola will be the Generals’ No. 1 player as he was one stroke shy of advancing to regional at last year’s sectional. Cappola’s teammates are Bryce Henry, Charlie Lauffer and Luis Bisoso.

EASTERN - New coach Jason Nelson has the Musketeers’ No. 1 player back in Tyler Neal and welcomes a talented freshman in Nicholas Emmert.

“We’re still trying to figure out what we can do,” Nelson said. “Our goal is to get better every day and so far we’ve been doing that.”

HENRYVILLE - The Hornets will have their hands full trying to fill the void left by Evan Embry, who qualified for state last season. Henryville has two seniors in Mitchell Fields and Cameron Furnish, a pair of sophomores in Bailey Reister and Charlie Lefebvre and five freshmen.

“Our goals, individually and as a team, are to be competitive in all events, win our conference, and advance in the state tournament,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “However, my main goal each season for each player is to commit themselves, develop a great work ethic, and to play with integrity and character. When we do this, the other stuff takes care of itself.”

JEFFERSONVILLE - Coach Dusty Corum welcomes back three players to his top five in seniors Jordan Lacy and Dalton Naiser and junior Dillon Willis. Junior Blayze Damron and sophomore Evan Craig move up into the top five, and Corum expects contributions from freshman Jake Mellon and Zach Brinkly.

“We’ve got a lot of guys and they’ve shown improvement from last year. As for overall performance, we’re looking to be better than we were last year,” Corum said. “Dalton Naiser and Jordan Lacy will be the two key players to carry the team forward.”

NEW ALBANY - The Bulldogs have four veteran players back in seniors Garrett Arnold and Dustin Miller and juniors Jonny Smith and Bret Walts. New Albany coach Rick Belcher also says freshman Addison Greenwell has lots of potential.

“We’re fairly good. We’ve got a lot of upperclassmen,” Belcher said. “Bret has really worked on his game. Addison is going to be on the golf course every day. Those young kids are going to get better and probably push those top kids to get better, I hope.”

NEW WASHINGTON - The Mustangs’ top two players are sophomores Matthew Wilson and Jake Zimmerman, while senior Wesley Napier returns to the team after a two-year hiatus. New Washington has three sophomore newcomers who have never played golf before in Collin Schindler, Nolan Burton and Caleb Griffith.

“Our No. 1 and 2 golfers have room to improve, no doubt,” new Mustangs’ coach Bret James said. “But I think we can get them where they need to be.”

PROVIDENCE - A veteran roster returns for the Pioneers, who will try to make their sixth state finals trip in a row. Senior Cory Cahalan will lead the squad and should get lots of support from seniors Max Hupp and Robert Waiz and sophomore Mitchell Allender.

Providence also have a couple of talented freshmen in Kevin Crone and Max Leist. Crone paced the Pioneers at Saturday’s Zoeller Invitational with a 76.

The Pioneers will be tested by a tough schedule that includes the Spring Preview meet at Legends, the Bloomington North Invitational and the Legends of Providence Invitational on Saturday, May 25 at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis.

“This team has the potential to be better than the teams from the last two years. If everybody can step up a couple of strokes, I think we can be hard to deal with during the season,” Providence coach Ken Allender said. “Our schedule is also very challenging. We’ve got four of the biggest invitationals in the state that we’re going to, so we’re going to face a lot of top-notch opponents in the state.”

SILVER CREEK - With four sophomores and one freshman, the Dragons have lots of room for improvement. They will be led by sophomore Sam Garr, who has a shot of qualifying for regional this year according to Silver Creek coach Joe Ledbetter.

The rest of the Dragons’ lineup includes sophomores Max Moore, Nick Tinsley and Dylan Dean and freshman Cody Zimmerman.

“As a group, we’re still inexperienced,” Ledbetter said. “Sam is our most experienced player by far. He has played lots of summer golf, and he works hard on his game. Max has improved.”

Note: Information on Rock Creek Academy’s boys’ golf team could not be obtained at press time.

2013 PGA Jr. League Golf
3/11/2013 (News & Tribune)

Click here for information concerning the 2013 PGA Jr. League Golf  season at Champions Pointe golf club.

Summer season ends
8/6/2012

Ex-Hornet, Evan Embry played in four events. He finished T32 (72/80) at the Indiana Section Jr. PGA Championship held at Honeywell Golf Course in Wabash, IN. At Quail Crossing (Booneville, IN), he played in two events. The first was the Southern Junior Masters as he fired a 146 (74/72) finishing in 5th place. Two days later he qualified for the Boys State Junior Championship, carding a 3rd place 74. In his final event, the IGA Boys State Junior Championship at Purdue University's Kampen GC, he shot 157 (75/82) to advance to the match play rounds for his second consecutive year.


MR. CONSISTENT: Floyd Central's Shepard earns Player of the Year
6/24/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

FLOYDS KNOBS — For his role in leading the Floyd Central boys’ golf team to a fifth-place finish at the state championship meet, Daniel Shepard is the News and Tribune’s Area Player of the Year.

“He just had a really good season,” Floyd Central coach Mike Cason said. “He was consistent all season.”

“I think it’s an honor. I didn’t really expect it,” Shepard said. “I’m thankful for my coach in helping me along, and my parents and stuff.”

Shepard averaged a score of 37.6 strokes per nine holes, playing on some of the state’s toughest courses and some of its toughest competition. But when it came to his best performance of the year, Shepard saved his for last.

At The Legends of Indiana Golf Club in Franklin on the second day of the state meet, three Highlanders picked a bad time to have bad days, shooting in the 80s. Shepard buoyed his team with an even-par 72, preventing a further slide down the leaderboard.

Cason credits Shepard’s coachability and willingness to work for his improvement as a player.

“Going back to his freshman year, we knew he had some talent, but he had a really bad golf swing, and as coaches we told him what he needed to do to change that swing,” Cason said. “He has really worked hard to change his swing and become a much, much better golfer.”

Shepard hasn’t stopped improving. Nor is he willing to stop working to keep getting better.

“My short game has really improved from last year and throughout the season,” Shepard said. “I think I need to be a little more consistent off the tee and getting myself into play.”

The Highlanders lost two seniors to graduation this season, but three players will return. Cason described Shepard as a quiet leader, but expects him to become more vocal next season.

“Jay (Holderman) was a really good leader, and would pump us up before tournaments and matches, and I might do that more next year,” Shepard said. “But we’re going to have three seniors, and three of us together will be the leaders.”

Shepard and fellow All-Area Team members Devin Jenkins and Jack Sparrow know that a state championship is still possiblie.

“State’s definitely attainable. We’d definitely like to do better than we did this year, and we’re just going to work as hard as we can and hope for the best,” Shepard said. “We’re going to try hard to get that state championship.”

Also joining Shepard, Jenkins and Sparrow on the All-Area Team are Providence’s Bryce Very and Henryville’s Evan Embry.

Very led his team to the state meet and continued on after the Highlanders failed to get past Day 1.

Embry made it all the way to the state meet after advancing past the sectional as an individual. Embry shattered several school records during the regular season.

Photos by C.E. Branham

ALL-AREA TEAM (Boys' Golf): Daniel Shepard*, Floyd Central; Evan Embry, Henryville; Jack Sparrow, Floyd Central; Devin Jenkins, Floyd Central; Bryce Very, Providence

Honorable mentions: Jay Holderman, Floyd Central; Austin Peckham, Floyd Central; Cory Cahalan, Providence; Corey Embry, New Albany.


FC keeps grinding
6/12/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

FRANKLIN — The Floyd Central boys’ golf team’s first-round team score at the IHSAA State Finals on Tuesday at The Legends Golf Club did not measure up to its capabilities.

Still, the fifth-ranked Highlanders are in the thick of the race to capture their third state championship.

Floyd Central is currently tied for fourth place with No. 19 Indianapolis Cathedral after shooting a team score of 308 on Tuesday. The Highlanders enter today’s final round just five strokes behind first-place and top-ranked Columbus North.

The top nine teams and squads within 12 shots of first place made the cut for today’s final round.

“We are real happy to be only five shots behind. We’ll get ready for (today),” Floyd Central head coach Mike Cason said.

In a rare instance this season, the Highlanders did not have five players shoot in the 70s.

Only three Floyd Central players fired scores in the 70s. Junior Devin Jenkins recorded the Highlanders’ lowest score with a 2-over-par 74. Jenkins made two birdies and went up-and-down for par on 12 holes.

Fellow FC junior Daniel Shepard carded a 75, as his lone birdie was on the par-3 third hole. Highlander senior Austin Peckham shot a 79, while teammates Jay Holderman and Jack Sparrow had an 80 and 82, respectively.

Floyd Central appeared to be in contention for the lead during the first two-thirds of the first round.

The Highlanders were 7-over-par during the first 12 holes. But they struggled down the stretch as they were 13-over for the final six holes.

Like the rest of the field, the Floyd Central players had to battle an evil crosswind throughout the round. The wind affected scores mightily, as only six individual players shot under par and no team recorded a score of 300 or lower.

“The course played difficult and the wind made it difficult,” Cason said. “I told the kids all day, ‘Scores are going to be high — keep grinding, keep grinding.’”

It marks the fourth consecutive year the Highlanders have made the first-round cut at the state finals. They have placed fourth in the state finals in each of the past three seasons.

Providence did not advance as a team to today’s final round, as it finished in a tie for 16th place with No. 15 Zionsville. The Pioneers fired a team score of 324.

But two Providence players earned berths in the final round in junior Cory Cahalan and senior Bryce Very. The top nine individuals on non-advancing squads and players who were within four strokes of the first-round lead made the cut for the final round.

Cahalan led the Pioneers with a 1-over 73, as he is currently ninth overall. He hit 13 greens in regulation, making three birdies and 11 pars.

Cahalan’s 73 showed how much he has improved since last year’s opening round of the state finals when he fired an 85.

“I think it’s great for him,” Providence head coach Ken Allender said. “Last year, he shot an 85 so what a turnaround for him as he almost shot even-par and he made the second day. He just stayed steady and didn’t get in trouble.”

Very had an adventurous day at Legends as he recorded a 75. But the IUPUI recruit’s score was the seventh-lowest among individuals on non-advancing teams, good enough to qualify for the final round.

Very made three birdies, but had four bogeys and one double bogey. He also was involved in one of the strangest moments of the day when he hit a bird in mid-air on one of his approach shots.

“He had some funny things happen to him. It was just one of those days,” Allender said.

Also for Providence, Mitchell Allender shot an 83, Max Hupp recorded a 93 and Robert Waiz had a 96.

Coach Allender said the gusty winds had a big effect on the Pioneers’ scores.

“If you get it up in the air, the ball can run anywhere,” the Providence boss said. “When you get the ball in a crosswind, it can get away from you.”

In his first state finals appearance, Henryville senior Evan Embry ended his career with a 5-over 77, missing the cut by two shots. Despite knocking in four birdies, Embry had three bogeys and three double bogeys. The double bogeys occurred on the sixth, 11th and 18th holes.

“The three double bogeys were the difference. Just a few holes turned a 71 or 72 into a 77,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “I think he was prepared and ready to go. He felt good and he felt comfortable. He played well other than those three holes.”

Coach Embry said Evan Embry has drawn interest from Oakland City University and Marian University about continuing his golf career. Plus Bellarmine watched the Hornet standout play on Tuesday.

“I’m pretty confident he will play at the next level,” Robin Embry said.

IHSAA STATE FINALS
at The Legends Golf Club, Franklin, par-72

(Top nine teams and teams within 12 strokes of the first-round lead advance to today’s final round. Top nine individuals on non-advancing teams or players within four shots of the overall leader qualify for the final round.)

Team scores — Columbus North 303, Brebeuf Jesuit 305, Warsaw 307, Floyd Central 308, Indianapolis Cathedral 308, Carmel 309, Jasper 311, Evansville Harrison 311, Penn 312, Fort Wayne Dwenger 313; missing the cut: Heritage Hills 316, Westfield 317, Noblesville 318, West Lafayette 321, Northridge 322, Zionsville 324, Providence 324, Martinsville 327, Valparaiso 329, Tipton 330, Mishawaka Marian 337.

Henryville — Embry 77 (Finished T25 / 126 Day 1 - Missed Cut)


Highlanders hope their past experience at Legends helps them at IHSAA State Finals
6/11/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

FRANKLIN — No boys’ golf team in this week’s IHSAA State Finals knows The Legends Golf Club better than fifth-ranked Floyd Central.

The Highlanders will play in the state finals at the par-72 course for the fourth consecutive season, and they won the Spring Preview meet at Legends in April.

Today and Wednesday, the Highlanders hope their knowledge of Legends will propel them to the program’s third state championship.

Floyd Central begins its title quest this afternoon as it plays in the first round of the state finals at Legends. The top nine teams or the squads within 12 strokes of the lead after the first round will advance to Wednesday’s final round.

Cason thinks the Highlanders must shoot a team score between 295 and 300 to make the first-round cut.

“The biggest thing I preach to the kids is to play their own game,” Cason said. “They cannot put up any big numbers and they can’t give up. All five kids need to play well. That’s what I’m looking for.”

In this year’s Spring Preview, Floyd Central posted a winning score of 300. Three Highlanders each shot a 2-over-par 74, who were juniors Devin Jenkins and Daniel Shepard and sophomore Jack Sparrow.

Cason believes the Spring Preview victory and his troops’ play so far in the 2012 postseason give them some momentum heading into the state tournament.

“I think (the Spring Preview) and the way we played at sectional and regional give us some confidence,” Cason said. “We’ve always played (Legends) well.”

The Highlanders start the first round on the back nine today. But Cason does not care what side of the golf course his players begin the state finals.

“I don’t think that makes any difference if you start on the front or the back,” Cason said.

Providence also has gained a lot of knowledge about Legends over the past few years. The Pioneers enter the state finals with the longest active streak of state tournament appearances with five.

Like Cason, Providence head coach Ken Allender thinks his team must shoot around 300 to make the cut.

“I think we are capable of shooting 300,” Allender said. “I really like coaching these guys. They’ve got the talent. I’d like to see 300 out of them (today). It would be a good accomplishment for them.”

Providence played in this year’s Spring Preview, but did not fare as well as Floyd Central. The Pioneers shot a team score of 344 during the tournament as they battled cold conditions throughout the day.

Despite his squad’s rough outing, Allender thinks it was valuable experience for his golfers, especially his more inexperienced players in junior Robert Waiz and freshman Mitchell Allender.

“I think that tournament was good for those guys,” Coach Allender said. “The Spring Preview had around 15 top-20 teams in the state, so it was a good experience for us.”

Both the Highlanders and Pioneers played practice rounds at Legends on Monday. Cason says the dry weather in central Indiana has had a major effect on the course.

“It’s awfully dry up here, especially the rough,” Cason said. “I think the course will play shorter than normal.”

The Pioneers shot a team score of around 300 on Monday, and Coach Allender likes the condition of the course.

“The golf course is fine,” he said. “If you hit it in the rough, it will bounce and roll forever. The greens are in good shape.”

Photos by C.E. Branham

Joining Floyd Central and Providence in today’s first round will be Henryville senior Evan Embry, who will be making his first appearance in the state finals.

Embry played practice rounds at Legends on Friday and Monday, firing a 74 on Friday. Prior to those two practice rounds, he played Legends once just for fun. Embry has never played a tournament round on the course.

Embry must be among the top nine individuals on non-advancing teams in the first round to qualify for Wednesday’s final round. He also can advance to the final round by finishing within four strokes of the opening-round leader.

Henryville head coach Robin Embry says his nephew needs to shoot around even-par to have a good shot of making the cut.

“If he can hang around even-par, I think he’ll be OK,” Robin Embry said. “It’s one of those things where the more he plays the course, the more familiar he is with it.”

Coach Embry says Evan Embry is not happy just to be at state. The Hornet standout wants to be competitive.

“This is the icing on the cake for him,” Robin Embry said. “But he wants to shoot something under par. He’s not coming up here just to enjoy the weather.”


Columbus North nips Floyd by 1
6/7/2012 by Justin Sokeland (The Courier Journal)

Fifth-ranked Floyd Central and Henryville senior Evan Embry had to wait until the last putt dropped to learn their fate in the boys’ golf regional Thursday at Champions Pointe in Memphis, Ind.

The Highlanders missed their goal by a single stroke. Embry made his by the same razor-thin margin.

No. 1 Columbus North defended its championship and validated its ranking with an impressive team total of 293, clipping the Highlanders by one shot for the title. Providence, unranked and overlooked as a contender, claimed the third spot at 306.

The top three in the 12-team field, plus the top three individuals who were not members of qualifying teams, advanced to the first round of the state finals at The Legends of Indiana in Franklin on Tuesday.

Embry, who came up a shot short of a playoff last year, fired a 2-over-par 74 to claim an individual invitation. Madison sophomore Jordan Griffith was the medalist with a sizzling 3-under 69, while Bedford North Lawrence senior Chase Wagner carded a 75 and won a one-hole playoff with a par for the last slot.

Embry’s wait was the most agonizing. He was in the first threesome off the first tee, posted a 2-under 34 on the front nine and was cruising comfortably along until a disaster on the final hole nearly cost him.

The 18th hole is Champions’ most vicious and unforgiving, with a water hazard down the left side and fronting the green, and unmowed, hip-high grass down the right of the difficult par-4. Embry popped up his tee shot, then miscalculated his recovery shot and dumped it in the hazard, finally walking off with a triple-bogey.

That debacle ended at 1:30. He spent the next two hours beating himself up emotionally and worrying.

“I was just furious,” Embry said. “I was hitting the ball well and playing conservatively. But it’s a tough hole. I probably didn’t play it the smartest way. I’ve played here a thousand times and you’d think I would know. It took me 30 minutes to get over myself.”

When the last scores were posted, Embry was safe — and relieved.

“It’s been my goal,” he said. “It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders. I put a lot of pressure on myself.”

The BullDogs had four scores of 74 or better to edge the Highlanders, who were captained by Jack Sparrow’s 1-under 71. His round was capped by an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, which he tamed with a driver, 5-wood approach and 50-foot putt.

James Peckham added a 73 for Floyd Central, which will try to topple North and end the Highlanders’ string of three straight fourth-place conclusions in the state finals next week.

“It was just a putt here or putt there today,” Floyd coach Mike Cason said. “It’s all it takes. Any time you have good competition it makes you better. We know North is good, and we know we’ll have to play well to beat them.

“We played well, really well on the back nine. I’m happy with that. Coming back and playing strong on the second nine is always good. They battled all the way.”

The Pioneers were the day’s surprise. With senior Bryce Very carding three birdies and posting a 1-under 71, they erased a deficit at the turn and stunned one of the tourney favorites. Freshman Mitchell Allender had a 77 (despite a double-bogey on his final hole), and Cory Cahalan added a 78.

Providence started on the tougher back nine. When No. 6 Bedford North Lawrence, which was challenging for the lead after opening on the front, faltered on the back, the Pioneers quietly claimed the final spot while Madison (312) and BNL (314) came up short.

Very matched Griffith, Peckham and Floyd’s Devin Jenkins (74) for the best round on the back nine (1-under 35).

“I was just waiting for Bryce to pop out,” Providence coach Ken Allender said. “And I knew he would.”

PROVIDENCE REGIONAL RESULTS
at Champions Pointe Golf Club, Memphis, par-72

(Top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing teams qualify for next week’s IHSAA State Finals.)

Team scores — Columbus North 293, Floyd Central 294, Providence 306, Madison 312, Bedford North Lawrence 314, Columbus East 318, Corydon 327, Bloomington South 328, Jennings County 329, Batesville 341, East Central 350, Edgewood 357.

Medalist — Griffith (M) 69.

Top three individuals on non-advancing teams — Griffith (M) 69, E. Embry (H) 74, Wagner (BNL) 75*.
* — Wagner won a playoff to get third qualifying spot.


Back to Legends
6/7/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Memphis — Once again, the Clark-Floyd area will be well-represented at the IHSAA boys’ golf state finals.

For the fourth consecutive year, Floyd Central and Providence both advanced to next week’s state finals by finishing second and third, respectively, in Thursday’s Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club.

Photos by C.E. Branham

Joining the Highlanders and Pioneers at the state finals will be Henryville senior Evan Embry, who will be making his first trip to state. The top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing squads at regional qualified for the state finals, which will take place Tuesday and Wednesday at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin.

It was close, but no cigar for the fifth-ranked Highlanders in their attempt to win their first regional title since 2010.

Floyd Central shot a team score of 294, only one stroke behind top-ranked and regional champion Columbus North. It was the Bull Dogs’ second regional championship in a row.

Highlanders’ head coach Mike Cason said the difference between the two squads was Columbus North shot better on the front nine than his players. The Bull Dogs were four strokes ahead of Floyd Central after the first nine holes. On the back nine, the Highlanders were three shots better than North.

“Basically, they got off to a better start than we did,” Cason said. “We just got off to a bad start.”

Despite not capturing the regional championship, Floyd Central did what it has pretty much done all season — get all five of its players in the 70s.

Sophomore Jack Sparrow led the Highlanders with a 1-under-par 71, as he finished in a tie for second medalist with Providence’s Bryce Very. Sparrow had birdies on the ninth and 16th holes and recorded an eagle on the par-5 No. 6.

Floyd Central senior Austin Peckham recovered from a rough start to shoot a 1-over 73. After Peckham began his round with a triple bogey on the first hole and bogeys at Nos. 2 and 4, he birdied four of the next six holes. He carded a 1-under 35 on the backside.

“I don’t think anybody but a senior could’ve done that. He had a really strong round,” Cason said about Peckham’s performance. “(Sparrow) was steady all the way during his round. His chipped and putting were solid.”

Floyd Central junior Devin Jenkins fired a 74, while senior Jay Holderman chipped in a 76. Highlander junior Daniel Shepard carded a 78. Floyd Central qualified for the state finals for the fourth straight year and the eighth time in nine seasons.

Very helped the Pioneers reach the state finals for the fifth year in a row. The senior made 13 pars and three birdies in recording his 71, which was two strokes behind medalist Jordan Griffith of Madison.

The Providence coaching staff was a little uncertain how Very, who will be playing in his fourth consecutive state finals, would start his round after he was snap-hooking his drives on the Champions Pointe driving range prior to the regional.

But those concerns were put to rest when Very shot a 1-under 35 on the backside to begin his round.

“I wasn’t really nervous. It was more timing than anything,” Very said about his problems prior to the round. “I had to find my timing and then I did fine. I tried to make it easy for me. I just wanted to hit fairways and greens.”

The player who aided the Pioneers the most in securing their state finals berth was Mitchell Allender. The freshman shot Providence’s second-lowest score with a 77, giving the Pioneers three players in the 70s.

“That’s probably the one player we didn’t have high expectations for with him being a freshman,” said Providence head coach Ken Allender, who is Allender’s father. “He looked like he was not in a panic at all out there.”

Junior Cory Cahalan was the third Pioneer in the 70s, scoring a 78. Teammate Robert Waiz had an 80 and Providence senior Elliott Happel shot a 90. The Pioneers posted a team score of 306, six shots lower than fourth-place Madison.

“Since school has been out, they’ve been out on the course every day as a group,” Coach Allender said. “They’ve latched onto the course and gotten together.”

Embry had a memorable day on his home course. The Henryville standout shot a 2-over 74, as he posted the second-lowest score for individuals on non-advancing teams. Embry fired a 2-under 34 on the front side and started the back nine with a birdie on No. 10.

Embry wound up with 12 pars and three birdies. His only blemish on the day was a triple bogey on the par-4 18th.

Embry bounced back after firing a disappointing 77 in Monday’s Providence Sectional at Covered Bridge Golf Club. Prior to Monday’s round, he had shot an even-par 72 in each of his two previous trips to Covered Bridge.

“Monday, I focused on my mechanics too much. But today, it was just me and the golf course. I just wanted to play my game,” Embry said. “I got off to a good start. I made a birdie on No. 1, which got rid of the nerves. I felt confident and my ballstriking was doing well.”

Embry thanked several people for helping him reach the state finals, including Champions Pointe head golf professional Scott Ivey.

“It’s just a big accomplishment,” Embry said. “I want to thank my family, my coach and Scott Ivey, who’s my swing coach. He helped me a lot.”

Henryville head coach Robin Embry, who is Embry’s uncle, was proud of his nephew for getting his first state berth.

“I think this is tremendous for him,” Robin Embry said. “I’ve been watching him play golf since he was 6 years old, and it’s good to see a good kid have his hard work pay off in such a big way.”

New Albany’s Corey Embry and Garrett Arnold each fell short of qualifying for state. Corey Embry, a senior, carded an 80, while Arnold, a junior, shot an 86.

PROVIDENCE REGIONAL RESULTS
at Champions Pointe Golf Club, Memphis, par-72

(Top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing teams qualify for next week’s IHSAA State Finals.)

Team scores — Columbus North 293, Floyd Central 294, Providence 306, Madison 312, Bedford North Lawrence 314, Columbus East 318, Corydon 327, Bloomington South 328, Jennings County 329, Batesville 341, East Central 350, Edgewood 357.

Medalist — Griffith (M) 69.

Top three individuals on non-advancing teams — Griffith (M) 69, E. Embry (H) 74, Wagner (BNL) 75*.
* — Wagner won a playoff to get third qualifying spot.


No end in sight
6/4/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

SELLERSBURG — The Floyd Central boys’ golf team’s sectional-title streak continued on Monday at Covered Bridge Golf Club.

The fifth-ranked Highlanders won their 10th consecutive sectional championship and their 13th title in 14 seasons by dominating the Providence Sectional. Floyd Central fired a team score of 295 and had all five of its players shoot in the 70s.

Photos by C.E. Branham

The top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing teams qualified for Thursday’s Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club.

“The guys really played good. We played really good on the front nine, where we were 1-under (par),” Highlanders’ head coach Mike Cason said. “I can’t complain about anybody’s game.”

Floyd Central junior Devin Jenkins earned sectional medalist honors for the first time in his high school career.

Jenkins and Highlander senior Jay Holderman tied for first place in the individual standings at the end of regulation play, each shooting a 1-over-par 73. Both Floyd Central players went to a sudden-death playoff, starting on the par-4 first hole. They played until the par-3 third, where Jenkins clinched medalist honors with a birdie.

“It was pretty fun,” Jenkins said about squaring off with his teammate in the playoff. “I hit the ball pretty decent and putted pretty good. I made some birdies.”

Jenkins made three birdies during his round and shot an even-par 36 on the back side. Holderman was on fire on the front side, firing a 3-under 33 with third birdies.

Rounding out the scoring for the Highlanders were sophomore Jack Sparrow with a 74 and senior Austin Peckham with a 75. Floyd Central junior Daniel Shepard carded a 77.

“Their goal is to win the state tournament and this was the first step in doing that today,” Cason said.

The host Pioneers punched their tickets to their own regional by finishing second with a team score of 312.

Senior Bryce Very shot Providence’s lowest score with a 2-over 74, one stroke shy of joining Jenkins and Holderman in the medalist playoff. Very made one birdie on the 17th and had 14 pars, as he scored a 36 on the back nine.

Pioneers’ head coach Ken Allender said Very was a little disappointed that he did not earn medalist honors.

“He said he didn’t hit the ball well today. Sometimes it’s tough to break through,” Allender said.

Junior Cory Cahalan was the only other Providence player to shoot in the 70s, carding a 76. The Pioneers’ Mitchell Allender and Robert Waiz each fired an 81, while junior Max Hupp chipped in a 90.

Ken Allender said he needed at least one player to fire a real low number to make a run at Floyd Central for the title.

“I thought someone had to go low for us to have a chance, and we couldn’t do that,” he said. “Overall, I was pleased. Bryce was on the verge of being medalist again. Cory had a good, consistent round. Mitchell Allender had a good round despite the conditions.”

New Albany fell short of advancing to regional, placing fourth with a 326. The Bulldogs were 12 strokes behind third-place Corydon, which had three players in the 70s.

But New Albany had two of the top three individual qualifiers on non-advancing teams in senior Corey Embry and junior Garrett Arnold.

Embry carded the Bulldogs’ lowest score with a 76. Embry made three birdies, which came on the fifth, seventh and 10th holes.

Arnold advanced to regional by winning a one-hole playoff for the final individual qualifying spot with North Harrison’s Zach Shearer and Scottsburg’s Justin Wright. Arnold fired an 81 during his round, as a birdie on No. 9 and an eagle on No. 14 helped him overcome four double bogeys.

One area player who was expected to contend for medalist honors was Henryville’s Evan Embry, who posted an even-par 72 in each of his two previous trips to Covered Bridge.

But the Hornet senior could not match that score on Monday, as he settled for a 77. Evan Embry did not make any birdies, while he had three bogeys and one double bogey. Still, he advanced to the regional as the No. 2 individual on a non-advancing team.

“I think a lot of it was self-imposed pressure and it got to him,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “He hit a couple of shots that made it tough for him.”

Coach Embry thinks Evan Embry has a shot to advance to next week’s IHSAA State Finals at regional, which will be played on the Hornets’ home course.

“He will want to be competitive in that,” Robin Embry said about regional. “He expects to shoot somewhere near par.”

Jeffersonville wound up sixth with a 357, followed by Silver Creek in eighth with a 365. Borden was ninth with a 374. Charlestown finished 11th with a 407, followed by Henryville (408) and New Washington (507). Clarksville and Christian Academy of Indiana each fielded incomplete teams.

Three Clark-Floyd area players — Clarksville’s Nick Cappola, CAI’s Jayson Arrell and Jeff’s Zack Lovan — were one stroke shy of getting into the playoff for the regional’s third individual qualifying spot. Each player shot an 82.


PROVIDENCE SECTIONAL
at Covered Bridge Golf Club, Sellersburg, par-72

Team scores — Floyd Central 295, Providence 312, Corydon 314, New Albany 326, Scottsburg 350, Jeffersonville 357, North Harrison 364, Silver Creek 365, Borden 374, Lanesville 388, Charlestown 407, Henryville 408 (Embry 77, Fields 105, Furnish 105, Reister 121), New Washington 507, Austin NTS, Christian Academy of Indiana NTS, Clarksville NTS, South Central NTS


Henryville sets new school record
5/31/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

SELLERSBURG — The Henryville boys’ golf team set a new school record in a triangular meet victory over Trinity Lutheran and Salem on Thursday at Hidden Creek.

The Hornets fired a team score of 158 on the par-35 Links course, paced by Evan Embry’s 32. Trinity Lutheran shot a 165, while Salem had a 177.

“The kids have been looking at that number all year,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said.

Also for Henryville, Cody Gray shot a 40, Mitchell Fields stroked a 41, Cameron Furnish turned in a 45 and Bailey Reister carded a 51.

Henryville (158) - Embry (32), Gray (40), Fields (41), Furnish (45), Reister (51)
Trinity Lutheran (165) - Criswell (39), Benter (40), Long (42), Hensley (44), Hendrix 946), Patmore (47)
Salem (177) -


Henryville downs Borden
5/25/2012 by Sports (The Evening News)

SELLERSBURG — Behind another strong performance by Evan Embry, the Henryville boys’ golf team defeated Borden at Covered Brdige on Friday in an 18-hole contest, 362-371.

“The kids felt like we probably should have been about 15 strokes better, and that’s probably about right,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “Obviously, Evan had a really good day.”

Embry shot a 72, with four birdies and four bogeys on the scorecard.

Also for Henryville, Mitchell Fields fired a 92, Cameron Furnish had a 97, Cody Gray hit a 101 and Bailey Reister shot a 104.

“Mitchell was really close to posting a pretty good score,” Embry said. “Cody had a little trouble today, but he’ll bounce back.”

For Borden, Matt Smith led the way with an 87. Tony Wagoner III had a 90, Jesse McCombs a 96, T.J. Fraley a 98 and Jared Cook a 105.

Henryville (362) - Embry (72), Fields (92), Furnish (97), Gray (101), Reister (104)
Borden (371) - Smith (87), Wagoner (90), McCombs (96), Fraley (98), Cook (105)


Embry leads Hornets to SAC crown
5/19/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Henryville senior Evan Embry earned medalist honors in the Southern Athletic Conference meet, leading the Hornets to the conference title at Champions Pointe Golf Club. Henryville posted a team score of 361.

Embry fired a 1-under-par 71, becoming the first golfer in SAC history to win conference medalist honors four times.

Other scores for the Hornets were Cody Gray with a career-low 84, Cameron Furnish with a 102, Mitchell Fields with a 104 and Bailey Reister with a 108. Gray and Embry each made the all-conference team.

“I’m really happy for the kids. They’re a fun group to coach and they came through in a big way today,” said Henryville head coach Robin Embry, who was named SAC Coach of the Year. “Evan played very well. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — some college coach is going to look very smart when they sign him.”

Borden finished third with a 374. The Braves’ Matt Smith and Tony Wagoner III shot an 86 and 87, respectively, as they both made the all-conference team. Also for Borden, Jared Cook shot a 98, T.J. Fraley had a 103 and Jesse McCombs shot a 105.

Southern Athletic Conference Championship:
Henryville 361 (Embry 71, Gray 84, Furnish 102, Fields 104, Reister 108), Lanesville 366, Borden 374, Crothersville 399, South Central NTS


Q & A - Henryville's Evan Embry
5/18/2012 by Justin Sokeland (The Courier Journal)

Henryville senior Evan Embry was the medalist during last week’s Southern Indiana Open at Hidden Creek with a one-over-par 73. It was the 10th time he has been a tournament medalist this season. Embry is also a fortunate survivor of the March 2 tornado that tore through southern Indiana.

The Courier-Journal: What’s been the biggest improvement in your game this season?

Evan Embry: The biggest thing for me over the last couple of years is I’ve matured a lot and became more confident in my game. It’s trusting my game and knowing what I can do. I’ve put in a lot of time practicing my short game, and that’s where you score in golf. I’m beginning to learn that.

C-J: Are there professionals you like to watch for pointers?

Embry: Everybody likes Tiger (Woods), but I really like Rory McIlroy. His swing is basically flawless, and I like the way he carries himself.

C-J: What do you enjoy away from golf?

Embry: I like to hang out with my family. They’ve been a big part of my life. They’ve supported me all the way through golf, they’ve given me what I need to be successful. Ever since I was 4 or 5 years old, I was going out to the course with my dad, and he’s been a big part of my golf career.

C-J: Your uncle (Robin) is your high school coach. How does that relationship work on the course?

Embry: On the course, it’s just like any coach-player relationship. Off the course, our families are together a lot and we spend a lot of time together. We talk about golf a lot.

C-J: Almost everyone in Henryville was impacted by the tornado on March 2. What is your story?

Embry: My girlfriend and I left the high school about 2:45, and we heard there was a tornado spotted in west Clark County. We headed to my house, and my parents were there. We don’t have a basement, and the radar didn’t really show it was coming toward us, but my father decided we needed to go to a basement just to be safe. So we headed out to my uncle’s house.

On our way there, we saw it coming. Once we got to my uncle’s house, there was a tornado about 400 yards from us and it was chasing us down the road. So when we got to the house, we were going to open the garage – which led down to the basement – but the power had already gone out and the keyless entry wouldn’t work on the garage door. So my dad decided the best thing was to jump behind a 2-foot retaining wall, so all of us got down behind that as the tornado went over the top of us.

C-J: How frightening was that moment?

Embry: It was definitely the scariest thing in my life. It was the one time in life I thought I might actually die. There was destruction all around, trees down everywhere.

C-J: Has it been difficult to put that day behind you?

Embry: I still think about it, how lucky we are. The first couple of weeks were tough because you just keep playing it over in your head. Now I’m trying to get away from it because I don’t like thinking about it too much. It will always be there.

C-J: What do you love about the game of golf?

Embry: The biggest thing is it’s all on your own. I like basketball and other team sports, but in golf you’re in control of everything. You’re not playing against anybody else, it’s just against yourself and you control what you do. It’s one of the most frustrating and challenging sports, but at the same time it’s the most rewarding. All it takes is hard work and dedication.

C-J: What are your goals for the state tournament?

Embry: Last year I missed going to the state by one stroke. So this year I have my goals set high. Hopefully I can be the sectional, regional and state champion. That’s the ultimate goal of course, but mainly I just want to get to the state finals. From there, we’ll see what we can do.


EVAN EMBRY UP CLOSE

School: Henryville
Class: Senior
Family: Parents Roger and Rhonda; sisters Alyson (21) and Amanda (20)

Student/athlete: Evan also played basketball and soccer, and he is a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He plans to major in business or sports management in college.

Coach Robin Embry: “The key is Evan’s a good person. He’s a young man with great work ethic and a high-character kid. You have to have that before you can excel at anything. On the course, his short game has really improved. Some college coach will look really smart when they sign him.”


Dragons win tri-meet
5/17/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Silver Creek shot a team score of 176 to place first in a triangular meet at Westwood Golf Course in Scottsburg. Henryville was second with a 192, while host Austin placed third with a 257.

Dragon freshman Sam Garr captured medalist honors with a 38. Also for Silver Creek, Collin Tingle shot a 41, Zach Ricketts carded a 48, Blake Duncan and Nick Tinsley each had a 49 and Ethan McCartney scored a 52.

Senior Evan Embry led the Hornets with a 39. Rounding out the scoring for Henryville were Mitchell Fields with a 47, Cody Gray with a 49 and Cameron Furnish with a 57. Bailey Reister added a 59.

“It was a tough day on the links,” Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry said. “The course is one we are not overly familiar with, but that’s no excuse.”

Silver Creek (176) - Garr (38), Tingle (41), Ricketts (48), Duncan (49), Tinsley (49), McCartney (52)
Henryville (192) - Embry (39), Fields (48), Gray (49), Furnish (57), Reister (59)
Austin (257) -


Devils defeat Henryville
5/14/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Three Jeff players scored in the 40s in a dual-meet victory against Henryville at the Jeff Elks, 186-194.

Zack Lovan led the Red Devils with a 42. Rounding out the scoring for Jeff were Dalton Naiser with a 44, Jordan Lacy with a 49 and Andrew Baldwin with a 51. Teammate Dillon Willis added a 52.

Hornet senior Evan Embry collected medalist honors with a 38. Rounding out the scoring for Henryville were Cody Gray with a 48, Mitchell Fields with a 49 and Cameron Furnish with a 59.

“Other than Evan, we struggled,” Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry said. “For us to finish the season competitive, our No. 2 and 3 (players) have to be under 45 and our No. 4 or 5 have to be near 50.”

Jeffersonville (186) - Lovan (42), Naiser (44), Lacy (49), Baldwin (51), Dillon (52)
Henryville (194) - Embry (38), Gray (48), Fields (49), Furnish (59), Reister (74)


SIO Champs Again
Pioneers wins 20th annual tourney for third time in four years; Henryville’s Embry edges Providence’s Very for medalist honors

5/12/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

SELLERSBURG — On Saturday at Hidden Creek Golf Club, the Providence boys’ golf team collected a familiar piece of hardware — the Southern Indiana Open championship trophy.

The Pioneers shot a team score of 308 to win the 20th annual tournament for the third time in four years and the sixth time overall. Providence had four players shoot in the 70s, much to the delight of Pioneers’ head coach Ken Allender.

“I’m pretty happy with the four scores in the 70s,” Allender said. “I feel pretty good about where we are going right now. If we can tighten the corners a little bit, that would be great.”

Photos by C.E. Branham

The SIO’s key matchup was the battle for medalist honors between Henryville senior Evan Embry and Providence senior Bryce Very.

Embry nipped Very by one stroke, as the Hornet standout fired a 1-over-par 73 to collect a medalist award for the 10th time in 2012. Embry made five birdies, including chipping one in on the par-4 18th hole to conclude his round. He had eight pars, four bogeys and one double bogey.

Henryville head coach Robin Embry said Evan Embry wanted to redeem himself at the SIO after he shot a 92 in the tournament a year ago.

“That’s probably the one day last year that he struggled. He wanted to play a good round today and he did,” Coach Embry said. “He’s still gaining in confidence. But part of it is his work ethic. He’s really dedicated and he’s earned that confidence.”

Very’s 2-over 74 included 11 pars, a pair of birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys. The IUPUI signee also made an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole.

“Bryce had it going early,” Allender said. “He never goes super low, but he’s always right there.”

Allender commented that this is not the first time that Very and Evan Embry have tried to outperform each other in the same tourney.

“Embry is a good player and those two have gone neck-and-neck in a lot of events they’ve played in before,” Allender said.

Coach Embry complimented Very’s round afterwards.

“Bryce is a really good player and Providence has got a couple of other good players,” the Hornets’ coach said. “Evan is one of the best players in the area. Sometimes it comes down to getting a lucky break or two.”

Junior Cory Cahalan recorded the Pioneers’ second-lowest score with a 77, placing him fourth in the individual standings. Cahalan had four bogeys, three birdies, three double bogeys and an eagle on the par-4 12th.

Teammates Mitchell Allender and Elliott Happel fired a 78 and 79, respectively. Providence junior Robert Waiz ended up with an 84.

Coach Allender thinks winning the SIO should give his players some momentum heading into the Providence Sectional in three weeks at Covered Bridge Golf Club.

“I’m happy with the progress of all these guys,” the Providence mentor said. “Cory didn’t hit the ball great today, but he found a way to have a good round.”

New Albany finished second for the third time in four years with a team score of 321. Senior Corey Embry, last year’s SIO medalist, was the only Bulldog to shoot in the 70s with a 78. New Albany seniors Tyler Banet and Damon Nelson each scored an 80, while teammate Johnny Smith fired an 83. Junior Dustin Miller chipped in an 87.

Jeffersonville wound up fourth with a 341. Three Red Devils shot in the 80s — Dalton Naiser with an 81, Jordan Lacy with an 83 and Dillon Willis with an 87. Jeff senior Zack Lovan had a 90.

Henryville placed sixth with a 360. Robin Embry liked the round he got out of Hornet junior Mitchell Fields, who had an 86.

“I was really happy with Mitchell. Team-wise, we’re coming together,” Coach Embry said.

Silver Creek finished seventh with a 362. Freshman Sam Garr paced the Dragons with a 79, followed by teammate Collin Tingle with an 85.

Borden finished 10th with a 382, tournament host Charlestown was 11th with a 395 and Clarksville ended up 12th with a 412.

Borden’s lowest score an 89 by Matt Smith. The Pirates’ Doug Wolfe fired a team-low 89, and the Generals’ Nick Cappola shot an 81.

SOUTHERN INDIANA OPEN
at Hidden Creek Golf Club, Sellersburg, par-72

Team scores — Providence 308, New Albany 321, Scottsburg 338, Jeffersonville 341, Lanesville 359, Henryville 360 (Embry 73, Fields 86, Gray 98, Furnish 103, Reister 116), Silver Creek 362, West Washington 367, North Harrison 369, Borden 382, Charlestown 395, Clarksville 412


Hornets beat CAI
5/10/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Evan Embry shot a 2-under-par 33 to win medalist honors and lead Henryville to a dual-meet victory over CAI at Hidden Creek Golf Club’s Links Nine course, 169-208. Embry made three birdies and one bogey.

Also for the Hornets, Mitchell Fields fired a 43, Cody Gray had a 44, Cameron Furnish carded a 49 and Bailey Reister had a 50.

“We played pretty well,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “Evan really likes that course. Our No. 2 and 3 players played better and our No. 4 and 5 players are getting better.”

Jason Arrell led the Warriors with a 39. Teammates Chris Kidd and Travis Jones each scored a 52.

Henryville (169) - Embry (33), Fields (43), Gray (44), Furnish (49), Reister (50)
Christian Academy (201) - Arrell (39), Kidd (52), Jones (52)


Henryville tops at Champions Pointe
5/7/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Henryville scored a 182 to win a triangular meet against South Central and Christian Academy of Indiana at Champions Pointe on Monday.

Henryville’s Evan Embry took medalist honors with a 38.

Also for the Hornets, Mitchell Fields and Cody Gray each shot a 46, Cameron Furnish carded a 52 and Bailey Reister had a 61.

For CAI, Jason Arrell led the way with a 41. Travis Jones shot a 62, Joe Melton hit a 69 and Luke Curry put down a 70.

Henryville (182) - Embry (38), Gray (46), Fields (46), Furnish (52), Reister (61)
South Central (201) - Parrish (47), Denn (49), Quire (50), Edlin (55)
Christian Academy (242) - Arrell (41), Jones (62), Melton (69), Curry (70)


Henryville’s Embry earns medalist honors at Hauser Invite
5/5/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Henryville senior Evan Embry shot an even-par 72 to win medalist honors at the Hauser Invitational at Clifty Creek Golf Course in Hope.

Henryville placed fifth as a team with a 364. For the Hornets, Cody Gray scored a 95, Cameron Furnish had a 98, Mitchell Fields fired a 99 and Bailey Reister carded a 103.

“Evan played a very solid round. He’s hitting the ball well and his short game continues to improve. He was runner-up (in the Hauser Invitational) last season and was happy to earn medallist honors today,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “As far as our team score, our No. 2 and 3 spots have to score better. We’re improving, and with hard work, we’ll play our best golf over the last few weeks of the season.”

Henryville (364) - Embry (72), Gray (95), Furnish (98), Fields (99), Reister (103)


Hornets finish second in quad meet
5/3/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

On Thursday, Henryville shot a team score of 192 to finish second in a quadrangular meet at Chariot’s Run Golf Course in Elizabeth. Lanesville won the meet with a 176, followed by host South Central in third with a 194 and Rock Creek Community Academy in fourth with a 236.

Henryville’s Evan Embry was the medalist, shooting a 39. Also for the Hornets, Mitchell Fields had a 47, Bailey Reister fired a 52, Cody Gray shot a 54 and Cameron Furnish had a 55.

“Our No. 1, Evan, has been solid all spring, and we’re getting what we expect from our No. 4 and No. 5 (players),” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said. “However, our No. 2 and No. 3 have got to get more consistent with low to mid 40s. We’ve had three matches in a row that we haven’t played to our ability.”

For Rock Creek, Brett Kastetler shot a 46, Jeremiah Wilkinson had a 52, Ben Hill had a 66 and Luke Thompson fired a 72.


Lanesville (176) -
Henryville (192) - Embry (39), Fields (47), Reister (52), Gray (54), Furnish (55)
South Central (194) -
Rock Creek (236) - Kastetler (46), Wilkinson (52), Hill (66), Thompson (72)


Heritage Hills wins Bud Bennett Invitational
4/28/2012 by Brian Smith (The Corydon Democrat)

CORYDON - Invaders from the west, Heritage Hills, swooped in Saturday evening and came away with the team championship in the Bud Bennett Memorial Invitational at Old Capital Golf Club in Corydon.

Attention turned to the scoreboard inside the clubhouse as golfers rushed in to escape a downpour of rain, gusting winds and lightning in the distance. Looking at the board, golfers and spectators were impressed with the 6-under par 66 posted by Heritage Hills' Travis Waninger.

Waninger's round consisted of an eagle on No. 8, a par five, to go along with his six birdies. He closed the par-72 course with a 66. It is the lowest score recorded in the Invitational since the current hole configurations took place.

"That's an unbelievable score," said Corydon Central's Timothy Wiseman. "He's a great player. I saw some of his shots. He'll be really good."

Heritage Hills also had the second-place individual with Preston VanWinkle scoring a 1-under par 71. As a team, the Patriots finished with a 293, just ahead of Floyd Central (300), which is ranked No. 3 in the Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association poll.

Wiseman, however, helped lead the host Panthers to a third-place finish. As a team, Corydon Central tallied a 320, not far behind the leaders.

With all golfers playing from the blue tees, Wiseman was able to card four birdies. He had two on the front nine (No. 6 and 9) and the same on the back (No. 13 and 16).

"I hit the ball OK," Wiseman said of his fourth-place finish as an individual. "My irons weren't as strong as they normally are, but my putting and short game were really good today. My play around the green helped me stay in the low 70s."

For the 18 holes, Wiseman had nine pars with the lone hole to give him major trouble being No. 10, where he double bogeyed.

"It was a smooth start with a couple pars and a birdie on six," he said. "I got to the green in two and two-putted for the birdie. I had a couple birdies late to offset some bogeys and came home with a 74."

Wiseman, a freshman, is part of a young team the Panthers are rolling out. Among the five who played for Corydon Central in the Invitational, three are freshmen and two are sophomores.

Fellow freshman Ryan Crawford stayed even par on the backside, shooting a 36. He didn't fare as well on the front, firing a 43 for an overall respectable score of 79.

Sophomore Joseph Hinton had a steady round of 40 on each side to close with an 80. Classmate Tommy Wiseman shot a 94, while freshman Mitchell Frederick had an 87.

Among the 13 teams that participated, Lanesville came home in ninth with a 364 while North Harrison was 10th with a 370.

The Eagles had three scorers in the 80s, paced by Harrison Wells' 85. Teammates Dalton Voyles and Clayton Engel posted 88s. Ian Herrington (104) and Jordan Shepherd (108) also participated for Lanesville.

Chase Spencer led the way for North Harrison with an 83. Not far behind was Zach Shearer, who posted an 84. Also recording scores for the Cougars were Brent LaDuke (95), Andrew Dones (108) and Marty Craig (108).

Approximately 10 golfers were unable to finish their last hole when stormy weather approached and eventually covered Old Capital. When the weather eventually lightened, darkness prevented safe completion of play. After a meeting with coaches and Justin Holland, the Old Capital Club Professional, it was determined the players yet to finish would receive a par on their last hole to complete their rounds.

The Bud Bennett Invitational, formerly named the Corydon Invitational, underwent the title change to honor Floyd (Bud) Bennett, who died Feb. 1. Bennett was the owner and president of Bennett & Bennett Insurance Inc. and often supported the young golfers in the community.

"He was like a grandpa to me, and I looked up to him," said Timothy Wiseman. "To play well here in this tournament named in his honor means a lot to me."

Bud Bennett Invitational
at Old Capital in Corydon, IN; Par 72

Team results – Heritage Hills 293, Floyd Central 300, Corydon Central 320, Springs Valley 344, New Albany 350, Scottsburg 352, Providence 352, Jeffersonville 354, Lanesville 364, North Harrison 370, Henryville 399 (Embry 74, Gray 103, Fields 110, Furnish 112, Reister 125), Forest Park 441, Clarksville 516


Dragons win West Clark Shootout
4/26/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Silver Creek won the fourth annual West Clark Shootout for the second time at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis.

The Dragons registered a score of zero, as the tournament used the Modified Stableford scoring system.

Silver Creek freshman Sam Garr posted a score of plus-nine, and senior Colin Tingle added a plus-six. Also for the Dragons, Zach Ricketts shot a minus-six, Ethan McCartney scored a minus-nine, Max Moore had a minus-13 and Blake Duncan fired a minus-16.

Henryville posted a team score of minus-nine to finish second.

Henryville senior Evan Embry had another solid round, shooting a plus-13 to earn medalist honors. Teammate Mitchell Fields shot a minus-two, while the Hornets’ Cody Gray had a minus-eight. Also for Henryville, Cameron Furnish fired a minus-12 and Bailey Reister had a minus-15.

“It’s a fun format for the kids,” Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry said. “We were disappointed with our scores. We took a little bit of a bounce-back. Evan had a good round.”

Borden placed third with a team score of minus-22. Rounding out the scoring for the Braves were Matt Smith with a minus-two, Jared Cook with a minus-six and Jesse McCombs and T.J. Fraley each with a minus-seven. Borden’s Tony Wagoner III posted a minus-eight.

Silver Creek (0) - Garr (+9), Tingle (+6), Ricketts (-6), McCartney (-9), Moore (-13), Duncan (-16)
Henryville (-9) - Embry (+13), Fields (-2), Gray (-8), Furnish (-12), Reister (-15)
Borden (-22) - Smith (-2), Cook (-6), McCombs (-7), Fraley (-7), Wagoner (-8)


Embry shines at Hidden Creek
4/24/2012 by Matt Koesters & Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Henryville’s Evan Embry shot a near-perfect game on the Links Nine course at Hidden Creek Golf Club on Tuesday to lead the Hornets to a victory over Charlestown and Lanesville.

Embry carded a school-record, 5-under-par 30 through nine holes to help the Hornets post a team score of 160. Embry made six birdies and only one bogey.

“Even though that’s a little easier course than we normally play, you’ve got to get the ball in the hole,” Henryville head coach Robin Embry said about Evan Embry’s effort. “He expects to shoot more rounds under par.”

The next-best score of any team also came from the victors, as Mitchell Fields turned in a 39.

Rounding out Henryville scores were Cody Gray with a 41, Cameron Furnish with a 51 and Bailey Reister with a 50.

“All the kids continue to improve,” said Coach Embry, who mentioned that his players went out and played another nine holes after Tuesday’s match to get ready for Saturday’s Old Capital Invitational in Corydon. “They’re working at it and they are a fun group to coach.”

Charlestown placed third in the meet with a team score of 175, four strokes behind Lanesville. Clayton Terry stroked a 41 to lead the way for the Pirates.

Also for Charlestown, Tyler Jackson stroked a 43, Luke Watson hit a 44 and Chris Braun shot a 47.

“This was our best team score of the year, so we’re getting there a few strokes at a time, especially with a few guys out,” Charlestown coach Adam Tolliver said. “But when you go up against a guy like (Evan) Embry, it’s going to be tough for you.”

Henryville (160) - Embry (30), Fields (39), Gray (41), Reister (50), Furnish (51)
Lanesville (171) -
Charlestown (175) - Terry (41), Jackson (43), Watson (44), Braun (47)


Henryville loses by a stroke
4/16/2012 by Kevin Harris & Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

Trinity Lutheran got the better of Henryville at Shadowood Golf Course in Seymour, 182-183.

Henryville’s Evan Embry earned medalist honors with a 38, while teammates Cody Gray and Mitchell Fields turned in a 44 and a 45, respectively.

“We’re getting better,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “Evan always gives us a solid round, and Cody and Mitchell had good scores today. We just need more consistency and ... a fourth score in the 40s. We’ll get there — it’s a fun group to coach.”

Also for Henryville, Bailey Reister shot a 56, while Cameron Furnish had a 62.

Trinity Lutheran (182) - Long (42), Hendrix (45), Criswell (47), Benter (48), Patmore (49), Hensley (52)
Henryville (183) - Embry (38), Gray (44), Fields (45), Reister (56), Furnish (62)


Henryville edges Charlestown, Borden
4/11/2012 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

Henryville took a narrow victory at Champions Pointe over Borden and Charlestown on Wednesday.

“Overall, we’re improving,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “We feel like we need three scores better than under 45, and probably should have the other ones under 50. We’re not there yet, but overall, early in the season, the kids are playing OK.”

The victorious Hornets shot a 191. Charlestown hit a 194, while Borden was just a stroke behind at 195.

Henryville’s Evan Embry was the medalist at the meet with an even-par 36.

“Evan played very well in really less-than-desirable weather conditions,” Coach Embry said. “He had a birdie on No. 7, did bogey No. 9. He had a couple chances to get a couple more birdies, and couldn’t quite get the putts to fall, but that’s a really solid round for the conditions.”

Also for Henryville, Mitchell Fields shot a 47, Cody Gray hit a 50, Cameron Furnish shot 58 and Bailey Reister chipped in a 62.

For Charlestown, Doug Wolfe and Tyler Jackson had 48 apiece. Jordan Scott and Clayton Terry were a stroke behind at 49, while Luke Watson brought up the rear with a 59.

Borden’s best game came courtesy of Tony Wagoner with a 44. Matt Smith and Jared Cook each turned in 50s, while Jesse McCombs had a 51.

Henryville (191) - Embry (36), Fields (47), Gray (50), Furnish (58), Reister (62)
Charlestown (194) - Wolfe (48), Jackson (48), Scott (49), Terry (49), Watson (59)
Borden (195) - Wagoner (44), Smith (50), Cook (50), McCombs (51)


Henryville prevails in season opener
4/5/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

In its season opener at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis, Henryville fired a team score of 198 to finish first in a triangular meet against Crothersville and Christian Academy of Indiana. The Tigers placed second with a 224, while the Warriors were third with a 232 on the front nine at Champions.

Hornet senior Evan Embry earned medalist honors with a 40. Teammates Cody Gray and Mitchell Fields each shot 47 and 49, respectively. Also for Henryville, Cameron Furnish had a 62 and Bailey Reister carded a 66.

Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry says his players were glad to play a match for the first time since the March 2 tornadoes hit Henryville.

"Honestly, we were excited to be back out on the course, representing Henryville," Coach Embry said. "It was a pretty good start. We played in some tough conditions on the first five holes, as it was windy and cool. Overall, I thought the kids played pretty well."

Jason Arrell led CAI with a 45. Rounding out the scoring for the Warriors were Chris Kidd with a 53, Travis Jones with a 66 and Joe Melton with a 68. Teammate Luke Curry posted a 70.

Henryville (198) - Embry (40), Gray (47), Fields (49), Furnish (62), Reister (66)
Crothersville (224) -
CAI (232) - Arrell (45), Kidd (53), Jones (66), Melton (68), Curry (70)


Boys Golf Preview Capsules
3/26/2012 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

BORDEN
• COACH: Tony Wagoner.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Matt Smith, Sr.; Jared Cook, Sr.; Tony Wagoner III, So.; T.J. Fraley, So.
• VARSITY NEWCOMER: Jesse McCombs, Jr.
• HOME COURSE: N/A.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Lanesville, Henryville; Southern Athletic Conference Championship, Providence Sectional.

• OUTLOOK: With four returning players, Coach Wagoner expects his team to be more competitive this season. Wagoner has liked what he has seen from McCombs so far in practice and thinks the junior will be a key contributor to the Braves this season. Coach Wagoner also thinks the Braves’ schedule will prepare them for the SAC Championship and the sectional.

• COACH WAGONER SAYS: “I really think we will be more consistent with our scores this year, and that will make us more competitive as a team. I expect us to be in every match and for each of my golfers to be in the low 40’s for nine holes each match.”

CHARLESTOWN
• COACH: Adam Tolliver
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Tyler Jackson, Sr.; Doug Wolfe, Sr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Luke Watson, Sr.; Chris Braun, Jr.; Clayton Terry, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek Golf Club.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central; Ron Veleta Invitational, Southern Indiana Open, Mid-Southern Conference tournament.

• OUTLOOK: In his first season coaching the Pirate boys’ golf program, Tolliver is stressing to his golfers to be more consistent and mentally tougher. Jackson and Wolfe should provide Charlestown with some veteran leadership. Tolliver has liked the scores he has seen so far from his three newcomers.

• TOLLIVER SAYS: “I expect our guys to be competitive in every meet. Right now, we are still having a bit of inconsistent play. If we can eliminate some of the silly mistakes, such as missing short putts or having an errant second shot after a great drive, I think we’ll be just fine. Finally, I expect our guys to become a little more confident. Golf is a very mental game, so I want my guys to learn to shake off that occasional bad shot and not let it impact future shots.”

CHRISTIAN ACADEMY OF INDIANA
• COACH: Tim Byrd.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jayson Arrell, Jr.; Chris Kidd, Jr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Travis Jones, Fr.; Luke Curry, Fr.; Joe Melton, Fr.; Marc Botts, Fr.; Zhang Hangming, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Providence; Shadowood Tournament, Providence Sectional.

• OUTLOOK: The Warriors have several young golfers, so Byrd will be relying on Arrell and Kidd to provide leadership to his five freshmen. One positive for CAI is it will be able to field a complete team in each of its meets thanks to the addition of the freshman quintet.

• BYRD SAYS: “Jones, Curry and Melton all have some skills that will help the team. It’s encouraging to be able to field a complete team. But with such a young team, it will surely be a rebuilding year.”

CLARKSVILLE
• COACH: Mark Cappola.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Nick Cappola, Jr.; Nolan Fisher, Jr.; Ben Fox, Jr.; Nick Murrell, Sr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Brent Potter, Fr.; Christian Meyer, Fr.; Charlie Lauffer, Fr.; Luis Bisoso, Fr.; David Hawkins, Sr.
• HOME COURSE: Wooded View Golf Course.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Providence, Floyd Central, Brownstown, Corydon; MSC Tournament, Ron Veleta Invitational, Southern Indiana Open, Corydon Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: Nick Cappola is expected to have a big year as he returns as the Generals’ No. 1 golfer. Coach Cappola, who is the head golf professional at Wooded View, expects Fisher and Fox to improve and says Murrell is getting better each day. Clarksville is looking to contend for the MSC championship this season. Coach Cappola expects Brownstown and Corydon to be the Generals’ main competitors for the conference title.

• COACH CAPPOLA SAYS: “I think our team will progressively get better each week. At the No. 1 spot, I’m expecting big things from Nick Cappola.”

FLOYD CENTRAL
• COACH: Mike Cason.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Jay Holderman, Sr.; Austin Peckham, Sr.; Alex Beyer, Jr.; Devin Jenkins, Jr.; Daniel Shepard, Jr.; Jack Sparrow, So.
• VARSITY NEWCOMER: Connor Welch, So.
• HOME COURSE: Valley View Golf Club.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Zionsville, Columbus North, Carmel, Warsaw, Evansville Harrison, Bedford North Lawrence, New Albany, Providence; Hall of Fame tournament, Spring Preview tournament, Northfield Invitational, Zionsville Invitational, Hoosier Hills Conference tournament, Legends of Providence Invitational, Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: The Highlanders’ main goal is to win the program’s third state championship. Floyd Central has four players back from its 2011 IHSAA State Finals team, which finished fourth. Peckham should get more time on the course with the varsity team this season after being injured most of last year. The Highlanders’ challenging regular-season schedule should get them ready for the postseason.

• CASON SAYS: “They really want to win a state tournament. They want to accomplish something.”

HENRYVILLE
• COACH: Robin Embry.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Evan Embry, Sr.; Cody Gray, Sr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Cameron Furnish, Jr.; Mitchell Fields, Jr.; Jacob Guernsey, Jr.; Josh Collingwood, Fr.; Bailey Reister, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Champions Pointe Golf Club.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Jeffersonville, Charlestown, Salem, Silver Creek, Lanesville, Crothersville, Borden; Corydon Invitational, Hauser Invitational, Southern Indiana Open, SAC Championship.

• OUTLOOK: Evan Embry will try to reach the state finals after coming up one stroke shy of qualifying for state at the Providence Regional. He finished second at the Providence Sectional last year with an even-par 72, one stroke behind medalist Ryan Barnes of Providence. Gray is expected to be the Hornets’ No. 2 player throughout the season. The rest of the Henryville roster lacks varsity experience.

• COACH EMBRY SAYS: “We may struggle a bit early in the season. But if we commit to improvement, this group will be competitive later in the season. Our numbers are up. We’re very inexperienced, but I think this will be a fun group to coach. Evan has very high expectations this season. I think he’ll compete for medalist in every match and invitational, including the state tournament. He’s one of those rare kids that has been dedicated for many years.”

JEFFERSONVILLE
• COACH: Dusty Corum.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Zack Lovan, Sr.; Dalton Naiser, Jr.; Jordan Lacy, Jr.; Blayze Damron, So.; Dillion Willis, So.; Brent Mode, So.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Kyle Mayrose, Fr.; Nick Rasdon, Fr.; Andrew Baldwin, Fr.; Evan Craig, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Jeff Elks Club.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central, Providence, New Albany, Columbus East; Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Floyd Central Invitational, Ron Veleta Invitational, Corydon Invitational, Southern Indiana Open.

• OUTLOOK: Lovan, Naiser and Lacy are expected to be the leaders for the Red Devils. Corum hopes the four freshmen will build a solid foundation for Jeff’s future. The Red Devils will face a tough regular-season slate that should help them improve.

• CORUM SAYS: “This season will be similar to last year’s. I expect our record to be right at .500. The top five golfers will score in the 40s for nine (holes). The team is rounded out with four new freshmen in hopes of building for future seasons.”

NEW ALBANY
• COACH: Rick Belcher.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Corey Embry, Sr.; Damon Nelson, Sr.; Tyler Banet, Sr.; Dustin Miller, Jr.; Garrett Arnold, Jr.; Johnny Smith, So.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Logan Meadows, Sr.; Brian Snyder, So.; Bret Walts, So.; Braydon Knoy, So.; Kunal Bhanushali, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Valley View.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central, Providence, Columbus East, Bedford North Lawrence, Madison; Corydon Invitational, Legends of Providence Invitational.

• OUTLOOK: A major strength for the Bulldogs is experience, as they have five players back from their 2011 regional-qualifying team in Embry, Banet, Arnold, Nelson and Smith. Embry came up short of qualifying for state as an individual last year after losing in a playoff with Triton Central’s Eric Davis at the Providence Regional. New Albany will be tested by a tough schedule, which includes several meetings with rivals Floyd Central and Providence.

• BELCHER SAYS: “I have high expectations with the number of upperclassmen (on the Bulldogs’ roster). I’m looking for great leadership out of my seniors. Experience is definitely on our side. Now, we just have to go play golf like we know how.”

NEW WASHINGTON
• COACH: Steve Lewellen.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Ben Wallis, Sr.; Aaron Dean, Sr.; Corbin Hammond, Sr.; Wesley Napier, Jr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMERS: Jake Zimmerman, Fr.; Matthew Wilson, Fr.; Emery Dieterlen, Fr.; Dakora Dieterlen, So.; Jacob Smith, Fr.; Brady Meenach, Jr.
• HOME COURSE: Spring Hills Golf Course in Hanover.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Henryville, Lanesville, South Central; SAC Championship.

• OUTLOOK: Lewellen, who is in his first year as the Mustangs’ head coach, inherits an inexperienced roster. Lewellen expects lots of leadership from Wallis, Dean and Hammond. The New Wash coach thinks his team’s schedule is fair.

• LEWELLEN SAYS: “My team is still young to the game and have a lot to learn. Therefore, all teams will be a good match for us to improve throughout the season. My seniors, I expect them to be good leaders and role models for the younger students. I expect them to show effort, proper edict and represent New Washington High School well. Most of all, I just want them to have fun and play hard.”

PROVIDENCE
• COACH: Ken Allender.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Bryce Very, Sr.; Max Hupp, Jr.; Cory Cahalan, Jr.; Robert Waiz, Jr.; Elliott Happle, Sr.; Paston Schowe, Sr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMER: Mitchell Allender, Fr.
• HOME COURSES: Covered Bridge Golf Club, Champions Pointe.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central, New Albany, Madison, Bedford North Lawrence, Columbus North, Columbus East; Fuzzy Zoeller Invitational, Spring Preview meet, Legends of Providence Invitational, Bedford North Lawrence Invitational, Southern Indiana Open.

• OUTLOOK: With three returning players from their state finals squad from 2011, the Pioneers have a great shot at making their fifth consecutive trip to state. Very is Providence’s top returning player, as he shared medalist honors last year at the Providence Regional with Columbus North’s Michael VanDeventer, shooting an even-par 72. Very has signed a national letter of intent to play golf next season at IUPUI. Cahalan and Hupp are the other two returnees from the state-finalist squad. Coach Allender says the Pioneers’ schedule is one of the toughest in years. Providence has added the Spring Preview meet at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin to its slate. In addition, the Pioneers will host a new tournament in the Legends of Providence Invitational on Saturday, May 26 at Champions Pointe. The new invite includes Bedford, Columbus North, Floyd Central, Bloomington North and Bloomington South.

• COACH ALLENDER SAYS: “Our expectations of the season will include a strong showing in sectional and regional with a return visit to the state finals.”

SILVER CREEK
• COACH: Joe Ledbetter.
• RETURNING PLAYERS: Colin Tingle, Sr.; Blake Duncan, Jr.
• VARSITY NEWCOMER: Sam Garr, Fr.
• HOME COURSE: Hidden Creek.
• TOUGH OPPONENTS/TOURNAMENTS: Floyd Central, Providence, New Albany, Brownstown, Corydon; MSC tournament, Providence Sectional.

• OUTLOOK: The Dragons are already battling injuries at the start of the season. Ledbetter says he could be without two key players for as long as six weeks. On the bright side, the veteran Silver Creek coach welcomes a talented freshman in Garr. Ledbetter expects Garr to be his top scorer this season. The Dragons face a difficult schedule that includes Floyd Central, Providence, New Albany and Brownstown.

• LEDBETTER SAYS: “It is hard to evaluate (his expectations) at this point. I have lost two players to injuries already that were expected to contribute. They may be out as long as six weeks. Depending on how that turns out will have a big impact on our success or lack thereof. I am going to have to rely on several golfers, at least early in the season, who are new to the game and have no tournament experience. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”

Logan, Cody, Teddy, and Evan

Very falls in second round of match play
7/27/2011 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

WEST LAFAYETTE — Several local golfers from around the region were defeated in match play at the Boys’ State Junior Championship on the Kampen Course at Purdue University on Wednesday.

“It was good to see the local kids advance to the match rounds,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said.

Providence’s Bryce Very advanced to the second round of match play after defeating Matthew Specht of Munster, but fell to Vince Drahman of Noblesville in the second round.

Henryville’s Evan Embry fell in the first round of match play to Dru Hein of Jasper, five holes to four.

“Evan got behind and couldn’t quite recover,” Coach Embry said. “His ballstriking was a bit off and on this course that puts a lot of pressure on your short game. He’s had a very good summer. He’s played well in several tournaments.”

Floyd Central’s Devin Jenkins fell to Garrett Bianchi of Merrillville in the first round of match play, and Floyd Central’s Jared Sturgeon fell to Tryler Nicol of Portage, also in the first round. Glen Bertram was knocked off by Keegan McKinney in the first round.


Very very steady at state junior championship
7/26/2011 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

Bryce Very fired a three-over 75 for the second straight day at the Indiana Boys’ State Junior Championship on the Kampen Course at Purdue University on Tuesday.

Very’s tally of 150 through two days of stroke play was good for seventh place.

Floyd Central’s Jared Sturgeon recovered from a rocky first day with an even-par 72 on Day 2. Sturgeon finished stroke play with a seven-over 151.

Henryville’s Evan Embry had a tougher time on Day 2. After shooting a 73 on Monday, Embry hit a 10-over 82.

“Evan had a few shots get away from him,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said. “When you get out of position on this course, you usually drop a stroke or two. However, he’s excited about making the cut and is looking forward to the match play rounds.”

Embry finished the day tied at 28th.

Floyd Central’s Devin Jenkins is also tied at 28th after hitting a 73 on Day 2. Jenkins had hit an 82 on Day 1.

Glen Bertram of Floyds Knobs advanced to match play with a 14-over 158.

The top 64 golfers in the tournament advanced to match play today.


Embry has strong Day 1 at Junior Championship
7/25/2011 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

WEST LAFAYETTE — Henryville’s Evan Embry finished the first day of the Boys’ State Junior Championship in fourth place at the Kampen Course on the campus of Purdue University on Monday.

Embry hit a one-over 73, hitting two birdies and three bogeys.

“He shot a very solid round,” Henryville coach Robin Embry said.

Embry is five strokes off the lead after Day 1. Adam Wood of Zionsville hit a 68 to take the top spot on the leaderboard with a comfortable three-stroke lead over the field.

Bryce Very of Providence also had a strong showing on Day 1, hitting a plus-three 75. Very’s 75 was good enough for eighth place.

Jared Sturgeon of Floyd Central finished the day at seven over par.

Other area players included Glen Bertram at nine over, Devin Jenkins at 10 over and Alex Beyer at 13 over par.

The tournament will continue throughout the week.


Miller, Ledford reach boys' Falls Cities final
7/15/2011 by Staff (The Courier-Journal)

Chris Miller birdied the final hole to defeat No. 2 seed Stephen Stalling 1-up - after Stallings narrowly missed an eagle - and advance totoday's boys' final of the Junior Falls Cities golf tournament at Sun Valley Golf Course.

Miller will play Bradley Ledford, who topped Evan Embry 3 and 1, in the 36-hole final at 7:30 a.m.

Note: Embry qualified for the Championship flight with a 75 on Monday. He then won three matches on Tuesday-Wednesday to reach the final four.


Three Highlanders, two Pioneers lead All-Area team
6/13/2011 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

FLOYDS KNOBS — During the 2011 high school boys’ golf season, Floyd Central and Providence remained the top two programs in the Clark-Floyd area as each team earned return trips to this week’s IHSAA State Finals.

New Albany nearly had its first individual state qualifier in four years. Henryville’s top golfer nearly won sectional medalist honors, while Charlestown’s No. 1 player rewrote the Pirates’ record books.

The stellar seasons by those three individuals, the Highlanders and the Pioneers helped earn them spots on the 2011 News and Tribune All-Area team.

The following is this season’s all-area players:

FIRST TEAM
• RYAN BARNES, PROVIDENCE: The senior’s biggest accomplishment this season was collecting medalist honors at the Providence Sectional last Monday at Covered Bridge Golf Club in Sellersburg. Barnes was the only sectional golfer to finish under par with a 1-under-par 71.

In April, Barnes took home medalist honors in the Pioneers’ annual tournament, the Ron Veleta Invitational, at Wooded View Golf Course in Clarksville with a 77. Barnes was recently named to the Academic All-State team.

“He’s worked extremely hard this year. He’s done everything he can to be a contributor to this team,” first-year Providence head coach Ken Allender said.

• DEVIN JENKINS, FLOYD CENTRAL: The sophomore posted the Highlanders’ lowest scores at the Providence Sectional and Providence Regional.

He led Floyd Central to its ninth consecutive sectional title with a 75. Jenkins then matched his 75 at regional last Thursday at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis, as the Highlanders finished second and qualified for the state finals.

“He’s gotten better and better as the season has gone on,” Floyd Central head coach Mike Cason said.

• DANIEL SHEPARD, FLOYD CENTRAL: Shepard shot in the mid-70s at the Hoosier Hills Conference meet, the sectional and the regional.

In May, he fired a 76 to help the Highlanders finish second in the HHC meet at Sunrise Golf Club in Madison. He had a 76 at sectional and a 77 at regional.

“He made a swing change this season and he has gotten better and better,” Cason said.

• JARED STURGEON, FLOYD CENTRAL: The Highlanders’ lone senior shot Floyd Central’s lowest score at the HHC meet with a 75. Sturgeon helped the Highlanders win the sectional title with a 76 at Covered Bridge.

“He’s probably our best competitor on the team,” Cason said. “If I had kids like him, I wouldn’t have to coach much golf because he never gives up.”

• BRYCE VERY, PROVIDENCE: The junior carried the Pioneers into the state finals last Thursday by winning medalist honors at the Providence Regional with an even-par 72. Very’s score helped the Pioneers earn the final state-qualifying spot as they finished third as a team.

Very also finished second in the Floyd Central Invitational in April with a 2-over 73.

“Bryce’s work ethic is terrific,” Allender said. “He’s a class kid and has a wonderful personality. He is humble about what he has done this season. When he plays bad, he stays on the (driving) range until he gets it right.”

SECOND TEAM
• JAKE ATKINS, CHARLESTOWN: The senior broke his own nine-hole school record twice this season.

The first time happened on April 19 at Hidden Creek Golf Club’s Links Nine course with an even-par 35. Prior to that, he tied the school record in 2009 with a 36.

Then on May 24, Atkins returned to the Links Nine course and shot a 33 to beat his school record by two strokes.

• COREY EMBRY, NEW ALBANY: The junior was one hole away from punching his ticket to the state finals in last Thursday’s regional.

But Embry, who was vying to be one of the top three individuals on non-advancing teams to qualify for state, lost a playoff on the 10th hole against Triton Central’s Eric Davis and Bedford North Lawrence’s Chase Wagner. Embry shot a 75 during his regional round, as he tried to become the first Bulldog to reach the state finals since Logan Watts in 2007.

Embry suffered a similar fate at the HHC meet in May. He ended up tied with Madison’s Jordan Griffith for medalist honors with a 72 after 18 holes. But Embry lost a one-hole playoff with Griffith and had to settle for the runner-up spot.

Embry was the medalist at the Southern Indiana Open in May at Hidden Creek with a 76.

• EVAN EMBRY, HENRYVILLE: The junior came up one stroke shy of earning medalist honors at the Providence Sectional with an even-par 72 at Covered Bridge. He finished tied for second in the individual standings in becoming the first Hornet golfer to advance to regional since Ben Everage in 2002.

Embry warmed up for sectional by shooting a 74 in an 18-hole dual meet against Borden on May 27.

Embry earned medalist honors at the Southern Athletic Conference meet in May for the third consecutive season by winning a playoff.

• JAY HOLDERMAN, FLOYD CENTRAL: The junior helped the Highlanders reach the state finals by firing a 76 at sectional and a 79 at regional. He also had an 80 at the HHC meet.

• JACK SPARROW, FLOYD CENTRAL: The freshman shared honors with Jenkins for the team’s lowest individual score at sectional with a 75. Sparrow shot a 79 at both the regional and HHC meet.


Floyd Central, Providence make it out of Providence Regional
6/9/2011 by Matt Koesters (The Evening News)

MEMPHIS — So long, Bedford North Lawrence. See you later, Triton Central.

The state’s No. 19 team, Columbus North, put together a spectacular round with a team score of 297 to earn first place at the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe on Thursday, followed by second-place Floyd Central’s 310.

“You’re always happy to advance. That’s really the major goal,” Floyd Central coach Mike Cason said. “Quite frankly, I don’t think our kids played very well today, but just good enough to get out, and that’s the key.

“I’m really surprised about Bedford North Lawrence not making it. They had a nice team, and they just didn’t have a good day today.”

But after the top 2, there were a few surprises.

In an upset, the No. 7 Stars missed the cut by one stroke with a score of 318, edged by an unranked Providence squad that saw Bryce Very’s spectacular even-par 72 earn a share of the medalist honors.

“When he started, he was absolutely throwing darts,” Providence coach Ken Allender said. “He probably had seven puts inside of 10 feet, and they just weren’t staying in the hole. He was hitting the hole, but they just wouldn’t stay in. He hit the ball well enough to be in the mid-60s. He really did play well.”

Floyd Central’s second-place finish was paced by Devin Jenkins, who hit a 75.

“Devin, he was one-over going into the 18th hole and unfortunately made a double bogey,” Cason said. “But he played really solid. He had the ball in the fairways all day, and he’s really playing well.”

Despite Cason’s displeasure with his team’s performance, all five of the Highlanders on the course finished in the 70s. Jared Sturgeon, Jay Holderman and Jack Sparrow each stroked 79s, and Daniel Shepard hit a 77.

“We need to work on our short game, wedge game, chipping and putting,” Cason said. “We’re just not very good at that or at the quality you need to be to have a championship-type team. We’ll work hard on that this weekend and we’ll be better come Tuesday.”

Providence’s third-place finish came thanks largely to Very’s excellent round, but Cory Cahalan’s 77 helped seal the victory.

“Cory Cahalan got back to his regular self at a 77, but it was a bit of a roller coaster from there,” Allender said. “Obviously, it was very hot out there today and the kids were fighting that, but we pulled though and got to advance on.”

Rounding out the Providence round were Ryan Barnes — who was the medalist at the Providence Sectional — and Max Hupp with 84 apiece and Patrick Geary with an 85.

Meanwhile, in another surprise, Triton Central — recognized as an honorable mention on the final Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association poll — finished dead last with a team score of 364.

However, that didn’t stop Triton’s Eric Davis from winning a playoff against New Albany’s Cory Embry to become the third of three players to advance without a team.

While Embry opted to hit a four iron off the green and lay back, Davis’ aggressive strategy of using his driver on the playoff par-four 10th paid off. Davis hit the green on his second shot and two-putted his way into the state tournament.

New Albany coach Rick Belcher said Embry’s strategy was the right play for him, but one error was all it took for things to unravel for the Bulldog leader.

“It kind of came down to his second shot,” Belcher said. “Hi mis-hit, misjudged where he needed to be. All in all, it was a good experience for him.”

The New Albany squad ran up a team score of 330, paced by Embry. The rest of the group didn’t fare as well.

Tyler Banet’s 81 was the next-best score on the team, followed by Garrett Arnold and Damon Nelson with 87 apiece and Dustin Miller with an 88.

Belcher is optimistic for next year, as his full squad returns.

“If they play in the offseason, we’ll be good,” Belcher said. “I thought we were going to have that team this year. I thought we were going to be a 310, 315 team. It didn’t happen. They just need to play in the offseason and get more experience.”

Competing individually, Evan Embry missed the cut by a stroke with a 76. Embry’s biggest stumble was a double bogey on the par-five No. 3 hole.

PROVIDENCE REGIONAL
at Champions Pointe, par-72
Columbus North 297, Floyd Central 310, Providence 317, Bloomington North 318, Beford North Lawrence 318, New Albany 330, Madison 332, Columbus East 334, Seymour 338, Shawe Memorial 340, Jennings County 349, Triton Central 364. Individual - Embry (Henryville) 76


Floyd Central gets that old familiar feeling
6/6/2011 by Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

SELLERSBURG — It does not matter if the Floyd Central boys’ golf team has veteran players or young players.

As long as the Highlanders have talent, they always have a good chance at winning the sectional.

On Monday at Covered Bridge Golf Club, Floyd Central’s skilled and deep program found a way to claim the Providence Sectional title again.

The 18th-ranked Highlanders shot a team score of 302 to win their ninth consecutive sectional title, defeating second-place Providence by three strokes. New Albany finished third with a 335. The top three teams and top three individuals on non-advancing squads advance to Thursday’s Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis.

“I’m pretty proud of the kids. We’ve played three sophomores and a freshman pretty much all year. So to come together and win the sectional is pretty satisfying,” Floyd Central head coach Mike Cason said. “It was our best round of the year. We’ve been up and down all year. We have a talented and young team, and that’s why we’ve been up and down all year.”

The Highlanders’ individual scores were consistent across the board, as each Floyd Central golfer shot in the mid-70s. Sophomore Devin Jenkins and freshman Jack Sparrow each fired a 75. Teammates Jared Sturgeon, Jay Holderman and Daniel Shepard carded a 76 apiece.

“We’ve got five kids who are all even right now and they have the talent to go lower,” Cason said. “Hopefully, that will happen at regional.”

Despite not winning its first sectional championship since 1998, Providence got the individual medalist honor.

Playing in his first-ever sectional, Pioneer senior Ryan Barnes shot a 1-under-par 71 to take first place in the individual standings.

Barnes’ strategy of not using his driver all day paid off. He shot a 2-over 38 on the front nine, going up and down for par seven times and making bogeys on both the seventh and ninth holes.

But Barnes caught fire on the back nine. He sank birdies on No. 11 and No. 18 and recorded an eagle on the par-5 14th. He converted five pars on the backside along with a bogey on No. 16.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic with Ryan’s round,” said Providence head coach Ken Allender, who mentioned that Barnes can drive the ball 290 yards with his 3-wood. “He kept the ball in play. He got his head in the right place today.”

A pair of Pioneers each carded rounds in the 70s. Sophomore Max Hupp, who also was playing in his first sectional, scored a 76. Junior Bryce Very carded a 77. Also for Providence, Cory Cahalan shot an 81 and Patrick Geary had an 82.

Allender thought mental toughness was the difference between the Pioneers and Floyd Central.

“It was just our mental outlook at the start,” Allender said. “We were timid on the front nine. I think we tried too hard and that comes with experience. Once we settled down, we played well.”

New Albany earned a regional berth for the second consecutive season. Corey Embry topped the Bulldogs’ scoring chart with an 80, followed by teammate Garrett Arnold with an 83. Rounding out the scoring for New Albany were Damon Nelson with an 85 and Tyler Banet with an 87. Teammate Jonathan Smith fired a 98.

One area golfer who will be joining the Highlanders, Pioneers and Bulldogs Thursday at Champions Pointe is Evan Embry.

The junior was one shot shy of earning medalist honors with an even-par 72, tying him for second in the individual standings with last year’s sectional medalist, Scottsburg’s Andy Gladden.

Starting his round on the back nine, Embry fired a 39 during the first half of his round. He had to settle for three consecutive bogeys on Nos. 14-16.

But he got on a roll on the 18th hole with an eagle. Embry then carried that momentum onto the front nine, where he shot a 3-under 33 and made birdies on the second, fourth and seventh holes.

Embry developed some confidence playing Covered Bridge heading into the sectional. On Friday, May 27, he shot a 2-over 74 at Covered Bridge in an 18-hole dual match against Borden.

Plus Embry should feel comfortable at Champions Pointe since it is the Hornets’ home course.

Silver Creek wound up sixth with a 355. Jeffersonville finished tied with Lanesville for seventh with a 360. Charlestown was ninth with a 370, followed by Clarksville in 10th with a 373. Borden wound up 12th with a 400, Henryville was 14th with a 429 and New Washington placed 15th with a 497. Christian Academy of Indiana fielded an incomplete team.

Corydon’s Joseph Hinton, the son of former Floyd Central and Providence head boys’ basketball coach Joe Hinton, earned the third regional qualifying spot for the top three individuals on non-advancing teams with an 80.

The younger Hinton beat out area players Jason Arrell of CAI and Nick Cappola of Clarksville, who both shot 82.

Cason expects Thursday’s regional to be very competitive. The regional will feature No. 7 Bedford North Lawrence, No. 19 Columbus North, Bloomington North and Seymour. The Highlanders defeated the Stars by one stroke in an 18-hole dual match at Champions Pointe last Wednesday.

“You never know what you are going to get with this group,” Cason said about his players. “Champions Pointe is a harder course and it will depend on how the course is set up. But we play there a lot and we’re familiar with the course.”

Floyd Central 302, Providence 305, New Albany 335, Corydon 338, Scottsburg 343, Silver Creek 355, Jeffersonville 360, Lanesville 360, Charlestown 370, Clarksville 373, North Harrison 394, Borden 400, South Central 405, Henryville 429, New Washington 497, Christian Academy of Indiana NTS

Henryville — Embry 72, Gray 113, Graf 128, Smith 116.
Click here for full results


Hornets finish third in regular-season finale
6/2/2011 by Matt Koesters and Kevin Harris (The Evening News)

Henryville ended its regular season by placing third in a triangular meet at Champions Pointe Golf Club in Memphis, shooting a team score of 216. Salem won the meet with a 173, while Trinity Lutheran was second with a 179.

Evan Embry led the Hornets with a 40. Rounding out the scoring for Henryville were Cody Gray with a 52, Logan Smith with a 60 and Tyler Green with a 64. Teddy Graf added a 65.

“We’re at the point where what we have is what we have. As a team, we could’ve shot lower,” Hornets’ head coach Robin Embry said.

Salem (173) - Brown (38), Nice (42), Fultz (43), Smith (50), Morgan (61), St. Clair (68)
Trinity Lutheran (179) - Benter (43), Long (44), Hallow (45), Warren (47), Hendrix (54), Schepman (54)
Henryville (216) - Embry (40), Gray (52), Smith (60), Green (64), Graf (65)


72nd Senior PGA Championship @ Valhalla Golf Club
5/24-29/2011