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It was cold, rainy and at times windy, but the NE8 Golf tournament went on as scheduled on Saturday at Cobblestone G.C. in Kendallville. Leo H.S. came in as the overwhelming favorites and they lived up to that billing firing a stellar 298 to win by 20 strokes. As evidence of their dominance, they posted five of the top seven individual scores including the overall medalist Caden Matthias with a 73.
The story of the day however had to be the Bellmont Braves who finished second with a season best 318 score. The Braves came in with a 3 – 4 conference match record which seeded them fifth, but they overcame the elements to post matching 159 totals on each side of the golf course to earn the runner-up status. Leading Bellmont was Jacob Binegar who tied for second individually with a terrific 74. Cameron Summers followed with an 80, good for 9th place overall. Chase Baker was close behind with an 81 and Kade Cutler shot a steady 83 to provide the important fourth score for the Braves. Carson Manley also broke bogey shooting 89 on the day.
Finishing 3rd with a 323 was Huntington North. Columbia City finished 4th with a 332 score and Dekalb came in 5th shooting 341. Norwell (346), East Noble (352) and New Haven (455) rounded out the field. For Norwell, Isaiah Goeglein shot 82 to earn Honorable Mention all-conference and lead the Knights.
Binegar did not start well taking a double bogey on the first hole. He got things going when he birdied the par 5 third hole, but a bogey on the par 3 fourth gave that shot back. He then settled in parring the next five holes to finish the front nine with a 38. Another double bogey on the eleventh hole put him a +4 on the day, but he birdied the fourteenth and eighteenth holes to shoot even par 36 on the back for his 74 total. Jacob earns first team all-conference honors for his second place tie overall.
Cam Summers shot identical 40s on each side for his score of 80. Though he couldn’t get the birdie putts to fall, he hung in there to earn 2nd team all-conference honors. Baker’s round featured a birdie on hole #3 on his way to a 40 on the front. He overcame a rough three hole stretch on the back to shoot 41 for his 81 total, good for 12th place overall and Honorable Mention all-conference. Kade’s round was a good example of keeping things steady as he managed eight pars and nine bogies, going 41-42 for his 83, good for a tie for 15th and Honorable Mention status.
Binegar, Baker and Cutler are all sophomores while Summers is a junior as the young Braves continue to improve and impress. Their last match is Tuesday at Cross Creek against Heritage. It will be Senior night and seniors Ben Binegar, Jack Johnson, Carson Manley, George Gardner, Larry Knous and Luke Heyerly will be recognized.
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