Northridge Golf Sectional: Lung, Panthers Prefer Tough Muddin’
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NorthWood won its fourth sectional title Friday by shooting 318 to win the Northridge Boys Golf Sectional. (Photos by Mike Deak)
MIDDLEBURY – Chalk up another banner moment for the NorthWood boys golf program.
Playing on less than an ideal track at a waterlogged Meadow Valley Golf Club, NorthWood managed the course well enough on Friday to shoot a 318 to conquer the field at the Northridge Boys Golf Sectional.
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NorthWood’s Caleb Lung drives the 14th hole.
Led by an even-par 72 by medalist Caleb Lung, the Panthers were able to avoid a lot of the standing water and road blocks that ate up other teams. Lung shot a one-under 35 on the front nine, and came home with a 37 on the back. His score was three better than playing partner and tournament runner-up Carter Giggy of Westview, who went 75 to qualify as an individual for regional.
“I’m a mudder,” noted Lung with a grin. “I like playing from the mud and the rain doesn’t bother me. I expected to play like this. Hard work, coaches making practice hard on me. Teammates challenging me at practice. The personal hard work to get better is showing.”
Lung is now the medalist in two of his last three tournaments as he also won the championship at the Northern Lakes Conference tournament.
The only other score to break 80 in the tournament came from Lung’s teammate, Sean Hogan, who shot a 77, coming home with a 37 on the back side.
“I felt like hitting it off the tee was crucial today,” Hogan said. “With how wet it was today and how muddy the roughs were, you really had to keep things straight. After I bogeyed seven, eight and nine, I had birdie looks on 10, 11 and 12. I parred them all, but I felt like things were coming together.”
The Panthers used a consistent roster to make up its championship stride, getting an 84 from Randy Kauffman, 85 from Jacob Falk and 86 from Micah Pippenger.
NorthWood repeats as sectional champion, adding a fourth title to its trophy case to go along with the 2017, 2013 and 1993. The Panthers roll into the Warsaw Regional next week on a hot streak, having claimed the Northern Lakes Conference title two weeks ago and now a sectional title to boot. The 318 on Friday is a season-low for the club.
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NorthWood’s Randy Kauffman watches his tee shot on 17.
“I feel like we are figuring things out,” said NorthWood head coach Trevor Shields. “Caleb played great, really happy for him. As a team, we struck the ball really well, credit to our guys. Great for Caleb to set the tone with an even-par 72. Sean with a 77 is very good given the conditions. Really proud of him. Credit to Randy, Micah and Jacob, they all struck the ball well. All that really got us was the putting. I feel like we are really trending in the right direction.”
Concord and Fairfield will join the field at Warsaw, the Minutemen runner-up on Friday with their 333 and the Falcons squeaking by with a 340, two strokes better than Westview’s 342. The top three teams from each sectional qualify for regional play around the state.
Brendin Green, playing partner with Lung and Giggy, kept up the pace with an 80 to lead the Minutemen while Falcon No. 1 Michael Shetler also fired an 80 to lead his team to next week.
Brian Titus of Westview at 81 and Coye Blodgett of Prairie Heights at 83 join Giggy as individual regional qualifiers.
The Warsaw Boys Golf Regional will take place Thursday at Stonehenge Golf Club. The top three teams from the regional as well as non-team qualifying individuals will make the IHSAA State Finals June 12-13 in Carmel.
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NorthWood’s Sean Hogan sends his tee shot toward the par-three 15th.