Gray going D1

For four years, Adam Gray has been the top player in the Patriot program. In the next four, he will have a chance to be a cornerstone of another.

The Jay County High School senior recently signed to play Division I golf next season at Valparaiso University, which will be resurrecting its program after a 28-year layoff.

"It's a good school academically," said Gray, who plays his final home match at Portland Golf Club today before beginning sectional play Monday. "It gave me a chance to play right away."

The Crusaders also offered Gray the opportunity to play golf at the Division I level, which he said was definitely a factor.

Valparaiso will have a men's golf program - it is also adding women's golf and women's bowling - for the first time in 28 years in the 2009-10 school year. The school previously had a men's team from 1934 through 1992, playing in the Indiana Collegiate Conference and Heartland College Conference and winning titles in 1951, 1953 and 1982. The reborn version of the team will compete in the Horizon League, which includes in-state foe Butler and defending conference champion Cleveland State.

Gray is the fourth player to sign with coach Mike Higdon and the Crusaders. Higdon is the director of golf at The Course at Aberdeen, which will be Valparaiso's home course.

"It's a unique situation," said Butch Gray, Adam's father and coach at JCHS, of the chance to help build the Crusaders' program. "It's a situation that's kind of different. ... It's going to be interesting to see."

"It will be cool four years down the road to look back and see how good we've gotten, how much better we've gotten, how the program develops," added Adam Gray, who plans to major in either physical education or elementary education. "Even later on, you can look back and say, 'I was the first class to bring Valpo golf back.'"

Gray began golfing with his father when he was about 5 years old after neighbors Jim and Judy Knapke gave him a set of junior clubs, which had belonged to their sons.

He worked his way up to his first full set, purchased from 2005 JCHS graduate Alex Hunt, and eventually began traveling to Fort Wayne a couple of times a week during the summer to play in tournaments.

He also spent a lot of time on the course with former JCHS golfers Hunt, Tyler Johnston, Jesse Shawver, Adam Foster, Nathan McClung and Ben Freeman, who qualified for the regional in 2003. That group also set the school record score, and turned in an undefeated season.

Gray said those players had a big role in his development by "watching them, learning from them, playing with them during practice. Those six, they helped me out a lot and taught me a lot."

In addition to playing in Fort Wayne-area tournaments, Gray has also honed his game on the summer Mountain Dew Tour.

But he said it was a high school tournament at The Players Club when he realized he might have a chance to play at the next level. He was in a group with Avon standout Patrick Rodgers.

"(Rodgers) is a really good player. He beat me by one," said Gray. "That's kind of when I say, 'OK, I'm good enough. I can play with these guys.'"

Gray went on to shot a 5-over-par 75 last season at the sectional tournament at Hickory Hills Golf Course. That score earned him his first regional berth.

This season, he said he hopes to be playing in the regional tournament with his entire team. The top three sectional teams advance to the regional.

"I've played with a lot of good teammates," said Gray. "Our team, we always get along.

"I want to try to play well at regional for myself and for the team, and then see what happens from there. If you put up a good score that's all you can control."

While Gray is looking forward to his final appearance in the tournament, his father and coach remembers his first sectional.

As a freshman playing No. 1, he was frustrated on the way to shooting a 91 at LaFontaine Golf Club in Huntington. But a player in his group assured Gray he was doing just fine. He had shot in the 100s as a freshman No. 1 player.

"Every year he's gotten better. He's improved a different part of his game," said Butch Gray. "He didn't come out as a freshman and shoot lights out like some of them do. Every year when I look at his stats, everything has improved. ... It's been fun to watch him grow, not only as a player, but as a leader too."[[In-content Ad]]