By Tom Reck
Franklin — Avon and Adam Sumrall topped the leaderboard at the conclusion of the 73rd boys golf state finals Wednesday at The Legends of Indiana Course.
Avon was first after the first 18 holes of golf and remained first at the end of the tournament, shooting 587 with rounds of 293 and 294.
The Orioles edged Evansville North which had totals of 296 and 293 for 589. Indianapolis Cathedral, the 2008 champ, took third with 608 followed by Floyd Central with 612 as four shots separated the teams finishing fourth through seventh.
Sumrall, a senior at Mishawaka Marian, had the best round of the finals with a 6-under-par 66 to take medalist honors with a 4-under-par 140. Sumrall�s team qualified for the state but did not advance to the second day.
His 66 tied two other golfers for the third-best individual score in the finals. Tyler Duncan of Columbus North still has the record of 63 in 2007.
Avon sophomore Patrick Rodgers, the first-round leader, and Tyler Merkel, an individual qualifier from Evansville Central, tied for second with 142 scores.
Corey Ziedonis of Indianapolis Cathedral, tied for 15th with 149. He had a 65, the second-best score in the finals, last year when he finished with 137 when par was 70 instead of 72.
Kade Baker of Northview qualified for the second day and tied for 34th with his rounds of 74 and 80.
The senior overcame another tough start to finish with his 80. He began Wednesday�s round with two double bogeys and finished the front nine with a 7-over-par 43 but came back for 37 on the back.
�I played like crap,� Baker said after concluding play in his first trip to the state finals. He had three birdies in the round with three balls out of bounds.
In qualifying to play the second day, he shot better than more than 65 golfers the first day � the 60 players on the 12 teams that did not advance and individual qualifiers who failed to make the cutoff score of 74.
The final 18 holes were played in sunny, warm and dry conditions compared to Tuesday when most teams and individuals played several holes in the rain.
IHSAA boys golf finals
At The Legends of Indiana Course
Team scores � Avon 587, Evansville North 589, Indianapolis Cathedral 608, Floyd Central 612, Hamilton SE 614, Chesterton 615, Providence 616, Brebeuf 622, Twin Lakes 631
Individual leaders
140 -- Adam Sumrall (Mishawaka Marian) 74-66
142 -- David Mills (EN) 71-71, Patrick Rodgers (A) 69-73
144 -- Andrew Fogg (Roncalli) 74-70
145 -- Tyler Merkel (Evansville Central) 71-75, John Frisby (Lebanon) 72-73
146 -- Joe Gasser (Yorktown) 74-72, Andrew Wegeng (A) 74-72
148 -- Maxwell Bowling (EN) 75-73, Brad Gehl (IC) 79-69, Al Jennings (Homestead) 74-74, Jonathan Jozefowski (A) 76-72, Taylor Noel (Boone Grove) 71-77, Parker Sheppard (HSE) 72-76
149 -- Logan Harper (EN) 75-74, Corey Ziedonis (IC) 73-76
150 -- Zach Muench (Center Grove) 74-76
