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The South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn boys golf program burst on the scene in a historic way during the 2024 season.
Can history repeat itself this time around for the Titans?
Coach Jerry Janowski's squad won the program's first-ever sectional crown a season ago in just its third year of team competition in the IHSAA. It then placed second at the regional round before wrapping up postseason play with a 15th-place finish at the Indiana State Finals. The school, with an enrollment at the time of 127 students, was the third smallest to make the state finals.
More: Trinity romps past Saint Joseph, Marian for South Bend sectional golf title
More: Tiny Trinity stuns big boys again with runner-up finish at Sandy Pines golf regional
Trinity, which checked in as the lone team in the Tribune's coverage area in the preseason poll at No. 17, lost a pair of key pieces in Jacob Palmer and Max Cressy. Palmer, now playing for Holy Cross, had scoring averages of 38.33 for nine holes and a school record 75.56 for 18 holes and was academic all-state. The pair qualified for regionals in 2023. Palmer shot 157 at the state finals to lead his team, while Cressy finished at 179.
Trinity will be led by sophomore Drew Sweikar. He was sectional champion a season ago with a 71, was fifth at the regional with a 77 and shot 163 for his two rounds at state. The lineup also includes key returnees from the state team in sophomores Nathan Palmer and Jackson Cressy. Palmer shot 170 and Cressy 178 at state. The outstanding trio were three of the total of eight freshmen in the field at the state finals in 2024.
"We are excited to get this season going after last year's historic run to the IHSAA State Finals," Trinity coach Janowski said. "It will be hard to duplicate last year's success."
The trio of Saint Joseph, Penn and Northridge should be among the other area teams to keep an eye on this spring.
The Huskies were sectional runner-up to Trinity a season ago and placed seven at the regional round. St. Joe returns a strong group, led by senior Thomas Raster.
The Kingsmen were fourth in the sectional after winning the Northern Indiana Conference title. Penn did graduate its top two players in Dillan Mounts and Jack Yewchuk, who was a state qualifier in 2024.
Northridge won its fourth straight sectional title and placed seventh at the Warsaw Regional. The Raiders did lose a strong senior class, including its top two players in Coby and Conner Hochstetler.
Among other area teams that could be a factor in 2025 are Marian, LaPorte, New Prairie, Fairfield and Plymouth. All five were regional qualifiers a season ago.
The area player to watch will be Brayden Miller of Fairfield. The senior standout claimed the individual state title in 2024. Miller shot rounds of rounds of 68 and 71 to finish at 139. Another local player to keep an eye on is Elkhart senior Steven Webb. Webb shot 158 at state a season ago.
Golf sectionals are slated for June 5-9 with regionals June 12 or 13 and the State Finals June 17-18. Area sectional hosts are South Bend Riley (at Erskine), LaPorte (at Beechwood), Northridge (at Meadow Valley) and Warsaw (at Eagle Glen). Regional hosts are Lake Central (at Sandy Pines) and Warsaw (at Stonehenge). The state finals are at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
Here is a quick look at a quartet of top area teams:
The Titans accomplished so much a year ago.
Trinity won the first three invitationals in school history (Adams, Kankakee Valley, Lake Central) and also went 16-0 in regular and three-way matches. The team also set records for a 9-hole match (147 at Erskine) and 18-hole team score (302 at Morris Park and Erskine at the sectional).
The Titans' lineup is expected to include freshmen newcomers JP Bernady and Colin Abbott.
"This year will be fascinating to watch as we transition from a senior-led, family-oriented team (two sets of brothers) into a sophomore-led team with much less tournament experience," noted coach Janowski. "We also face a stronger sectional with a strong South Bend St. Joe team, a traditionally talented Penn team, a deeper Mishawaka Marian team and an Elkhart team adding a talented freshman to a state-qualifier senior.
"The key to our season will be keeping the sophomores from putting too much pressure on themselves to duplicate last season. If they can focus on playing steady golf, grind on every shot and don't let poor shots or holes affect them, our top three will be solid. And if our freshmen can shoot the scores, I think they're capable of, we may be in the hunt to once again advance to regionals."
The Huskies return a strong group for new coach Adam Gustine.
Four of the top five players from 2024 will lead the way for St. Joe in seniors Beau Basney, Jake Hirshler and Thomas Raster and junior Tate Guyton.
"We’ve set our sights high this season,'' coach Gustine said. "With so many players returning, we aim to capitalize on our previous experience and win our regional and are working hard now to be in a position to advance to state as a team. We have several players very capable of making a deep run toward state this year.
"We also have a roster of young emerging talent that should make this year, and the next several years, pretty exciting for St Joe boys' golf. As a first-year head coach, I’m thrilled to see the passion and skill on our roster top to bottom. "
Expectations are always high at Penn, and this season is no different for new coach Al Hartman.
The Kingsmen went 14-1 overall a year ago, including winning the NIC crown at 9-1.
Key players back for Penn include seniors Colten Donze, Michael Basney and Joel Cocquyt, juniors Corbin O'Hara and Andrew Baker and sophomores Sam Weiss and Asher Bridwell. O'Hara played No. 3 in 2024, while Donze was at No. 4 and Basney at No. 5.
"I think expectations are always high for every sport at Penn High School," Hartman said. "The golf team is no exception. Our goals would be to capture another conference title, advance out of the sectional and proceed as far as possible in the state tournament."
The Raiders finished 17-4 overall and second in the Northern Lakes Conference at 6-1 in 2024.
Northridge welcomes back senior Alex Thompson, along with junior Kaden Miller and Owen Kaehr. Thompson played No. 3 a season ago, while Miller was at No. 4 or 5 and Kaehr at No. 5 or 6.
Among the other potential varsity candidates for Northridge are senior Jason Wickey, juniors Brayden Hershberger and Josiah Schrock and freshmen Cooper Kropf and Brady Riegsecker.
"Looking forward to a great season this year," Northridge coach Ken Brewster said. "Even with the loss of six seniors from last year's team, I still expect us to be very competitive in the NLC and in our sectional and regional. We bring back some veteran experience and will rely on some newcomers to help us this season. Competition for several spots on our varsity will help make this team get better as the season goes forward."
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Trinity hopes to build on a historic season of a year ago
Continue reading...
Can history repeat itself this time around for the Titans?
Coach Jerry Janowski's squad won the program's first-ever sectional crown a season ago in just its third year of team competition in the IHSAA. It then placed second at the regional round before wrapping up postseason play with a 15th-place finish at the Indiana State Finals. The school, with an enrollment at the time of 127 students, was the third smallest to make the state finals.
More: Trinity romps past Saint Joseph, Marian for South Bend sectional golf title
More: Tiny Trinity stuns big boys again with runner-up finish at Sandy Pines golf regional
Trinity, which checked in as the lone team in the Tribune's coverage area in the preseason poll at No. 17, lost a pair of key pieces in Jacob Palmer and Max Cressy. Palmer, now playing for Holy Cross, had scoring averages of 38.33 for nine holes and a school record 75.56 for 18 holes and was academic all-state. The pair qualified for regionals in 2023. Palmer shot 157 at the state finals to lead his team, while Cressy finished at 179.
Trinity will be led by sophomore Drew Sweikar. He was sectional champion a season ago with a 71, was fifth at the regional with a 77 and shot 163 for his two rounds at state. The lineup also includes key returnees from the state team in sophomores Nathan Palmer and Jackson Cressy. Palmer shot 170 and Cressy 178 at state. The outstanding trio were three of the total of eight freshmen in the field at the state finals in 2024.
"We are excited to get this season going after last year's historic run to the IHSAA State Finals," Trinity coach Janowski said. "It will be hard to duplicate last year's success."
The trio of Saint Joseph, Penn and Northridge should be among the other area teams to keep an eye on this spring.
The Huskies were sectional runner-up to Trinity a season ago and placed seven at the regional round. St. Joe returns a strong group, led by senior Thomas Raster.
The Kingsmen were fourth in the sectional after winning the Northern Indiana Conference title. Penn did graduate its top two players in Dillan Mounts and Jack Yewchuk, who was a state qualifier in 2024.
Northridge won its fourth straight sectional title and placed seventh at the Warsaw Regional. The Raiders did lose a strong senior class, including its top two players in Coby and Conner Hochstetler.
Among other area teams that could be a factor in 2025 are Marian, LaPorte, New Prairie, Fairfield and Plymouth. All five were regional qualifiers a season ago.
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The area player to watch will be Brayden Miller of Fairfield. The senior standout claimed the individual state title in 2024. Miller shot rounds of rounds of 68 and 71 to finish at 139. Another local player to keep an eye on is Elkhart senior Steven Webb. Webb shot 158 at state a season ago.
Golf sectionals are slated for June 5-9 with regionals June 12 or 13 and the State Finals June 17-18. Area sectional hosts are South Bend Riley (at Erskine), LaPorte (at Beechwood), Northridge (at Meadow Valley) and Warsaw (at Eagle Glen). Regional hosts are Lake Central (at Sandy Pines) and Warsaw (at Stonehenge). The state finals are at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel.
Here is a quick look at a quartet of top area teams:
South Bend Trinity at Greenlawn
The Titans accomplished so much a year ago.
Trinity won the first three invitationals in school history (Adams, Kankakee Valley, Lake Central) and also went 16-0 in regular and three-way matches. The team also set records for a 9-hole match (147 at Erskine) and 18-hole team score (302 at Morris Park and Erskine at the sectional).
The Titans' lineup is expected to include freshmen newcomers JP Bernady and Colin Abbott.
"This year will be fascinating to watch as we transition from a senior-led, family-oriented team (two sets of brothers) into a sophomore-led team with much less tournament experience," noted coach Janowski. "We also face a stronger sectional with a strong South Bend St. Joe team, a traditionally talented Penn team, a deeper Mishawaka Marian team and an Elkhart team adding a talented freshman to a state-qualifier senior.
"The key to our season will be keeping the sophomores from putting too much pressure on themselves to duplicate last season. If they can focus on playing steady golf, grind on every shot and don't let poor shots or holes affect them, our top three will be solid. And if our freshmen can shoot the scores, I think they're capable of, we may be in the hunt to once again advance to regionals."
Saint Joseph
The Huskies return a strong group for new coach Adam Gustine.
Four of the top five players from 2024 will lead the way for St. Joe in seniors Beau Basney, Jake Hirshler and Thomas Raster and junior Tate Guyton.
"We’ve set our sights high this season,'' coach Gustine said. "With so many players returning, we aim to capitalize on our previous experience and win our regional and are working hard now to be in a position to advance to state as a team. We have several players very capable of making a deep run toward state this year.
"We also have a roster of young emerging talent that should make this year, and the next several years, pretty exciting for St Joe boys' golf. As a first-year head coach, I’m thrilled to see the passion and skill on our roster top to bottom. "
Penn
Expectations are always high at Penn, and this season is no different for new coach Al Hartman.
The Kingsmen went 14-1 overall a year ago, including winning the NIC crown at 9-1.
Key players back for Penn include seniors Colten Donze, Michael Basney and Joel Cocquyt, juniors Corbin O'Hara and Andrew Baker and sophomores Sam Weiss and Asher Bridwell. O'Hara played No. 3 in 2024, while Donze was at No. 4 and Basney at No. 5.
"I think expectations are always high for every sport at Penn High School," Hartman said. "The golf team is no exception. Our goals would be to capture another conference title, advance out of the sectional and proceed as far as possible in the state tournament."
Northridge
The Raiders finished 17-4 overall and second in the Northern Lakes Conference at 6-1 in 2024.
Northridge welcomes back senior Alex Thompson, along with junior Kaden Miller and Owen Kaehr. Thompson played No. 3 a season ago, while Miller was at No. 4 or 5 and Kaehr at No. 5 or 6.
Among the other potential varsity candidates for Northridge are senior Jason Wickey, juniors Brayden Hershberger and Josiah Schrock and freshmen Cooper Kropf and Brady Riegsecker.
"Looking forward to a great season this year," Northridge coach Ken Brewster said. "Even with the loss of six seniors from last year's team, I still expect us to be very competitive in the NLC and in our sectional and regional. We bring back some veteran experience and will rely on some newcomers to help us this season. Competition for several spots on our varsity will help make this team get better as the season goes forward."
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Trinity hopes to build on a historic season of a year ago
Continue reading...
