MICHIGAN CITY | Valparaiso golf coach Wayne Lichtenberger said he expects to get No. 1 performances out of each of his five guys, and that's exactly what he got on Saturday.
All five Vikings shot 80 or better, with four finishing in the top 10, led by Kyle Meihofer's even-par round of 72, as Times No. 1 Valparaiso finished with a team total of 301 to win the Marquette Catholic Invitational at the Michigan City Municipal Golf Course.
In addition to Meihofer's second-place score, Bobby Jacobs took fourth with a 75, Logan Bertalan finished seventh with a 76 and Patrick Andrie carded a 78 to take 10th. Andrew Gariup added a round of 80.
"This is what I expect from these guys," Lichtenberger said. "This group is pretty talented, and I expect to see some improvement every week, and they are pushing themselves and that's all you can ask out of them. They're doing a good job."
Meihofer finished with three birdies and three bogeys. His first birdie of the day came on the seventh hole, when he stuck his approach shot to a couple of feet and made the putt.
No. 2 LaPorte totaled 316 to finish second. Joel Collins carded a 73 and Jordan Lenard shot 76 to pace the Slicers. Lenard's round included his second career hole-in-one at the 171-yard, par-three sixth hole.
"The pin was tucked front right, and I just hit an eight iron and was aiming at the middle of the green," Lenard said. "I pushed it out a little bit and let the wind take it. It landed in front, went behind and spun back in."
"On the bus over here, he said, ‘You know, coach, it's time for somebody to get a hole-in-one again,'" LaPorte coach Bill Hart said. "Unbelievably, he gets a hole-in-one on the most difficult pin position on the entire course. He hit a pure shot, one bounce and in."
Michigan City's Ryan Brinckman tallied four birdies and three bogeys in shooting a 1-under round of 71 to take medalist honors. Three of Brinckman's four birdies came on the back nine. He chipped in for birdie on eleven.
"I didn't hit my drives very well, but I could putt and I chipped in once," Brinckman said. "My short game won the tournament for me."
No. 4 Lake Central, which was led by Mike Barenie's 75 and Matt Meneghetti's 79, finished third with 321. Mishawaka Penn was fourth with 324, while No. 7 Michigan City was fifth with 328, No. 9 Chesterton was sixth with 337 and Andrean finished seventh with 339.
Marquette's Jack Clancy shot a 77 to finish eighth.
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