Wawasee’s Jeffrey Moore.

SYRACUSE — Sometimes failure can be used as motivation.

Last season the Wawasee boys golf team finished 14-6, third in the Northern Lakes Conference and won two in-season invites. Everything was going smoothly for the Warriors as they entered the sectional at Rozella Ford Golf Club. Wawasee was all but a lock to qualify for the regional until a collapse towards the end of the match left the Warriors on the outside looking in.

“I was our No. 1 last year,” began Wawasee’s Jeffrey Moore. “I was leading the team in average, tied for first in the NLC and choking on the last three holes at sectional kind of ruined all of that.”

Moore finished his sectional performance going double-triple-double bogey on his last three holes. It was uncharacteristic of the two-time regional qualifier, to say the least. But it happened and now it’s used as his motivation for his senior campaign.

“I have a feeling that I’ll come back and redeem myself this year,” Moore said. “I practiced a lot over the summer and fall, played in a lot of tournaments and so did a few of our others guys. I hope this year will end with a god outcome. We haven’t discussed what our goals are yet, as a team, but I think it’s going to be a pretty good year.”

“It’s been great to have a player like Jeffrey on our team the past three seasons,” stated Wawasee coach Steve Coverstone. “You can always count on him. He’s had one hiccup in three years, that was at the sectional last year. Except for that, you can always count on him having a good round. He’s very consistent and that’s what you want out of your top guy.”

Moore leads a talented group of returners. Joining the senior as returning letter winners are Cal Heinisch and Cameron Adams. Dustin Brown and Kyle Weideman also return to the roster while newcomers Jayce Boatwright, Jared Krugman and Caleb Glon hope to make an impact.

The Warriors lose Mason Germonprez and Tristen Atwood to graduation. Atwood was named All-NLC Honorable Mention in 2015 and qualified for the regional as an individual.

With a decent returning cast, headed by Moore, the Warriors can afford to be optimistic. But optimism was never something Coverstone was great with.

“Our goal is always to win the conference, but I don’t know how realistic that is this year,” Coverstone began, “we have to be stronger a the four and five spots. If we can get people to step up in those spots then we’ll be okay. The Northern Lakes Conference is just good.

“You have to have five really good players to compete. I’m not saying our players aren’t good, but a lot of them aren’t experienced. Jayce Boatwright came out this year and has been playing very well, but he has no experience. Kyle Weideman is back for us but all of his experience is on the JV level. Cameron and Cal can handle the two and three spots, we just need a four and five guy that can contribute. That’s the key to our season.”

Wawasee will begin its 2016 campaign on Saturday, April 16 at the Northrop Invitational at Colonial Oaks.

Warsaw Tigers

Key Losses: Jonny Hollar, Ryan Cultice, Reid Cameron, Brandon Eckert.

Key Returners: Sam Yeager, Michael Jensen.

Tippecanoe Valley Vikings

Key Losses: Bryce Zimpelman, Corey Carson.

Key Returners: Trevor Neeley, Cole Cumberland, Jeremy Julian.

Triton Trojans

Key Losses: N/A

Key Returners: Greg Music, Jordan Anderson, Braden Kreft, Isaac Wall, Gavin Eads.

Whitko Wildcats

Key Losses: Will Peters, Grady Clingerman.

Key Returners: Kaleb Busz, Tim Gensch.