It was a clean sweep for the Guerin Catholic High School boys golf team.
The Golden Eagles won the IHSAA team state title June 14 at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel. Junior Leo Wessel won the individual title with a 6-under par 138 total with rounds of 71 and 67. Senior Jacob Modleski, who finished in a three-way tie for second among individuals, won the Mental Attitude Award for boys golf.
It was the second consecutive state championship for second-ranked Guerin Catholic, which edged No. 1 Westfield by two strokes. The Golden Eagles finished with a score of 589, 13 strokes over par.
“We didn’t play our best toward the end, but we managed to pull it out,” Golden Eagles coach Mark Mathews said. “It’s a strong group of boys. They’ve got a lot of faith. They’ve got a lot of humbleness.”
Guerin Catholic topped Westfield by one stroke in the 2022 state finals. The Golden Eagles were runner-up in 2021, losing by one stroke to Center Grove.
Modleski, a Noblesville resident who has signed with the University of Notre Dame, had a 3-under par 141 (67-74).
“Jacob is a real solid rock,” Mathews said. “It was unusual to see him struggle a bit because that’s not what he does. He closed it out at the end. He knew exactly what he needed to do, and he did it. I’m really proud of Leo, too. He had a phenomenal round.”
Wessel, who has committed to the University of Cincinnati, said he has played well all season physically, but his mental game was the difference in the state finals.”
“My mindset, and this sounds like it’s taken from a book, but I just wanted to win as badly as I wanted to breathe,” said Wessel, who lives on Indianapolis’ north side. “I was trying to make no little mistakes and keep it as clean as possible.”
Wessel said the team lived up to its potential.
“We had such a good team I hate to say it was an expectation, but we all knew we could win,” Wessel said. “It’s not like it’s a super big shock. We just needed to play well, and we did.”
Wessel had birdies on the 16th and 18th holes to help boost the Golden Eagles. They had a three-shot lead through 14 holes. However, Westfield took a one-shot lead with three holes left.
Modleski also finished second individually in the state finals in 2021 and tied for fifth last year.
“Coming so close shows where I’m at as a player,” Modleski said. “It shows I’ve improved. My scores have gotten lower, even if the places have been similar. This golf course is tough. It was great playing by everyone in the top five.”
Senior Zach Thieme had rounds of 74 and 80 for a 154 total for the Golden Eagles. Freshman teammate Eli Wessel shot 79-77 for 156, and sophomore Owen Nielson shot 79-80 for 159.
“This (title) is huge for our program,” Modleski said. “It was just a great way to end the year. We knew we had to play well in the state tournament, and we did. It says a lot about our team chemistry and our individual players.”
