JC golfers ready to win again

Faces change, but the Jay County High School boys golf team just keeps churning out winning seasons.

In 2006, the Patriots fielded a completely new varsity squad having graduated the entire starting line-up from the previous year. They posted a winning record.

Returning just two players from that squad, the 2007 JCHS golfers went 9-4.

A year ago the team started slowly, finishing in the bottom half of each of its first two invitationals and taking a tough loss against Delta in the opening dual meet of the season. But the Patriots bounced back to win their next four dual meets and finish 10-3-1.

They narrowly missed a team berth in the regional, finishing four strokes behind Yorktown for the third and final qualifying position.

The common ingredient from three teams is No. 1 golfer Adam Gray.

The senior, who earned all-Olympic Athletic Conference honors last season, averaged about 38 strokes per nine-hole round last year. He advanced to the regional for the first time in his career by shooting a 5-over-par 75 at the sectional tournament at Hickory Hills Golf Course.

"He's got to stay away from getting the bogeys or even double bogeys on the holes that he shouldn't," said JCHS coach Butch Gray of what his son will need to do to take the next tournament step and reach the state finals. "And he's got to stay away from penalty strokes.

"I think he has improved his putting. That was a thing that I thought going into this year he needed to work on. ..."

Three more seniors - Chase Wellman, Isaac Poole and Adam Horn - join Gray in the starting lineup.

"These seniors have taken it upon themselves that they ... want things done right," added Butch Gray.

"They've been leading by example. ... They are trying to do things correctly. That's nice to see."

Wellman averaged in the low 40s last season and came through in a big way at the sectional tournament. He had a pair of birdies, shot 4-over on the front nine and missed a regional berth by just three strokes as he shot 90.

Horn added an 89 at the sectional to finish as Jay County's No. 4 scorer. He averaged in the mid-40s for nine holes during the year.

"Especially Chase and Adam Horn, if they would pick up where they left off at sectional last year, we would be solid there," said Gray. "And then we would be looking for two more.

"We've got to come up with two more that can score and can help us."

He will be looking to replace 2008 seniors Jonathan Fennig (85 at sectional) and Justen Moser (94).

With some time still left before the Patriots' first invitational of the season, Gray said juniors Brad Horn, who saw some varsity action last season, and A.J. Fuska would likely fill out the starting lineup.

He also mentioned Drew Houck and Adam Mescher as players who have a chance to contribute to what he hopes will be yet another winning season. He said he wants his team to find its way to the regional round for the first time since 2003, and take advantage of having the conference tournament on its home course after finishing third out of four teams last season.

"The kids are relaxed when they step up over a shot because they know the distance," said Gray of the bonus of playing the tournament at Portland Golf Club. "They know how the greens are going to break. They know where the trouble is. ... I think home-course advantage in golf may a bigger advantage than in any other sport, because courses are all different."

Connersville and defending champion Anderson Highland will both be strong competitors in the conference again. Gray said he expects Yorktown, which brought back most of its team from last season, Delta, Muncie Central and host Monroe Central to be among the sectional contenders.

And in addition to his hopes for this season, Gray noted that he has seen positive signs for the future.

"We've got some freshmen right now that in overall scoring are in the top 10," he said. "They've got some nice swings. They're getting the ball up and down, which is nice to see."[[In-content Ad]]