By DAVID WOOD, for The Democrat
BLOOMINGTON — The Brown County boys golf team walked onto the dewy green seeded eighth of 12 schools at last week’s IHSAA sectional.
By the afternoon, the Eagles’ placement was set, as they finished eighth overall with a combined score of 399 — not enough to advance as a team.
However, junior Parker VanNess gained a spot as an individual in the June 7 regional tournament, with a score of 78.
He placed 15th in the Providence regional with a score of 80, short of advancing to state. The individual leader was Noah Gillard of Center Grove with a 69.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]This was VanNess’ third consecutive trip to regionals.
He placed fourth in the sectional field of 56 players, narrowly missing third in a tiebreaker to Bedford North Lawrence golfer Ethan Stanley. Stanley also moved on as an individual to state, carding a 71.
Head Coach Brad Baughman knew VanNess had a high chance of moving on to the regional tournament, but said he was still impressed with his ability to battle course conditions when the going got tough.
“Parker has really impressed me with his ability to battle, especially when he is not playing well,” he said.
“He could have scored better in the sectional, but all in all, I think he met the challenge and performed admirably.”
Baughman is already looking toward next season.
He expressed dismay at losing senior Ben Rygiel, but he believes the team has the ability to improve with incoming freshman Cooper VanNess.
“Ben had a really solid senior season. I wish he had another year of eligibility, because I believe he is just starting to understand the game. It was obvious that he developed more passion for it this season. He will be missed.
“We pick up Parker’s younger brother Cooper, who will help us next year. … All we need is three guys to shave off four or five strokes each and every round, and we could be a real factor. It is not an improbable task.”
