Back-to-back champs: Madison Central repeats at boys state golf tournament

Madison Central’s boys golf team defended its state title with a combined score of 27-over par at the 2023 Leachman Buick-GMC-Cadillac KHSAA Boys’ State Golf Championships in Bowling Green.

Featuring three golfers who were part of the Indians’ first state team title a year ago, Madison Central had two top-10 finishers in the individual standings — Region 9 individual champ Warren Thomis, who tied for second individually at 1-under par, and Braydon Bond, who finished in a tie for seventh at 5-over. Both are seniors.

Christian Academy-Louisville’s Brady Smith won the individual title for the second year in a row with a score of 8-under par over the two rounds Friday and Saturday at Bowling Green Country Club.

Last month, Madison Central got a bit of a wake-up call competing against many of the same teams at the All State Championships in Lexington where the Indians finished a disappointing fifth.

“It was an eye-opener,” Madison Central coach Kyle Congleton said of All State. “We knew we had some work to do more than anything. … There were the top dogs in the state and we didn’t compete like we wanted. But over the last three weeks, these guys have really come on strong and worked hard.”

They responded with first-place finishes at the next three tournaments — Region 9, State First Round in Winchester and now the State Final Round for the top prize.

“I knew I had a group of great guys. I knew they had potential to do it, but from how we started our season to how we ended it, it’s kind of unreal to me,” said Congleton, who this week was named Kentucky high school golf coach of the year by the National Federation of State High School Associations. “Having five kids that have been able to buy into the team and buy into the program like they have over the last year, man, it’s been awesome.”

With the scores of Thomis and Bond combined with teammates Radney Bales (+10) and Seth Barker (+13) and the score of fifth golfer Reece Keeton (+24) thrown out, Madison Central bested second place South Oldham (+39) by 12 strokes. Thomis, Bond and Bales played on last season’s state championship team.

“Having that experience was huge,” Congleton said. “Those three guys took the two young guys under their wing and really did what they needed to do as leaders.”

Bond opened his tournament on Friday with a disastrous triple bogey on the first hole, but rallied with four birdies over the next 17 to grind out a 2-over par first round and remain in contention.

“He was 4-over after the first two holes and finished 5-over for the rest of the tournament,” Congleton said. “If that doesn’t show you how tough he is and how determined he was this week, I don’t know what else to say.”

Christian Academy-Louisville’s Smith also made it three straight individual crowns for the Centurions, whose Matthew Troutman took top honors in 2021.

Smith posted red figures on both days on Bowling Green Country Club’s par-72 course, which played at 6,692 yards on Friday and 6,720 yards on Saturday.

He led the field with a 7-under-par round on Friday and then backed it up with a 1-under par on Saturday to finish seven strokes ahead of the second-place finishers — Thomis and Oldham County’s Tyler Wirth. Four players shot under par on Friday, but only Smith managed to stay under par in windy and much tougher conditions Saturday.

“The wind was probably the No. 1 thing, but the greens were as firm and as fast as we’ve ever seen,” Congleton said. “We’ve played 20 different courses and we’ve never seen greens like that.”

Among other central Kentucky Region 9 golfers who advanced to the State Final Round, George Rogers Clark’s Jacob Settles (+5) finished in a tie for seventh, Madison Southern’s Clifton Sully (+9) finished in a tie for 16th, Woodford County’s Bradford Lacefield (+11) finished in a tie for 25th and Lexington Catholic’s Charlie Spiller (+12) and Frederick Douglass’s Carl Space (+12) finished in a tie for 28th.

State Final Round individual top 10

1. Brady Smith, Christian Academy-Louisville, -8, 65-71—136; T2. Tyler Wirth, Oldham County, -1, 69-74—143; T2. Warren Thomis, Madison Central, -1, 67-76—143; T4. Jacob Lang, Greenwood, +1, 72-73—145; T4. Ben Davenport, Bowling Green, +1, 73-72—145; 6. Griffin Barke, South Oldham, +4, 75-73—148; T7. Cam Roberts, Pikeville, +5, 70-79—149; T7. Braydon Bond, Madison Central, +5, 74-75—149; T7. Levi Keith, LaRue County, +5, 73-76—149; T7. Jacob Settles, George Rogers Clark, +5, 72-77—149.

Team results

1. Madison Central, +27, 295-308—603; 2. South Oldham, +39, 302-313—615; 3. St. Xavier, +49, 315-310—625; 4. Greenwood, +63, 318-321—639; 5. Marshall County, +70, 318-328—646; 6. George Rogers Clark, +71, 318-329—647; 7. Ryle, +72, 333-315—648; 8. Rockcastle County, +75, 317-334—651; 9. McCracken County, +83, 324-335—659

Complete results online: khsaa.org/sports-activities-events/fall/golf/

She won her second straight state golf championship. It took a major comeback to do it.