New area power tiny Trinity edges Penn by seven strokes to win Morris Park Invitational
SOUTH BEND — The return of the Morris Park Country Club Boys High School Invitational golf tournament ended up being a coming-out party for Trinity School at Greenlawn.
In an area sport dominated in the recent past by Penn, South Bend Saint Joseph, Mishawaka Marian, Northridge, Warsaw and others, tiny Trinity, which is located eight-tenths of a mile from architect Bob Dustin’s par-70, 6,313-yard masterpiece which turned 100 in 2023, showed Friday during cold and then rainy conditions that it could more than hold its own with the big boys of northern Indiana.
Led by a two-over-par from senior Jacob Palmer, who qualified individually last year for the Indiana High School Athletic Association boys tournament at Prairie View in Carmel, the Titans had their best score of the season — a 22-over-par 302 — to beat Penn by seven strokes. Marian, led by sophomore John Hahn who matched the 72s shot by Palmer and Elkhart junior Steven Webb, totaled 316, seven strokes ahead of South Bend Saint Joseph. Then came Elkhart (331), host South Bend Adams (359) and Mishawaka (380).
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“This feels fantastic — the first win in school history, a team-record 302 … I couldn’t be more prouder of the guys who fought through some high scores the first couple of weeks and put it all together today,” Janowski said. “Having it all come today was phenomenal.”
Penn Kingsmen coach Tony Polizzotto, whose perennial state final qualifiers were led by a four-over 74 from senior Dylan Mounts, gave the Titans their deserving due.
“It’s nice to have some teams around to give us some good competition,” Polizzotto said. “We’ve got four teams in the area who are going to be battling it out come sectional time (June 3 at Erskine Park).”
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The Titans had four golfers shoot 79 or better Friday. Jacob Palmer’s freshman brother Nate, Trinity’s No. 5 player, rebounded from a 91 shot last Saturday at the Lake Central Midwest Classic at Sandy Pines Golf Club in DeMotte to shoot a three-over 73. Senior No. 3 Max Cressy, who had a two-under 33 at the turn Friday, finished with a 78, one stroke better than freshman No. 2 Dane Sweikar. The Titans didn’t have to use the 85 shot by freshman No. 4 Jack Cressy.
“Everyone’s pretty motivated and wants to play well,” Jacob Palmer said after playing Morris Park’s difficult back nine in one-under 34. “This is probably the best I’ve driven the ball this year.”
Which is paramount at Morris Park with its long par-4 holes with difficult approaches to frighteningly hard, undulating and quick greens. The course will once again strut its difficult self on Monday in the local qualifier for the U.S. Open.
Following Mounts for the Kingsmen was sophomore No. 5 Corbin O’Hara, who shot a six-over 76, three shots better than senior No. 2 Jack Yewchuk. Junior No. 3 Michael Basney shot an 80, two strokes better than junior Colten Donze.
Penn will have a chance to avenge the loss on Tuesday when it plays Trinity on Knollwood’s West front in a match-play format.
Coach Alex Stopczynski’s Marian Knights were led by Hahn, who went out in two-under 33 but struggled home with a four-over 39. Sophomore No. 3 AJ Bishop shot a 79, senior No. 5 Ben Padrnos shot 82 and sophomore No. 2 Mike Keefer totaled 83 for the Knights.
Junior No. 1 Thomas Raster struggled with his short game and shot a seven-over 77 on his home course to lead coach Bret Bajdek’s Saint Joseph Huskies. Sophomore No. 2 Tate Guyton shot 78, junior No. 3 Beau Basney shot 80 and sophomore No. 5 Joe Kloska shot 88.
Webb’s 72, made possible with an incoming two-under 33 thanks to birdies at Nos. 10 and 17, led coach Todd King’s Lions. It also got Webb into the medalist playoff with Hahn and Palmer. After Palmer was eliminated by a bogey on the first playoff hole, the 442-yard 13th, Hahn and Webb each had birdie putts on the 495-yard, par-5 18th. Webb went first from 40 feet, and his downhill putt dove into the hole. Hahn couldn’t make his 30-footer to keep the playoff going.
Webb’s putt was easily the best of the day. The shot of the day, however, belonged to sophomore No. 3 Trenton Williams, a former baseball player who is playing his first season for Andy Kern’s Adams Eagles, who hosted the event. The diminutive Williams aced the 145-yard, par-3 11th hole with a 7-iron that hit on the front of the green and bounced a couple of times before ending up in the bottom of the cup.
The tournament was known for many years as the Kaeppler Invitational (after the long-time Morris Park C.C. member family) and was last played in 2019 prior to the COVID pandemic. It got its new title this year thanks to the efforts of Morris Park general manager and head professional Rusty Mason with the help of Raster’s parents, who footed the bill for meals and refreshments for the 35 players. They all completed their rounds in less than four hours.
MORRIS PARK COUNTRY CLUB INVITATIONAL
SOUTH BEND – Results from Friday’s Morris Park Country Club Boys High School Invitational golf tournament held at the par-70 (35-35), 6,313-yard Morris Park Country Club:
TRINITY SCHOOL AT GREENLAWN (302): 1. Jacob Palmer 72; 2. Dane Sweikar 79; 3. Max Cressy 78; 4. Jack Cressy 85; 5. Nate Palmer 73.
PENN (309): 1. Dylan Mounts 74; 2. Jack Yewchuk 79; 3. Michael Basney 80; 4. Colten Donze 82; 5. Corbin O’Hara 76.
MISHAWAKA MARIAN (316): 1. John Hahn 72; 2. Mike Keefer 83; 3. AJ Bishop 79; 4. Jackson Horvath 90; 5. Ben Padrnos 82.
SOUTH BEND SAINT JOSEPH (323): 1. Thomas Raster 77; 2. Tate Guyton 78; 3. Beau Basney 80; 4. Liam Wagner 91; 5. Joe Kloska 88.
ELKHART (331): 1. Steven Webb 72; 2. Will Cochran 84; 3. Ben Miller 94; 4. Nate Windy 86; 5. Gabe Kazmierczak 89.
SOUTH BEND ADAMS (359): 1. Liam Kinney 93; 2. Tommy Hornback 83; 3. Trenton Williams 97; 4. Owen McNally 86; 5. Leo Sweazy 101.
MISHAWAKA (380): 1. Aiden Szeltner 99; 2. Bren Dickerson 90; 3. Brady Fisher 95; 4. Vincent Lopez 97; 5. Carter Grontkowski 98.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Tiny Trinity wins high school golf's Morris Park Invitational
