Jun. 10—MUNCIE — The last two area athletes to compete in the spring of 2021 were Corbin Renihan of Lapel and Jordan Zody of Shenandoah, and both embodied the perseverance needed by high school athletes over the past year.Renihan shot an 81 and Zody an 87 at the boys golf regional Thursday at The Players Club at Woodland Trails in Yorktown.While their scores were not low enough to advance to next week’s state finals at Prairie View in Carmel, the experience is one that could boost both juniors with confidence in their game and set up a return next season.”I was definitely looking to get out of sectional, and I knew it would be a long shot to get out of regional but, just a little small town school and get a chance to come out here and compete with the big dogs, it’s a nice experience,” said Zody, who advanced to regional with a 78 at the Greenfield-Central sectional earlier in the week. “I hope to be here next year and compete a little better and get out. We’ll see.””Now that I know that I’m pretty close, it’s going to push me more in the offseason,” Renihan said.Renihan advanced with an 80 at the Noblesville sectional Monday morning.Hamilton Southeastern won the team competition with a score of 296, followed by Cathedral at 301 and a 313 from Fishers.Both players teed off from the first hole and had to shake off their toughest moment of the day on the front nine. For Zody, it was the par-4 eighth hole. For Renihan it was the fifth, a par-3.And both did so handsomely.Entering the eighth at 5-over par, Zody’s tee shot was out of bounds, resulting in a penalty and leading to a score of eight. But, he rebounded on the ninth with a 10-foot putt to save par and a little momentum heading to the back nine.”He putted well,” Shenandoah coach Thom Zimmer said. “He got some good reads on his putts. One of his goals was to not lose a ball all day, and he made it to 18 and he found some water there. We’re happy. He won his grouping. It wasn’t the score we were hoping for, but it was a great experience for him. Now he knows how this works and the emotions that go with it.”Story continuesAfter going out in 45, Zody played the back nine in 42 strokes.Renihan found a tough lie on the par-3 fifth hole which led to a six. But he bounced back with a birdie on the sixth and made par on the last three holes to make the turn at 40.”I was just super proud of him because he played a complete round,” Lapel coach Ryan Jackson said. “Looking at the scores, he proved that he belongs here. Really, he’s a couple holes away. There’s just a couple holes separating him from the guys that are going to state. I hope that gives him confidence as he works in the offseason.”Above all , both Zody and Renihan were happy to have a season following the cancellation of their sophomore campaign.”After missing last year, it was a little weird not being able to play,” Zody said. “But I got to practice on my own a lot and put in the work there and over the summer. There’s some pros and cons. This is the one sport you can socially distance.”Renihan had one of the largest galleries of any player on the day as a group of 15 or more that included his family, teammates and friends came out to support him.”It was awesome. It was so much fun,” Renihan said. “To have all my friends here was great. That was fun. Having them backing me was awesome. It proves how good of friends I have.”Contact Rob Hunt at rob.hunt@heraldbulletin.com or 765-640-4886.
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