SEYMOUR — A little — or a lot — of rain wasn’t going to stop the start of the 2019 boys golf season.
Columbus North, Columbus East and Jennings County opened their season on the links Saturday at the Seymour Invitational.
Dreary conditions characterized the day at Shadowood Golf Course. Intermittent rain soaked the course — and players — from start to finish.
There was a 30-minute pause during the tournament due to pools of water on the greens. The golfers were able to finish their rounds, thanks to a 90-minute break in the weather.
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Bloomington North won the seven-team tournament with a score of 305. The Cougars had three players finish in the top four medalist positions.
Bedford North Lawrence, behind Ethan Stanley’s overall 1-over-par medalist score of 73, were runners-up at 329. North placed third (332), East was fourth (348) and Jennings took fifth (353).
Luke Vandventer led the Bull Dogs by scoring an 81. Drew Smith carded an 82, Luke Schneider added an 83, Jackson Kerber shot 86 and Jacob Niebalski totaled 87.
“It was pretty tough. There were teams here that were able to better handle the conditions than us,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “I think some of our guys may have thought we may cancel, and didn’t stay in it mentally all day like they needed to. When conditions are tough, it’s important to stay in it. It’s early in the season, so we have some time to straighten things out.”
Bieker said he felt Schneider had a solid day, and that he needs his upperclassmen to step up.
“I’m really proud of freshman (Schneider). He ended up shooting 83, and for him to do that in these conditions is encouraging,” Bieker said. “Some of the upperclassmen that have been through sectional, regional and state have to do better than they did today.”
East No. 1 Kody Reynolds tied for fifth individually with a round of 78 (37-41). Mark Mayhew shot 87, Adrian Adams totaled 88, Cole Schaefer had a 95 and Leyton Erfmeier scored 113 for the Olympians.
“I thought they did a great job today,” East coach Jarrod Pennycuff said. “I thought they fought through some tough conditions. I wanted to see them compete. If they were in a bad spot, I wanted to see them respond to adversity.”
Bryce Kirchener led Jennings with an 80, and Adam Leach shot 85. Joe Kelley (97), Weston Miller (91) and Zach Bingham (100) rounded out the scorecard for the Panthers.
“The goal was 350 going into it,” Jennings coach B.J. Bingham said. “I’m pleased with today. I think, in general, everyone played to the best of their abilities. This is usually our hardest tournament of the year. I usually gauge what happens here for the rest of the year. I think we were about 40 shots better here today than we were last year.”
The Panthers “B” team finished ninth with a 430. Samson Miller carded a 102, Brett Silvey and Connor Cook each shot 107, Kyle Corum added a 114 and Chad Gasper had a 115.
