Owls, Panthers tune up for sectional

NORTH VERNON — Both the Jennings County and Seymour boys golf teams played a tune-up match in preparation for the upcoming sectional Monday at St. Anne’s golf course.

The Owls had the upper hand by having three golfers shoot under 40. That propelled them to a 161-166 win.

“It came down to our top three guys not getting the scores that the Seymour’s top three guys shot,” Jennings County coach Gary Yeager said.

For the Panthers, Jake Simmons finished with a 38. Garrett Day and Ian Donnell each shot a 42. Bailey Wilder rounded out the scoring with a 44.

Other Panther scores were Hunter Sporleder at 44, Austin Roscoe at 47, Lane Sawyer at 49 and John Kelley at 56.

For Seymour, Brady Marshall and Tyler Bullard each shot a 38. Keaton Simpson finished with a 39. Ethan Ashley rounded out the scoring by carding a 46.

Other scores for the Owls included Noah Beaty at 53. Brady Rinehart and Dusty Wetzel at 55 and Charlie Galyen at 57.

Seymour starts its sectional round Friday at the Indiana University Golf Course in Bloomington. Seymour coach Jim Hoffman said with a tough sectional ahead he is glad his guys are peaking at the right time.

“We had played very well recently,” Hoffman said. “Our top three guys are coming along nicely. We got a 75 and a 77 from Brady and Keaton last weekend. We are hitting the ball real well.”

Hoffman also knows it will take a very low score to advance to the regionals.

“I like where we are at,” he said. “The youth on our team is starting to mature, but we will need some help from our fourth and fifth golfers. It probably will take around a 310 to have a chance at making it out of our sectional. The best we have had was 315. It is going to be tough, but I know these guys can do it.”

Yeager said that a lot of his guys have made big strides this season, and that gives his team plenty of depth heading into sectional play.

“I am pleased to see our guys in the No. 4 through No. 8 spots of my lineup tonight shoot exceptionally better than Seymour,” he said. “I am glad to see those guys show some maturity and improvement.”

Jennings County begins sectional play Monday at Sunrise Golf Course in Madison. With the depth that Yeager has, it will be a tough decision for him to cut his lineup to five players.

“Out of our top eight guys, all of them have placed in the top four to count toward the varsity score,” Yeager said. “We have two more matches this week, and we will also play a practice round down there in Madison, as well. It will come down to the wire. I will go with who is playing the best at the time.”