Alec Dutkowski and Caleb Lung celebrate a putt made by teammate Kurt Hand during the Conrad Golf Outing Monday at Maxwelton Golf Club. The team won the outing with a 17-under-par 55. (Photos by James Costello)

SYRACUSE — Monday marked the second annual Conrad Golf Outing, and the legacy of Kim and Steven Conrad could be seen once more as more than 170 golfers turned out at the memorial outing at Maxwelton Golf Club.

A total of 43 foursomes played over two sessions — one in the morning and one in the afternoon — and money raised from the event was put into a memorial scholarship fund for Wawasee High School student-athletes who are either attending college to become a teacher, like Kim, or who excelled in golf, basketball, cheerleading or gymnastics, all sports the Conrads were involved at the high school before their tragic passing in a car accident on Christmas night in 2016. The second year of the golf outing also marked the first presentation of scholarships with the money raised from last year’s inaugural event, and 2018 Wawasee graduates Meghan Beer, Lacey Helfers, Jairus Boyer and Hannah-Marie Lamle were named the recipients of the first-ever scholarships.

Scott Beasley reads the winning 50/50 raffle number from fellow Conrad Golf Fundraiser Committee member Jeff Wells Monday.

“Today was a special day for the community, kind of bringing everybody back together remembering two special people that we all loved and meant a lot to this community,” said event organizer Scott Beasley. “I think it’s pretty neat to see the support from everybody, from all over. It’s not just here in Syracuse; it’s all over from different counties and people flying in and buddies of his from high school. To be able to give back to current Wawasee High School students that are going on to college and doing great things, it’s a great way to be able to help them continue their education.”

Team Lung won the tournament with a score of 17-under-par 55, followed closely by Herr Custom Paint’s 16-under score. The winning team was composed of Kurt Hand, Trevor McKibben and a pair of ringers from NorthWood High School in last spring’s Northern Lakes Conference Tournament and Northridge Sectional champion Caleb Lung and two-time All-American and current Taylor University golfer Alec Dutkowski. Nancy Shields won the closest to the pin competition, Cheryl Shook was the ladies long drive winner, Chas Amadeo claimed men’s longest drive honors, and Cameron Tranter won the longest putt competition. Ben Jackson took top honors in the putting contest following the afternoon round and donated his winnings back into the scholarship fund.

In addition to the field of golfers, numerous volunteers turned out to show support to the cause in honor of the Conrads, and Beasley thanked them for their support as well as Maxwelton for hosting the large event.

“We’re all friends of the Conrads, and a group of us decided it would be a good thing to do this and to raise the money to be able to give back,” explained Beasley of the genesis of the golf outing. “It’s not only the committee in general, it’s the volunteers that came out today. I put a thing out on Facebook that we needed volunteers for the hole in one, and we had over 12 people that came out, willing to help, here all day, doing the putting contest. Doug Wells was out here all day giving his time, Jeff Wells, and Maxwelton does a great job with the whole thing, with being able to accommodate this many people. With 43 teams and two sessions, it’s a lot.”

Kim and Stephen Conrad were known for their community involvement in life, so it’s no surprise that the memorial golf outing started in their memory has seen such a large turnout over its two years. Kim was a teacher at Syracuse Elementary School as well as a gymnastics and cheerleading coach, an IHSAA gymnastics official and a realtor. Stephen played basketball and golf at Wawasee High School, and is considered likely the best golfer in the high school’s history, working his way up to the professional ranks while still in college, then working as an assistant course pro at Anthem Golf and Country Club in Anthem, Az. before returning home for Christmas in 2016.

For Beasley, a former student of Kim’s and a lifelong friend of Stephen, the outing is a very special occasion, and he hopes he and his fellow Conrad Golf Fundraiser Committee members can continue the tradition for a long time to come.

“For me, it’s obviously near and dear to my heart. Kim was my teacher growing up and lived right around the corner, and Steve and I grew up together and stayed the best of friends going through everything. It’s obviously tough, but I hope he would love where it’s going and what we’re doing,” he said.

“We hope to be over 40 teams every year; I think that kind of gets us the number that we’re looking for every year. There’s a lot that goes into it with the planning and the preparation. The committee, I think we had probably over 12 meetings over the course of the last three months. But when it all comes together, the culmination of seeing everybody out here is just wonderful. To see the love and support for the Conrads is great. We hope to continue it for a long time and to keep their name alive and give back to the kids at Wawasee and what they were about. To me, it’s just a fun event to bring everybody together and continue that.”

Teammates Sally Biddinger, Susan Stump, Cheryl Shook and Joan Slocum pose for a team pic during Monday’s round.