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Bulldogs hope to learn from county tune-up
Apr. 25—ANDERSON — Lapel figures to be one of the contenders at next weekend's Madison County golf championship at Elwood Golf Links, sporting enough depth to give coach Ryan Jackson plenty of lineup combinations to choose from.
He knows his team will have to play better than it did Thursday if it is to challenge Pendleton Heights for county supremacy.
Led by a 1-under par 33 from Gavin Hare, all five Tipton players shot in the 30s and defeated Lapel 144-163 in a dual at The Edge.
It was not the loss that bothered Jackson, it was the manner in which Lapel played he did not like.
"In matches, I don't care much about what the other team shoots," Jackson said. "They could have shot a 200 today, and I would still be disappointed with the round we had. It's not so much about the winning and losing a match as it is that we didn't play well today. It seemed like every time I turned to watch somebody, they were putting themselves in trouble."
The next two Blue Devils scores — a 36 from Calvin Condict and a 37 for Nolan Swan — were also lower than the low Lapel score, a 38 (+4) for senior Kaden Suchocki.
The greens were very fast Thursday, which bothered most of the Lapel players, but not Tipton — a team that advanced to the state finals a year ago — or Suchocki who said he thrives under those conditions.
"Today, I just did really good in putting," Suchocki said. "I was really trying to focus on my putting and the short game, and that's what helped me get through."
Suchocki only had 12 putts in his round, including a stretch of six consecutive one-putts.
Tipton's fourth-best score was from Sam Quigly, who matched Lapel's best player with a 38.
Suchocki was followed by a 41 from freshman Maverick Beeson and 42s from both freshman Owen Garber and sophomore Cale Paddock. A 44 from Nathan Hobbs was dropped for the Lapel scoring while a 39 from Preston Lancaster was not included in the Tipton final tally.
Perhaps in a testament to the Lapel depth, its No. 6 player Thursday was Bryson Hall, and he matched Beeson's 41.
"We really have eight guys that are vying for five spots right now," Jackson said. "I'm mixing lineups, giving different guys a shot at the top five.
"(The depth) makes it tough in a way on me, but also it's got to be who wants to separate themselves to be on the sectional roster at the end of the year."
After a rare weekend off, the Bulldogs will return to the course Monday at Meadowbrook when they visit rival Frankton.
Jackson hopes his team can learn from Thursday's match heading into a busy week ahead.
"These young guys just have to learn how to compete, both against themselves and against competition — really good competition," he said. "It was a good learning experience for our freshmen, watching these guys shooting in the low 30s."
Contact Rob Hunt at
or 765-640-4886.
