Season preview: Which South Bend-area high school boys golf teams will thrive in 2024?
SOUTH BEND — When it comes to area boys golf powerhouses, Penn and Saint Joseph have ruled the Northern Indiana Conference while Northridge and Warsaw have led the way in the Northern Lakes Conference.
Those four teams figure to be the targets again in their respective conferences with Marian, New Prairie and Trinity School at Greenlawn hoping to make some noise come state tournament time at the end of May as the area season has finally begun following a post-Easter spring break for many area schools.
The season began Saturday with Penn, Trinity and Warsaw among those competing in the Don Dicken Classic at Stonehenge.
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“Our expectations are the same as last year — to make it out of regionals for the sixth straight year,” Penn coach Tony Polizzotto said. “I love our group, especially with our two seniors Dylan (Mounts) and Jack (Yewchuk) leading the group.”
Several area teams competed at the Goshen Invitational at Black Squirrel Saturday morning while New Prairie was in the field at the Marquette Catholic Invitational at Briar Leaf. Saint Joseph begins play April 17 against Adams and Marian at Juday Creek.
“With the two-time NIC MVP (Thomas Raster) returning and missing the state finals by one stroke, this team is locked in and has some hefty goals,” Saint Joseph coach Bret Bajdek added.
There hasn’t been a school north of U.S. 30 win the state golf team championship since 2001 when coach Jim Kryder’s Mishawaka Marian Knights captured the team title by nine strokes over Zionsville.
Since 1970, only South Bend Adams (1973), LaPorte (1976), Elkhart Central (1979), Rochester (1980), Fort Wayne Northrop (1984) and Mishawaka Marian have won team titles. During that time frame, nine individuals from schools north of U.S. 30 have been crowned state champions led by South Bend Clay’s Jeremy Wilkinson who won in 1994 as a sophomore and repeated his junior year.
Last year when the tournament was held at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel, Guerin Catholic edged Westfield by two strokes, 589-591. The Kingsmen finished 16th at 662, 21 strokes ahead of coach Ken Brewster’s Northridge Raiders, the NLC champs. Fairfield junior Brayden Miller did improve on his 2022 all-state freshman performance of 12th place to finish in solo sixth at one-under 143, five strokes behind medalist Leo Wessel of Guerin Catholic.
Miller, who has announced he will be attending the University of Cincinnati, returns along with senior Miles Nine to lead coach John Kauffman’s Falcons in their quest of a Northeast Corner Conference title.
Junior Colten Donze is another player to watch for Penn while Raster, a junior, should have plenty of help on the Huskies from classmate Beau Basney and senior Joey Borsodi. Marian, coached by Alex Stopczynski, is led by sophomore John Hahn, junior Charlie Tamashasky and senior Jackson Horvath.
2023 state championship: Fairfield’s Brayden Miller sixth; Guerin Catholic wins 2nd straight IHSAA boys golf title
Two other teams to watch in the NIC are coach Todd King’s Elkhart Lions, who are led by junior Steven Webb, and coach Alex Homann’s New Prairie Cougars, led by senior Hunter Zdyb. Independent Trinity School at Greenlawn, coached by Jerry Janowski, hopes to make noise in the state tournament again with 2023 individual qualifier Jacob Palmer returning for his senior season with classmate Max Cressy.
The Northern Lakes Conference should again be a battle between defending champion Northridge and runner-up Warsaw. Coach Ken Brewster’s Northridge Raiders saw Brock Reschly graduate but return juniors Coby and Conner Hochstetler. Coach Jack Carpenter’s deep and talented Tigers are led by senior Austin Craig and junior Robbie Finlinson.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Indiana high school golf preview 2024: South Bend
