Top 5 Teams

1. Lake Central: The Indians return the best player in the area in Tommy Philpot, a junior who shot a 78 in the 2019 Lake Central Regional at Sandy Pines. He was the Indians’ medalist, and he missed qualifying for the state meet by two strokes. Two other players from that team return. TJ Matlon, a senior, shot a 79 at the regional. Rudy Jaksich, a junior, shot an 86. Lake Central has the most varsity experience in Northwest Indiana.

2. Valparaiso: The Vikings have perhaps the premier player in the area in Aidan Gutierrez, a freshman who finished second at the Indiana Boys State Junior Championship last summer. In 2019, Gutierrez was the youngest player to qualify for the U.S. Junior Amateur. Jacob Gaghan, a junior, averaged 40 in junior varsity matches in 2019. Max Abel, a freshman, likely will crack the top five, according to coach Wayne Lichtenberger. The Vikings have other players in the mix.

3. Chesterton: The Trojans will lean heavily on freshman Bo Smith. Chesterton coach Patrick Ward said when the weather warms up and Smith gets used to playing high school golf, he should be shooting around par. Juniors Luke Fisher and Owen Pilarski and seniors Beckham Mountford and Sam Keane are in the mix for the other four spots in the rotation.

4. Crown Point: Sophomore Ray Filter and juniors Isaac Embry and Seth Gozo give the Bulldogs a solid top three. Crown Point always finds a way to be good. The Bulldogs were the only local team to qualify for the state meet two years ago.

5. Boone Grove: Junior Tyler Knight and senior R.J. Smith were on a regional-qualifying team two years ago. Freshman Jack Lukas will be in the lineup. The Wolves have options for their last two spots. They should have a good chance to get to the regional again.