WINONA LAKE – In the end, nothing went right.

Nearly a week of anticipation finally came to an end for eight local prep golfers. Members of the Warsaw golf team as well as three individuals from other area schools received their chance to prove themselves on a very big stage at Stonehenge Golf and Country Club. The beautiful course played host to the 2014 IHSAA Warsaw Boys Golf Regional on Thursday morning and provided little to no success to the players who knew it best.

The Tigers were forced to sit back and watch as Northern Lakes Conference rival NorthWood claimed the regional title with a score of 305. No. 6 Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger (308) and Fort Wayne Homestead (310) claimed the other two tickets to next week’s state finals while Warsaw finished ninth with a score of 320.

Despite playing on their home course, no Tiger qualified for state as an individual, marking the end to a roller coaster season for Warsaw. Other local participants included Tippecanoe Valley’s Bryce Zimpelman, Triton’s Greg Music and Wawasee’s Jeffrey Moore, all three of which did not advance.

Plenty of players had their seasons come to a close on Thursday, but Wawasee head coach Steve Coverstone was only concerned with one, and that was Moore.

“You can’t play defense in golf, and I told Jeffrey that,” said Coverstone. “This was a tough field and he played very well. I’m very proud of him.”

The sophomore put together the best round out of the eight local players by shooting a career-best 74. Moore was focused and determined to get out of the regional, something he failed to do last season as a freshman.

Moore highlighted his day with a birdie on number nine and did fine on the back nine outside of one miscue on 15. Moore bounced his drive off of the covered bridge and into the creek. The sophomore took a double bogey (seven) on the hole. That one bad hole would prove to be the difference in missing the cut for state. Moore, while disappointed, focused on the positive from his round.

“I had a good score,” said Moore. “It just wasn’t good enough today. I was hoping to get a 72, and I probably could have had that, this is not a very challenging course.

“I’m going to use this to motivate me next year. I’m only a sophomore and I know I can improve.”

Coverstone was disappointed to see Moore miss the cut, but was proud of the performance his sophomore had.

“He was focused today,” Coverstone said. “He was so focused all week and you could tell how much he really wanted this. He really dedicated himself today and basically just had one bad swing.

Warsaw head coach Ben Barkey also felt some disappointment on Thursday as he tried to figure out what went wrong with his team.

“It just wasn’t our day,” said Barkey. “We didn’t play well and I don’t really understand it.”

Warsaw struggled to find success at Stonehenge as Will Petro signed for the team’s lowest score with a 77. Jonny Hollar golfed the one slot for the Tigers and as simply off his game as he finished with an 83. Michael Jensen had a nice 39 on the back nine, but would finish with an 81. Ryan Cultice (82) and Brandon Eckert (80) finished out the scores for the Tigers.

“I don’t think we took anything for granted,” Barkey said after being asked about his team’s well-known success in season’s past. “Stonehenge is a course that separates teams. Teams that don’t play will get separated from the top and we didn’t play well”

Barkey later talked about Petro, the Tiger’s lone senior.

“He will always be a part of Tiger golf nation. Now he is just an alumni instead of a player and it’s tough to lose a player like him. He is someone that you wish you could have around for another week, but not so you could be playing at state. He is someone you wish you had more time with because he is such a great guy to be around.

“I will miss not seeing him around anymore.”

Barkey would later add that the team’s focus will turn towards 2015 now. The Tigers will return four starters from this year’s varsity roster.

Zimpelman started his day off with a bad drive and never really recovered. The junior would finish with an 80 after a tough 43 on the back nine. This was Zimpelman’s first regional and he will have another year to make a statement.

Music benefited from his experience at state last season with his Trojan team, but the sophomore could not get back to Franklin on his own. Music shot a 45 on the front, followed by a 46 on the back to finish with a 91.

IHSAA Boys Golf State Finals will start Tuesday at The Legends Golf Course in Franklin.