Triton’s Ryan Rapp should be a big part of Triton’s success on the golf course this spring. (Photo by Mike Deak)

The time is now for the Triton boys golf team.

After running out of steam in last year’s regional round, the Trojans will look to ride a strong group of upperclassmen to the next level.

The majority of that weight will be carried by Quentyn Carpenter and Ryan Rapp, two seniors who have both seen more than their fair share of varsity matches.

“These two seniors have played varsity since they were freshmen and have had a great deal of success,” head coach Jack Carpenter said of the duo.

“They are tremendous leaders and work very hard at their game. These two have got to be around par for us to be competitive with the big schools. Much of our team’s success will depend on the play of these two guys,” Carpenter later continued.

Quentyn, the team’s number one golfer this season, has had an up and down start to his final season as a Trojan so far. In last Saturday’s Hall of Fame Invitational played at Rock Hollow in Peru, Carpenter shot just an 85, a performance that was dubbed “well off of his game” by his coach. But the future Ball State Cardinal pulled a 180 from his rocky showing at Rock Hollow and then inked a 35 in Wednesday’s dual match with Bremen and LaVille.

While most eyes will be on Carpenter and Rapp this year in the one and two spots for the Trojans, it will be the players lining up in spots three through five that will make all the difference down the road.

That is where Tanner Shepherd and Lucas Shafer come into play. The juniors will be Triton’s the three and four golfers, respectively. Both players bring in varsity experience from last season, but only Shepherd was a full-time contributor on the varsity team.

Coach Carpenter could not emphasize enough the importance of these two players.

“Tanner is definitely capable of helping out if he finds the consistency we are looking for. His varsity experience will be important. As for Lucas, he has put in a lot of time with his golf game this past year and has some experience on varsity. We will need him to step up to the next level for us to achieve the goals we want,” the coach stated.

Carpenter mentioned that the five spot will be a toss up between several seniors and freshmen. While he wished he had a more defined answer, the coach did mention that though his roster has the numbers, it does not have the experience.

Carpenter hopes his team will be able to breakthrough regional this season for a trip to the state finals. A good measuring stick for the coach and his team will be this Saturday as the Trojans compete in the Tiger Invitational at the Stonehenge Golf Club. Play gets started at 10 a.m.

Talented Tigers Talking Trip To State

The number one and two golfers from last season’s regional championship and sixth place Warsaw team at state, Tyler Ostrom (Ball State) and Bennett Hollar (Wheaton College), have graduated and moved on to playing in college. With a blow like that to such a talented team with such a difficult sectional and regional draw, what can the Tigers golf team really accomplish this season? Quite a lot, actually.

Yes, the road will be tough, and yes, new players will need to step up, but Warsaw has no doubt about its ability to get to The Legends Golf Club in June for the IHSAA State Finals. The Tigers have already strutted their stuff this season by placing second in last Saturday’s Hall of Fame Invitational, reminding opposing teams that they are not going anywhere.

Leading this year’s team, which is ranked No. 2 in this week’s state poll, will be seniors Jon Schram and Tim Ahlersmeyer. Both players are entering their fourth year on the varsity team and look to make it their second straight year with their team in the state finals.

Head coach Ben Barkey knows what he has in his two seniors and hopes to see them excel as it should help the rest of the team take off as well.

“Both have been on varsity since their freshman years and they both are top players in the state,” Barkey stated. “If they both get going this year then we will be tough to beat.”

Another Tiger to watch for is Jonny Hollar. The sensational sophomore was a big part of last year’s regional championship team and he has only improved since his freshman campaign.

“Jonny had an outstanding freshman season and followed that up with a really great summer.” said Barkey. The Tiger coach is not the only one to notice Hollar’s continued success. The sophomore is even grabbing regional attention as Barkey would reveal, “Junior Golf Scoreboard has Jonny ranked eighth in his class for Indiana.”

The talent does not stop there, either. Barkey praised his junior varsity squad, stating, “We are extremely deep with all of our JV players able to shoot an 85 or better.”

With the talent up front and the depth to support it, the Tigers have their sites set on another memorable season.

Warsaw will host its Tiger Invitational at Stonehenge this Saturday with first tee-times at 10 a.m.

Warriors Looking To Get On Warpath Again

The end of the 2012 golf season for Wawasee was bitter, at best. As the team fell out of contention at the Warsaw Sectional, a three-man playoff had two Warriors – Derek Zurcher and Luke Jackson – facing off against Plymouth’s Johnny Ruff. A tremendous punch from the rough by Ruff sank, taking the hopes of any Wawasee representation in the regional with it.

Determined to not let sectional nightmares reoccur, Wawasee reloads but will have to travel a different route to get to the regional. Moving from the Warsaw Sectional to the Fairfield Sectional at Black Squirrel, getting the team to move on might be even tougher considering teams from NorthWood, Northridge, Concord and Fairfield will be working, as well.

“We will have a deep team,” said Wawasee head coach Steve Coverstone. “We should have several players fighting for a varsity spot this season. The kids have put in a lot of work and we will be looking to see what results we get from the work they have put in.”

While Zurcher has since graduated, Wawasee brings back a huge core of returners. Led by seniors Jackson and Dylan Cousins, as well as sophomores Mason Germonprez, Tristen Atwood and Maclain Herr, Wawasee should be well-equipped to dealing with varsity pressure. Freshmen Jeffrey Moore and Cal Heinisch could compete right away for varsity positions.

“Our guys worked fairly hard over the summer, all of them, that was good to see and we hope the results are visible on the course,” Coverstone offered.

Cougars Will Rely Heavily On Seniors

For Lakeland Christian Academy, it will be all about seniority.

The Cougars will field nine players this season, and six will be seniors. With that much age and leadership at the top, it could be an exciting season for the Cougar clubbers.

Seniors for LCA are Zarek Finley, Cameron Hathaway, Joel Haines, Chris Mason, Ross Wallen and Brandon Wildman. Junior Logan Mount, sophomore Kyle Shuler and freshman Carter Twombly round out the roster.

LCA will play in its first invitational of the season on Saturday as it travels to Star City, Ind., for the Caston Invitational held at Pond View Golf Course. First teem for the Invite is 8 a.m.

Wildcats Looking To Roar

Heightened expectations in 2013 could lead to big things within the Whitko golf program.

Returning four of the five golfers from the 2012 sectional roster, Whitko have the experience to compete in what will surely be another tough golf schedule. Returners from the sectional are Cole Bechtold, Matt Hathaway, Colton LeTourneau and Dan Zawlocki – with just LeTourneau being the lone senior on the roster of 14 Wildcats

Will Peters has joined the varsity five, which beat Churubusco earlier this week to begin the 2013 season.

Whitko will resume play this Saturday at the Fort Wayne Northrop Invite.

Valley Starts Season

Tippecanoe Valley opened its 2013 campaign Thursday with a 1-1 showing under wet and cold conditions.

The Vikings shot 173 in action versus Culver Academy (154) and Rochester (188) in Culver.

Bryce Zimpelman led the Vikings with a 38. Tanner Neeley shot a 39, while Josh Tucker came in at 47, Trevor Neeley 49 and Ben Shriver 53.

Valley competes in the Michigan City Marquette Invitational on Saturday.