CARMEL — The emotions were mixed as the Castle boys golf team huddled for the final time.
What transpired at Prairie View Golf Club on Wednesday, June 17 wasn’t the desired result. Not for the team or its rising star freshman. But once the group gains some needed time and distance, the obvious will come into light. This was a cap on the best season in program history.
Castle finished fourth at the IHSAA state finals following a final-round 303, eight shots behind state champion Westfield. The optimist will point to this being the program’s best finish ever at the final stop of the season. A crescendo for a senior class who failed to advance from the sectional three years ago.
“This is probably the first time we’ve been up here where we really felt like we were going to win,” Castle coach Josh Kain said. “We just didn’t have our ‘A’ game. Hats off to the other teams that got in front of us. After we dry these tears, we can find a way to feel special about what we’ve done.”
The Knights had legitimate sights on returning to Warrick County with a blue medal. For portions of the two-day tournament, it was within their grasp. Castle battled Center Grove for the day one lead before slipping six shots behind at 297. There were early fireworks on Wednesday, including 4-under as a team on the par-five 3rd, to stay within contention of the leaders.
The lineup couldn’t stack those moments together in one of the closer team finishes in recent memory. Westfield erased a four-shot deficit to clip Center Grove by one at 16-over. Guerin Catholic came in third at 20-over. Castle was only four strokes behind them.
The first podium finish in program history was appropriate after streamrolling most opponents this spring. Castle won the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference title (first in eight years) before collecting its first sectional and regional trophies in 11 years.
“We wanted a state title,” senior Brayden Lamborne said. “But I’m glad call this team my family. We were able to come out with a podium finish. (The program) just kept growing and growing. It’s good to see the team keep getting better and golf continue to grow at the school.”
The attention quickly turned to both the future of the program and possibly all of Indiana.
Freshman Alex Cook finished third overall at 1-under following a three-over 75 in the final round. It wasn’t as clean as his opening trek around Prairie View — a 4-under 68 with five birdies on Tuesday — but more than good enough to compete for the individual state title.
Cook pulled even with the leaders following a birdie at 13 and a par at 16. There were opportunities to close the door on the final two holes, but putts refused to fall as the rain picked up. A three-putt bogey at 18 left him one shot out of a playoff (Westfield’s Hudson Kutchma defeated Guerin Catholic’s Eli Wessel in two extra holes).
It is the best individual finish in program history. He was the only freshman in the top 18 this year.
“We learned today that it’s not about winning,” Cook said. “It’s about the family that we’ve created. How resilient we are, even though it didn’t go our way. I played pretty well this week but didn’t putt very well today. I’ve got three more years left in me. We’ll be back.”
Lamborne finished tied for 12th at 4-over with a 72 (four birdies) on day two, while Layne Cunningham shot a 74 to vault into tied for 28th. Brady Fiester (75-82) and Jace Reiter (82-85) rounded out the lineup for the Knights. Only Lamborne and Fiester completed their eligibility with a handful of underclassmen waiting to fill the ranks.
Castle had a similar run nearly a decade ago that culminated with a fifth-place spot in 2019. It took five years for the program to return to Prairie View. This season, highlighted by the potential of Cook, could be the spark for another run at the title in the near future.
“The sky is the limit (for Cook),” Kain said. “I know this is going to motivate him more and take this course in his hands. He can do that. It’s been a lot of work with our team. We’ve got great assistant coaches. It just shows you that everything works out for a reason. The older guys paved the way and showed us that we can compete up here.”
Memorial finished 18th with a final-round 324. Grayson Coughlin posted a 72 with two birdies to finish tied for 19th overall in his final tournament. Reed Johnson shot a 77 in the final round, an eight-shot improvement from Tuesday.
North’s Hank Schreiber was tied for 66th following an 82-79. Boonville’s Mason Mills went 78-85 to place tied for 79th.
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Castle golf earns best finish in program history at IHSAA state finals
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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By Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
