Jay tops Rebels to finish at 6-5 (05/31/06)

With an entirely new starting lineup it was hard to tell what to expect from the Jay County boys golf team. But they came through with a winning year.

The Patriots capped their dual-meet season Tuesday with a 170-179 victory over the Muncie Southside Rebels, pushing their record to 6-5.

“That was something that we were looking for,” said JCHS coach Butch Gray. “It’s nice to see them improving. I just hope it carries over to the summer and into next year.”

The Jay County players closed out their final round at Portland Golf Club with a strong finish as each of the four varsity scorers posted pars on the 18th hole. No. 1 and 2 players Adam Gray and Gray Suman started the streak with pars, and No. 3 Ben Gasca and No. 5 Chris Shannon played the hole almost identically.

Gasca and Shannon each hit their tee shots on the 178-yard, par-3 hole to the back-left edge of the green. Playing to a back pin placement, Gasca left his putt just a couple of feet short and rolled in a par.

Shannon just missed his birdie try a few inches below the hole and tapped in. They each shot 44 to follow Gray’s 39 and Suman’s 43.

“Those are the best scores we’ve bunched together,” said Butch Gray, who was without senior No. 2 player Josh Hall for the night. “I thought the kids just stayed with it. They were grinders.

“It’s nice to see that some of the ones down in the lineup are starting to shoot numbers that are starting to help instead of just relying on one or two.”

Adam Gray was solid at the No. 1 spot after a double-bogey on the opening hole. He bounced back with consecutive pars, and had nothing worse than bogey the rest of the way.

He highlighted his round with a birdie on the 520-yard, par-5 14th hole, then closed with back-to-back pars on 17 and 18.

Suman had a par on the 370-yard, par-4 11th hole, and Gasca had one on the 150-yard, par-3 13th. Chris Shannon struggled a bit early, but closed with pars on three of the final four holes.

“We came back tonight and the kids were a little more rested,” said Butch Gray after watching his team finish 17th in a strong 20-team field at the Muncie Invitational Saturday. “They stuck to it. The guys were getting the ball up-and-down.”

Jay County will have another challenging day Friday when they travel to LaFontaine Golf Club. The Patriots have finished fourth in the sectional tournament hosted by Huntington North in each of the last two seasons after earning a regional berth with a second-place effort in 2003.

“We’re going to have to play well,” said Butch Gray, who added that he’d like to see at least one of his players make it through to regional. “I think it’s a course that can be had by these guys if they decide to not take any monumental chances. If we play pars and bogies we’ll be OK. We just have to stay away from the big number.”

Adam Foster was a regional qualifier in 2005, and Tyler Johnson and Alex Hunt each made it to the regional in 2004. The top three teams and top three individuals not on an advancing team earn regional berths.[[In-content Ad]]