Wannemacher, Clarkson heading to state

By Jim Metcalfe, The Delphos Herald
Published:  Saturday, October 4, 2008 (2 months ago)
Print

Jefferson junior Austin Clarkson eyes his ball on the green. Clarkson advanced to the state meet next weekend at Foxfire with his 81.BOWLING GREEN — One didn’t have to wait as he was one of the last groups to finish.
The other did on a cold, windy, blustery Thursday.
Either way, St. John’s senior Brad Wannemacher and Jefferson junior Austin Clarkson punched their tickets to the Division III State Golf Tournament next weekend at Foxfire after their work at the district meet held at Stone Ridge Golf Club in Bowling Green.
Clarkson did it on a special day — his 17th birthday.
“I had forgotten until I looked at my cell phone what day it is. I then remembered it was my birthday; it’s a nice present,” he observed.
Wannemacher — who carded a 76 — was the top golfer on a team that did not make the state meet, third overall.
“It feels great. Going to state is something that you want to do,” Wannemacher began. “All I asked for was a chance to be nervous (at state) and it was answered.”
Wannemacher’s game plan was simple on this first really rough day for golf this fall.
“I figured that if I had 18 pars, that would get me there and even win it. All I tried to do was hit a lot of greens and make a good number of putts and I did that,” he explained. “Really, the key was keeping my hands warm; it was really cold out there. If I could do that, I knew I’d be OK. ”
Wannemacher just missed making it to state last year on this same course.
“That helped. I’m more used to big tournaments this year, while last year, district was a big one,” he added. “I thought I played really well except for the last two holes. I thought the course was great; I really enjoyed it. It was long and was set up well.”
He and his teammates — seniors Drew Fisher (83) and Brandon Hemker (92), junior Ryan Fischer (95) and freshman Cody Kundert (95) — weren’t so fortunate, finishing in fifth place with a 346, seven shots back of fourth-place Ottawa Hills (339). The top four teams advance to Lockbourne Friday and Saturday.
Clarkson, participating as an individual, shot an 81 to lead all solo performers.
He then had to wait to see if that was good enough as the team scores starting rolling in.
“Now I know what (former Jefferson golfer and 2-time state qualifier) Dillon (Klein) went through waiting last year to see if he was going back. In all honesty, I didn’t think 81 was going to be good enough,” Clarkson said. “Coach (Chad) Jostpille kept pumping me up, telling me I was going to make it. Now I’m pumped up and excited.”
Talking to Klein the day before helped the junior — who finished tied for third, with the top four individuals advancing to Foxfire Golf Club — prepare for his round Thursday.
“We talked for about 30 minutes the night before. He gave me advice about what I had to do today and to stay calm, no matter what,” Clarkson explained. “I watched him the last two years, how he prepared and worked, how he handled himself. If he had a bad hole, he never seemed to let it bother him. He’d come back with a par or even a birdie.
“I had some really good par putts today but I also missed some easy ones. The wind wasn’t bad when you were on the greens but on the chips and drives, it was tough.”
Fort Jennings Cody Warnecke finished with a 96.
“It was my first district and the first time I golfed in something other than short sleeves. I shot a practice round the day before and it wasn’t like it was today,” Warnecke began. “I was a ltitle nervous and it was also cold this morning when I teed off. I think that had a lot to do with my 51 on the front nine. I was at 45 for the back 9.
“The wind was a problem and the greens were tough to read.”
As a freshman, Warnecke figures this was a learning experience for him.
“I know I need to work on a few things but that’s expected for a freshman. I have three more years to work at my game and get to state; the ultimate goal is Columbus,” he added.
As a team, Kalida finished with a Kalida 351: Cody Buss 83, Matt Warnecke 85, Kyle Hoffman 92, Tyler Verhoff 97, Alex Vorst 104.
Head man Kenneth Schnipke felt the weather was the difference.
“Some handled it better than others. You have to make a decision right away: wear a lot of layers to stay warm but maybe affect your swing or wear less and be cold and likely miserable,” he said. “The wind and chill was harder for those that didn’t dress for it.
“Plus, I felt the pin placements were brutal; I didn’t think they were as hard Wednesday for our practice round and the Division I sectional as today. Once you started to miss shots and get frustrated today, it was a lot easier to get more frustrated and miss more shots. That’s what happened to us today.”
Jordan Schimmoeller of Ottoville carded a 92 and Anthony Simpson (Lincolnview) shot a 102.
As expected, neither was in much of a mood to talk.
Team Scores (Top 4 to state):
Lima Central Catholic 314: Oliver Holtsberry 73, John Goetz 80, Austin Stolly 80, Brandon French 81, T.J. Sims 81.
Minster 324: Adam Sherman 75, Ben Hogankamp 82, Matt Borchers 82, Craig Purpus 85, Austin Fischer 90.
Archbold 330: Steven Kinsman 80, Jacob Nofziger 83, Tyson Bostleman 83, Tyler Bernath 84, Jarrett Yoder 94.
Ottawa Hills 339: Reed Silverman 83, Andrew Jamieson 83, Stephen Saddemi 86, Chris Henningsen 87, Kevin Walter 91.
St. John’s 346: Brad Wannemacher 76, Drew Fisher 83, Brandon Hemker 92, junior Ryan Fischer 95, Cody Kundert 95.
Van Buren 347: Jude Palmer 84, Andrew Bell 86, Andrew Huffman 87, Michael Caris 90, Zeke Wiechart 93.
Toledo Christian 350: Josh Whitlow 84, Alex Simcox 84, Zach Viniczky 86, Matt Scherreik 96, Cody Gibson 105.
Stryker 350: Zach Earb 85, Josh Degroff 85, Troy Saunders 90, Jared Degroff 90, Hayden Doehrmann 94.
Kalida 351: Cody Buss 83, Matt Warnecke 85, Kyle Hoffman 92, Tyler Verhoff 97, Alex Vorst 104.
New Bremen 352: Christopher Williams 84, Kyle Evers 88, Martin Holdren 89, Nathan Smith 91, Joel Miller 100.
Arcadia 352: Juhan Pina 85, Aaron Lynch 86, Nathan Downing 90, Patrick Coward 91, John Kummerer 109.
Liberty Center 353: Conner Totzke 78, Cody Knapp 88, Josh Jones 90, Justin Shipley 97, Evan Weaks 92.
Woodmore 353: Ryan Beam 83, Jack Raspert 85, Austin Judy 91, Robert Schumacher 94, Andy Fleck 100.
Norwalk St. Paul 361: B. Weisenberger 85, T. Bleile 90, J. Missler 92, B. Pow 94, M. Hanneman 95.
Riverdale 361: D. Brezina 83, A. Yeater 83, D. Titus 97, D. Dilley 98, A. Reitins 105.
Fremont St. Joe 365: Jordan Frank 89, Craig Lanson 89, Garrett Stenle 92, Max Yellstrom 95, Joe Stenle 96.
Incompletes:
Carey: Trace Thompson 84, Jay Hahler 86, Tim Christy 107, Nick Nusbaum, Zach Baber.
Wynford: R. Miller 87, J. Akers 92, K. Kruse 98.
Local Individuals: Austin Clarkson (Jefferson) 81; Jordan Schimmoeller (Ottoville) 92; Cody Warnecke (Fort Jennings) 97; Anthony Simpson (Lincolnview) 102.

St. John’s senior Brad Wannemacher readies for a chip onto the green during Thursday’s district golf tournament at Stone Ridge Golf Club. He advanced to the Division III state meet with a 76.

0 Reader Responses to “Wannemacher, Clarkson heading to state”

Complete the form below to leave a response of your own.