The rain fell so harshly Saturday that one team withdrew from the Cougar Invitational after playing just a few holes.
While the weather deterred Greenwood Christian Academy from finishing 18 holes, the Trinity Lutheran boys golf team aimed for the four-peat at their annual tournament.
Walking into the clubhouse, dripping wet from the bottom of their golf bag to the top of their hats, the team that minimized errors emerged victorious.
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With a score of 352, the Cougars retained the title in the eight-team field.
“I think it’s (a big deal),” Cougars coach Greg Personett said. “ It shows the dedication our players are putting into it. It’s a reflection on them. Winning it four years in a row is impressive. We’re trying to build a tradition with our golf program. I’m proud of our boys today.”
Salem placed second with 369 and Southwestern (Hanover) finished third at 376.
Trinity’s ‘B’ team was fifth (410) right behind Christian Academy (406).
Crothersville finished with 500, and Oldenburg Academy didn’t have enough players to score as a team.
Jac-Cen-Del’s Lucas Williams won a playoff hole against Isaiah Weill of Salem on hole No. 10 to finish as first medalist after shooting 80.
Junior Cory Stuckwisch led the Cougars’ scoring with an 82, making up for a 45 on the back-nine by carding 37 on the front.
Cougars juniors Drew Royalty and Chad Stuckwisch shot 87 and 90, respectively.
Skyler Stahl, a junior, shot 93 and freshman Jacob Keith rounded out the Cougars’ scoring with a 95.
“That 82 is a good number (for Cory),” Personett said. “We had medalists with 80s, and those are good scores with the weather we had. Cory’s round could have gone a lot better, but that’s just the way it goes. All-in-all, the scores on our team were good.”
Crothersville was led by senior Tyler Luedeman, who totaled 98 with a low of 48 on the back nine.
Next for the Tigers was Will Amick at 128.
Teammates Zen Elliott, a sophomore, and freshman Brandon Riley each had 137s.
Freshman Jacob James finished a stroke behind Elliott and Riley.
Four of the Tigers’ five golfers are in their first season.
“I think the played really well,” Tigers coach Greg Kilgore said. “It was really wet, and for four new golfers it was their first experience at Shadowood. The wet conditions probably made it feel like the course was longer than it is.
“I was looking to see how persistent the kids would be with the weather. Will (Amick) shot his best score of year so far on 18 holes. We have kids improving on a young team. I’m looking forward to seeing how we improve in bigger tournaments.”
Kilgore said he wants to see his team drop scores in the upcoming tournaments before sectional.
“I want to see two or three more of them get into the 100s,” he said. “I don’t think it’s realistic for a bunch of new kids to shoot around the 80s and 90s. I think 107 and 108 are realistic. Luedeman, he can shoot around the 80s.”
Trinity’s “B” team was led by Jonathan Keith’s 90.
Kohei Nagino finished shot 102, Noah Criswell and Ryland Nierman each carded 109 and Kegan Prentice shot 113.