Ben Tinkle
RICHMOND, Ind. – Mother Nature finally gave the Tri-Eastern Conference golf teams a good day as five of the teams participated in the Cross/Van Pelt Invitational on Saturday at the Elks Country Club.
Hagerstown was the top TEC squad as the Tigers finished in fourth with a 337 behind Park Tudor (318), Muncie Central (328) and Richmond (330).
“I like my team,” Hagerstown Head Coach Bill Mullin said. “We’ve got a good group of kids.”
“We’ve got talent to do the things that we want to do, but then again we’re still a work in progress and our kids have got to understand that for us to get better.” Mullin added.
Mason Rader
The Tigers were seven strokes away from sectional opponent Richmond.
“It’s out there and it’s little things,” Mullin said of his team’s chances to close that gap by tournament time. “We’ve got to get stronger mentally.”
Centerville was next among the TEC schools in sixth with a 361. Union County was seventh with 377 and Northeastern was next with 387.
Ben Tinkle led Hagerstown with a round of 75, which was the best from the TEC teams.
“We just needed to get a good round in,” Tinkle said of the Tigers. “We haven’t had an 18-hole round yet this season.”
Garrett Schuler
But Tinkle was pleased with his team’s result.
“It’s a definitely a good measuring stick,” the Indiana University-East bound senior said. “There’s a lot of teams in our sectional here, so we can see where we stack up.”
“Last year, by this time of the year our scores were a lot higher,” Tinkle added. “I think (our) scoring in general is a lot better. Hopefully, we can keep improving on that by the time sectional comes around.”
The second best effort by a TEC player was from Centerville’s Mason Rader, who carded a 79.
“I’m not too happy with it,” Rader said. “I made a lot of mistakes and left a lot of shots out there.”
“I made a triple and a double back-to-back on the front and that just killed my round,” Rader continued. “I finished strong on the last four holes and I think I’ll get (it) going.”
Garrett Schuler was third on the TEC list with an 83. A.J. Ogle’s 88 led Lincoln, while Union County’s top performers were Tyler Dunn and Owen Miller, who each finished with 92.
Richmond’s Jake Miller was the medalist for the event with a 71.
Team Results
1. Park Tudor 318; 2. Muncie Central 328; 3. Richmond 330; 4. Hagerstown 337; 5. Franklin County 340; 6. Centerville 361; 7. Union County 377; 8. Northeastern 387; 9. Rushville 396; 10. East Central 428; 11. Seton 456; 12. Lawrenceburg 467.
TEC Results
Hagerstown (337) – Ben Tinkle 75, Caleb Cochran 84, Jonathan Clark 89, Kyle Cochran 89, Kevin Beeson 100.
Centerville (361) – Mason Rader 79, Skyler Benedict 91, Josh Duke 93, Aydan Koyles 98, Sam Roberts 101.
Union County (377) – Owen Miller 92, Tyler Dunn 92, Jake Antrim 96, Derrick Frasur 97, Tyler Osborne 101.
Northeastern (387) – Garrett Schuler 83, Bryce Cowen 89, Ryan Wogoman 107, Ayden Michaels 108, Taylor Appledorn 115.
Lincoln (No Score) – A.J. Ogle 88, Seth Randall 109, Garrett Mead 165.
Other Area Results
Richmond (330) – Miller 71, Focht 77, Williams 88, Hillard 94, Byrd 115.
Franklin County (340) – Rowlett 75, Hall 82, Bauman 87, Wilson 96, Grimmeissen 100.
Seton (456) – Haber 86, Moore 109, Gault 127, Becker 134, Kinsey 141.