Balanced Patriots win county golf title

May 11—Terre Haute South had the medalist in Ryan Liebermann on Monday at Rea Park, and West Vigo had the second-place finisher in Lyndon Seckinger.

But Terre Haute North had six scores in the 40s, two at exactly 40, and that balance made the Patriots a 12-shot winner over the Braves in the Travis Smith Vigo County Championship meet.

"It's about time," Patriot coach Chuck Payne said as the tournament was ending. "We haven't been playing very well this year.

"We haven't had two 40s at the same time," Payne continued. "Maybe we're starting to come around . . . we don't know how to act without 30-mile-per-hour winds."

"Today was a good day," said senior Logan Schuld, the No. 1 player in North's lineup. "We all played good rounds.

"It's really special to win as a team," Schuld continued. "To get the title back my senior year, after not playing last year, and being together as a team is really special."

Schuld's 41 wasn't his team's best score Monday. Trey Steadman and Gavin Connor both shot 40, the same score as Seckinger, and a one-chip competition was used to break the tie for second place.

That was good news for one golfer.

"Chipping," was the reason for his best round of the year so far, Seckinger said afterward. "I had to chip in on 3, and I saved a couple of bogeys." In the shot for the runner-up medal, Seckinger added, "I tried to ease it up next to the hole," and nearly made the shot, which stopped about four feet past the cup.

"I really tried to play my best," said Connor, who had the second-best chip. "You do your best not to three-putt, put a round together, and try to keep the stress under control. I'd like to thank my competitors, and thanks to Rea Park for hosting a great tournament."

"It was tough," Liebermann said. "The course was in great shape, but there were some tough pin placements — but it was the same for everybody.

"I was lucky to see some putts fall," said the South senior. "I birdied 1 and 9, but I found some bogey trouble in between."

Liebermann wasn't sure if his 38 on Monday was as good as his last county tournament appearance, when he was medalist as a sophomore in 2019. But he indicated some special inspiration in playing a tournament named for one of the best golfers in his school's history.

"It's pretty cool to win the Travis tournament again," said Liebermann, who will be attending Purdue with the help of the Travis Smith Scholarship.

"Ryan was Ryan," South coach Chris Cassell said, "always leading the way."

Asked about his team's showing, Cassell pointed out, "This was the first county match [for all the Braves except Liebermann and Caleb Maris], and North's scores were pretty solid, pretty consistent.

"We're inexperienced," Cassell added, "but because of [the Braves'] good attitudes, I think good things will happen in the next month."

"We've got to finish strong," Liebermann said. "We're going downhill; we need to get everybody at full potential."

Coach Jordan Pearson of West Vigo was happy with his team's score.

"It was the best of the year for [Seckinger]," Pearson said, "and anytime we're under 200 is a pretty good day for us."

—New tournament honors Tom Reck — North will host its own invitational tournament this Saturday at Rea Park, an event originally scheduled for the first time last spring but canceled by the pandemic.

The event honors one of Wabash Valley golf's biggest supporters, former Terre Haute Star and Tribune-Star sports editor Tom Reck, and will be called the Ramblin' Reck Patriot Invitational.

Travis Smith Vigo County Golf Championship

Team scores — Terre Haute North 164, Terre Haute South 176, West Vigo 190.

North (164) — Logan Schuld 41, Trey Steadman 40, Gavin Connor 40, Cole Higham 43, Zack McCreery 46, Connor Bishop 49.

South (176) — Ryan Liebermann 38, Caleb Maris 45, Andrew Baker 47, Evan Burbrink 51, Nick Winning 46, Nolan Mishler 53.

West Vigo (190) — Landon Thome 49, Lyndon Seckinger 40, Cody Ingham 51, Shea Andrews 50, Kobe Orton 59, Karson Mowrer 67.