Yorktown boys golf wins 5th straight DelCo title; Delta's Bilby shoots historic score
MUNCIE, Ind. — Just like last year, the 2023 Delaware County boys golf tournament team champion was not home to the individual medalist.
Yorktown on Saturday at Muncie's Elks Lodge hoisted its fifth consecutive trophy, notching a group score of 321 to top Delta by six strokes, but it was Eagles junior Jake Bilby's score of 68 that turned heads.
The now back-to-back individual county champion's performance was, according to multiple coaches and one of the club's workers, the lowest high school tournament mark from a Delaware County player in at least a decade. He missed just one green on the day and took advantage of the surprisingly pleasant conditions to slash 11 strokes off his winning total from 2022.
Bilby said that although he worked diligently in the offseason to improve his game, this outing was the first time he reaped the rewards.
"There was a little bit of doubt, I feel like, if I really have gotten much better," Bilby said. "I've been shooting good scores, but not anything like this. So it was really nice to see this (and) a lot of work pay off."
Delta's No. 2, senior Riley Bratton, was also stellar and finished in second place overall with a score of 75. The 2022 state qualifier and Bilby are consistently pushing each other during practices and competitions, and it appears the pair is improving as this season progresses.
While they would've liked to share their success with the rest of the Eagles, Bilby hopes his performance marked a breakthrough that he can build on as the postseason inches closer.
"It gives me a lot of confidence to see where I can end up," Bilby said. "It's better than shooting the 77s I already have this year, and then to shoot something like this gives me good hope for the rest of the season."
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Yorktown's depth, however, allowed it to overcome the superb play of Delta's top-2 and improved teams scores across the field, most notably Wes-Del's third-place mark of 374 that was 65 strokes better than last year's outing.
The Tigers No. 1 and 2 golfers, sophomores Christian Groves and Marshall Johnston, shot 80 and 78 to place fourth and third overall, respectively. Those scores would be strong for most area players, but the talented young pair already led Yorktown to the county, conference and sectional titles last year, and their standard is higher than the 78-80 range.
Yet the Tigers' backend players came through and all shot 85 or better, with No. 4 Nate Schaal-Deresh and No. 5 Nate Matthews contributing scores of 81 and 82, respectively. Yorktown athletes comprised five of the tournament's top-7 finishers, uncommonly great depth that head coach Nate McClung said always gives his team a chance to win.
"What we try to harp and preach to our guys is, 'You might not play great. Let your teammates pick you up,' and I think that's what our guys did today, especially the back half of our lineup, 'Our Nates' we'll call them," McClung said. "They were a big difference in the tournament today. If they don't step up and play well, it may be a different team result. It's maybe not the score that we wanted, but just solid overall.
"We didn't have our best stuff, but I think you saw the depth of the team today."
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McClung added that Yorktown's entire squad shooting so well took pressure off of Groves and Johnston and gives them confidence moving forward that they don't have to be at their best to win. It was especially meaningful with Groves battling an illness all morning.
McClung wants to continue seeing his boys strive to all shoot 80 or better. He said if they can achieve that, they'll compete well in any tournament they play in.
He also believes he hasn't seen the best from Groves or Johnston this season. He doesn't expect such young athletes to always perform at their peak, but he recognized early last year how talented the duo is and has seen them put in the work to improve.
"Marshall, tee to green, he's hitting the ball as well as I've ever seen him hit it. His putting has kind of been something he's continued to work on," McClung said. "Marshall Johnston is going to shoot a number here in the next two weeks and you're going to be like, 'Oh.' His game is so close.
"Christian showed up today, probably didn't need to play. I mean, he's sick ... He wanted to battle for his team, and his 80 that he grinded out might be one of the best rounds he plays this year with the way he was feeling. Christian's a kid who won a 90-field event in Center Grove two weeks ago. That's the player he can be."
With the depth Yorktown displayed on Saturday, the team expects to compete for Hoosier Heritage Conference and sectional titles again this season.
The Tigers, of course, want to achieve more team success than those two events as well, but McClung also knows that his group is comprised of mostly underclassmen who are still gaining experience. But he was pleased with the maturity they showed in a competitive tournament setting and hopes they build on that success moving forward.
"When you come out with a six-shot victory, that's not much in golf. So just a testament to the kids," McClung said. "You don't often see that sort of resolve out of a young team, but I think they all just kind of realized, 'Hey, I'm going to fight and battle out my 80, my 78 for my teammates and see what happens,' and that's what they did. So I'm really proud."
Team results
Champion: Yorktown (321)
2nd place: Delta (327)
3rd place: Wes-Del (374)
4th place: Wes-Del (380)
5th place: Daleville (395)
6th place: Cowan (434)
All-County Winners
Jake Bilby, Delta (68)
Riley Bratton (75)
Marshall Johnston, Yorktown (78)
Christian Groves, Yorktown (80)
Nate Schaal-Deresh, Yorktown (81)
Nate Matthew, Yorktown (82)
Gabe Reedy, Yorktown (85)
Brian Russell, Wes-Del (88)
Camden Wright, Wapahani (91)
Colin McGrady, Delta (91)
Cooper Bratton, Delta (92, Honorable Mention)
Carson Wright, Wapahani (93, Honorable Mention)
Bowen Keith, Cowan (94, Honorable Mention)
Gatlin Elliot, Daleville (94, Honorable Mention)
Caiden Smith, Wes-Del (94, Honorable Mention)
Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Yorktown boys golf Delaware County tournament IHSAA Delta Jake Bilby
