Columbus North’s Brady Schneider tees off on No. 10 during the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe Golf Course near Henryville on Thursday, June 8.
James Pence | The Republic
HENRYVILLE — Columbus North is back in the state finals.
After feeling disappointed last year, the 16th-ranked Bull Dog boys golfers did just enough to sneak in for the final qualifying spot by finishing in third place with a 303 — one stroke better than No. 7 Silver Creek — at the Providence Regional at Champions Pointe.
No. 8 Center Grove won the regional with a 292, and Floyd Central was runner-up with a 300. Columbus East finished ninth with a 326, and Jennings County was 13th with a 354.
The state finals will be held Tuesday and Wednesday at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. North will be making its first trip as a team since 2019.
“It’s good to be back as a team,” North coach Doug Bieker said. “They got off to a good start, and that’s what we talked about on the bus. We talked about, if we played trying to win like we did today, and if we fall a little short, we’d still make it to next week. That’s where we’re at. I’m really proud of the guys.”
John Merritt had the lowest round the Bull Dogs with a 1-over par 73. He carded 3-under 33 on the front nine and was 4-under par after 11 holes, but two double-bogeys on No. 16 and No.17 left him out of contention to become the individual medalist.
Even though it wasn’t the finish Merritt wanted, he was still pleased with his round.
“I was really happy with my score,” Merritt said. “I didn’t have the strongest finish, but that is what teammates are for. They all came through for me. I’m glad I’m able to rely on my teammates. It feels really good to be able to move on to state.”
Willy Davis, who qualified for state as an individual last year, finished with a 74 for North. Tyler Wilks carded a 75, Brady Schneider had an 81 and Jack Schiavello added an 86.
It was the par-5 No. 18 that made the biggest difference between the Bull Dogs and Silver Creek. Davis converted a huge eagle, and Wilks’ par on 18 put him ahead of the Dragons’ top golfer by two shots.
“I can’t say enough about those seniors and the fact that they battled through 18 and finished like they did,” Bieker said. “Willy making a big putt, and Merritt’s 73 is a great score, and for Tyler to do what he had to do on 18 and play smart and lay up to it. It’s hard for these kids to play conservatively at times, but he did what he needed to do to make it happen and get us there.”
With the ninth-place finish, the Olympians’ season came to an end. While the top four teams separated themselves from the field, fifth-through-ninth places were separated by only five shots.
Carter Greene led the way for East with a 75. Pierce Arnholt finished with a 77, Jamall Starks and Ben Luedeke each shot 87 and Spencer Erfmeier added an 88.
“We’re happy that we got here. We obviously didn’t play as well as we would have liked,” East coach Keith VanDeventer said. “Hopefully, we’ll take the experience we got today and move forward.”
David Shaw led Jennings with an 84. Jake Grider finished with an 88, Jack George carded an 89, Eli Simmons had a 93 and Tanner Steams added a 101.
