By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
St. Henry will be one of nine boys high school golf teams competing in next week’s state championship tournament after placing third in a first-round qualifier on Monday at Shelbyville Country Club.
The top team scores in the qualifier were Louisville Trinity 297, Christian Academy of Louisville 302 and St. Henry 307. This is the first time the Crusaders have made it to the state championship tournament under the new playoff format that was adopted in 2023.
The season finale will be played Oct. 8-9 at Bowling Green Country Club with nine teams playing 36 holes to decide a state champion.
The medalist in Monday’s qualifier was South Oldham junior Colton Woosley with a 4-under 68. He had six birdies and two bogeys on his scorecard, including birdies on the last three holes of the back nine.
St. Henry senior Ben Carter tied for sixth place with an even par 72. After shooting 1-under 35 on the front nine, he had two birdies and three bogeys on the back nine.
The next three St. Henry golfers on the leaderboard were Will Carter (75), Parker Isaacs (77) and Will Hammond (83). The score for the fifth finisher, Jake Montgomery (87), did not count in the team total.
The individual qualifiers for the state championship tournament included Hayden Li of Ryle (76), Joseph Mangine of Covington Catholic (77), Talen Beane of Campbell County (77) and Nate Surry of Highlands (77).
Eight teams from Regions 5-8 competed in the qualifier. Ryle placed fourth, Brossart tied for sixth and Highlands placed eighth. All of the team and individual scores are posted on the golfgenius.com website.
Girls will compete in a first-round state qualifier for Regions 5-8 on Wednesday at Shelbyville Country Club. Ryle and Notre Dame are two of the eight teams in that tournament. The field will also include Cooper senior Reagan Ramage, who is tied for first place in the girls all-state point standings.