By Terry Boehmker
NKyTribune sports reporter
Walton-Verona senior Adam Gutman shot 3-over 75 in a sectional golf tournament at Kenton County Willows on Monday to top the list of Northern Kentucky’s individual qualifiers for next week’s boys state championship tournament.
Gutman tied for 10th place with one birdie and four bogeys on his card to earn a return trip to the 36-hole championship finals Oct. 6-7 at Bowling Green Country Club. He should handle the course much better than last year when he tied for 83rd place.
Golfers from Regions 5-8 competed in Monday’s sectional at Kenton County. The top three teams that qualified for the state finals were Louisville St. Xavier, Christian Academy of Louisville and Central Hardin.
The individual medalist was St. Xavier senior Luc Kelty with a 5-under 67. He was runner-up in the last year’s state finals and led his team to the title.
Covington Catholic placed fourth, just three strokes behind Central Hardin, in the sectional team standings. Ryle tied for fifth place. Highlands and Newport Central Catholic tied for seventh.
The 15 individual state qualifiers included Carson White and Joseph Mangine of CovCath and Parker Isaacs of St. Henry. They all shot 4-over 76 to tie for 14th place.
Hayden Li of Ryle (77) and Jack Woolwine (78) of Dixie Heights will also advance to the season finale. Woolwine won a playoff for the final state berth against three other golfers who shot 78.
The girls sectional tournament for Regions 5-8 will be played Tuesday at Kenton County. Last week, Notre Dame won the Region 7 team title and Conner placed second to advance to the the sectional round. The individual medalist was St. Henry eighth-grader Reese Anthony.
The complete team and individual scores from the Region 5-8 boys sectional tournament are posted on the khsaa.com website.