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By TR HARLAN When you reach every goal you’ve set, it’s awfully hard to be disappointed. The Chesterton boys golf team put a cap on its season with an eighth place finish Wednesday afternoon at the IHSAA State Championships at the Legends of Indiana Golf Club in Franklin. “When you set three main goals and hit all of them, that speaks pretty highly about how successful a season you’ve had,” Chesterton coach John Sparks said. “There was unranked team in the top nine and it was Chesterton. We didn’t get a lot of credit throughout the State, but we reintroduced Chesterton golf back to everybody.” The Trojans were sitting in perfect position to challenge for the State’s top prize when play was halted Tuesday night due to darkness, but didn’t get things going on Wednesday like they wanted to. “Playing two days back-to-back is tough anyway, but to add in finishing another round and not getting much sleep was a factor,” Sparks said. “They got about five hours of sleep. We just kind of ran out of gas.” To conclude the first round, the Trojans watched their scores rise and found themselves fighting just to make it to Day 2. “A couple of them got off to a tough start,” Sparks said. “But we got it back together to finish it up and Kyle (Grassel) came up huge.” Grassel had the most holes to play (six) and finished one under during the stretch to lead the Trojans into Day 2. “Kyle was –1 on the six holes he had to finish and just played great,” Sparks said. “Everybody else had struggled and he just plugged away. That’s what the guy playing No. 1 is supposed to do.” The Trojans fired a 303 team score in the opening round which tied them for seventh overall heading into the final round. “It was great to make it to the second day even though we had to turn around and play an hour later,” Sparks said. “We handled it pretty well.” The Trojans fired a 313 team score to finish the tournament at 616 and eighth overall. Junior Josh Kalita fired the team’s best score on Day 2 with a 76, while Ryan Grassel shot 77. Kyle Grassel fired a 79 with Nick Stasil shooting 81 and Pat Herrod an 82. “It was huge for us to be playing on the second day,” Sparks said. “Now they have some experience and some confidence next time. It’s different down here. There are a lot of extra things that are going on. “We dealt with some real challenging situations.” The Trojans did make a lineup change on Day 2 as Sparks elected to play Herrod in place of senior Steve Wuletich. “It was a tough call,” Sparks said. “They were almost identical in average for the year. I wanted Steve to have the experience of playing in the State Finals and Pat for next year if we can get back here. “I’m really happy we were able to get them both in there. They both played well.” Sophomore Ryan Grassel had the low two-day total for the Trojans with a 68 and 77 for a 145 total and 16th place finish. He also was named to the All-State team. “Playing those extra holes probably had something to do with today’s score,” Sparks said. “He showed what he’s capable of. He’s only going to get better.” The Trojans finished 16-1 overall in dual meets, while also winning the Duneland Athletic Conference and Sectional titles. They finished second at the LaPorte Regional as well. “Other than making the second day (at State), the back nine at Beechwood (Regional) really showed what we are capable of,” Sparks said. And it didn’t take the Trojans long to start setting goals for next season. “Standing there watching the awards ceremony was a motivator for us,” Sparks said. “They watched kids they know they are every bit as good as get medals. They already set some goals for next year. “They want to be on that podium.” IHSAA State Finals LEGENDS OF INDIANA GOLF CLUB, Par 70 1. Indianapolis Cathedral, 274-288—562; 2. Avon, 289-295—584; 3. Lafayette Jefferson, 299-292—591; 4. Northridge, 300-301—602; 5. Hamilton Southeastern, 304-299—603; 6. Mishawaka Marian, 302-308—610; 7. Noblesville, 303-311—614; 8. Chesterton, 303-313—616; 9. Wawasee, 301-318—619. Individual Results Top Ten 1. Corey Ziedonis (Indpls. Cathedral), 65-72—137 (won on 1st playoff hole); 2. Chase Wright (Delta), 69-68—137; 3. (tie) Nick Grubnich (Crown Point), 67-72—139 and Aaron Monson (Perry Meridian), 70-69—139; 5. (tie) Tyler Duncan (Columbus North), 70-70—140, Drew Hrvatin (Evansville Reitz), 71-69—140, Patrick Rogers (Avon), 70-70—140 and Jason Seward (Indpls. Cathedral), 68-72—140; 9. Al Jennings (Homestead), 71-70—141; 10. (tie) Zac Henderson (Northridge), 73-69—142 and Henry Plager (Indpls. Cathedral), 70-72—142. Chesterton finishers: 16. Ryan Grassel, 68-77—145; 24. Kyle Grassel, 74-79—153; 37. Josh Kalita, 79-76—155; 51. Nick Stasil, 82-81—163; Steve Wuletich (first round), 89; Pat Herrod (second round), 82.
Posted 6/12/2008
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