NP's Judy, Tiger Cubs win Putnam County golf titles

Consistency throughout the lineup helped the Greencastle boys' golf team to capture the Putnam County championship by eight strokes over North Putnam at Clover Meadows on Thursday.

The event was halted for 30 minutes due to a rain delay, but several good scores were still turned in on the wet course.

Greencastle coach Steve Paquin's team had all five players to score in a range from 39 to 45, which he felt was a key to his team's victory on yet another day with difficult weather conditions.

"That is one phase of our game that we have been really focused on the last two weeks," he said. "Jake Buis played some great golf until the last three holes, which he bogeyed."

Buis finished with a 39 to lead the Tiger Cubs and tie for second with South Putnam's Tyler Hicks one stroke behind medalist Austin Judy of North Putnam.

Jonah Stevens and Jaxon Parmley supported Buis by coming through with scores of 41 and 43, respectively.

"That was the difference between winning and coming in second," Paquin said. "Our other two players [Jake Bennett and Blaise Hasty] were fighting illness and injury throughout the tournament, but still came through with good scores [42 and 43]."

Paquin's team now stands at 13-2 on the season in dual, triangular and quad matches with several good tournament finishes (two firsts, a second, a third and a fifth).

"This was probably the breakthrough to improving, heading into the WIC tournament on Saturday and the upcoming sectional in a few weeks," he said.

Cloverdale coach Doug Wokoun was pleased with the steady improvement of his players.

Chase Snyder paced the Clovers with a 41.

"Austin Judy was very steady throughout and is a very deserving champion," he said. "Tyler Hicks and Jake Buis also played very well and had great scores under the circumstances.

"We were very pleased to have Akers repeat as All-County," Wokoun added. "He played a very good round and was able to minimize his difficulties. He has really become a very solid player over the last few weeks, and is playing at the level we thought he could."

Wokoun also noted that Drew Boyette shot his personal best in a match with a 42, also earning all-county honors.

"He is starting to gain confidence," Wokoun said. "He has a chance to be an outstanding player, and earning all-county will only be the start of some pretty exciting things for him."

Kylar Galloway scored third for the Clovers with a 46.

"He was playing pretty well until the delay," Wokoun said. "He lost his rhythm and could not get it back after the wait. He was disappointed, but hopefully gained some insight into the mental aspect of the game that will be helpful down the road."

Zarek Wellington and Zach Nichols rounded out the Clover scoring with a 51 and 52, respectively.

"They both had tough days," Wokoun said. "They both had three holes that killed an otherwise decent effort. Sometimes things happen that just can't be overcome, but that is part of golf, and they will bounce back."

All-county golf

Austin Judy (NP) 38

Tyler Hicks (SP) 39

Jake Buis (G) 39

Chase Snyder (C) 41

Jake Holtze (NP) 41

Jonah Stevens (G) 41

Drew Boyette (C) 42

Jake Bennett (G) 42

Greencastle (165) -- Jake Buis 39, Jonah Stevens 41, Jake Bennett 42, Jaxson Parmley 43, Blaise Hasty 45

North Putnam (173) -- Austin Judy 38, Jake Holtze 41, Logan Grim 45, Preston Porter 49, Alex Ruble 56

Cloverdale (180) -- Chase Snyder 41, Drew Boyette 42, Kylar Galloway 46, Zarek Wellington 51, Zach Nichols 52

South Putnam (214) -- Tyler Hicks 39, Bradley Shrader 58, Jacob Williams 58, Collin McAllister 59, Trevor Long 73

Next match -- All four schools will play in the WIC championship at 9 a.m. Saturday at Idle Creek in Terre Haute.