Tim Rata replaces his ball earlier this year. Rata and the rest of Warsaw’s golf team will host a 12-team sectional field Friday. (Photo by James Costello)

WARSAW — Until last year, there wasn’t a time in recent memory Warsaw’s boys golf team hadn’t advanced out of sectionals.

Heck, you’d be hard-pressed to find a string of three consecutive years in which the Tigers hadn’t won a championship. The program boasts 26 total sectional titles, tying it with Floyd Central and Lafayette Jefferson for third most such championships in the state behind Richmond’s 34 and Columbus North’s 32.

With four golfers from last year’s group among this season’s top five — Sam Yeager, Tim Rata, Luke Delp and Tommy Meier — you can bet it’s something the Tigers have been talking about. And they’re eager to get back in their rightful place among the top of the field as Warsaw hosts a 12-team sectional at Rozella-Ford on Friday.

“I think it’s very important this year for a couple reasons,” said Warsaw head coach Rich Haddad. “One, the boys did not play well last year and were very disappointed to not make it through. Secondly, virtually the whole team is back so the guys who are back this year are very motivated to play well and prove themselves.”

The Tigers are grouped with Northern Lakes Conference foe Plymouth and Northfield as the tournament kicks off at 8 a.m. Friday. Culver Military Academy, Triton and defending champion Columbia City play in the second group out on the front side at Rozella, while Wawasee plays alongside Huntington North and Manchester in the first group out on the back side, and Tippecanoe Valley and Whitko are paired with Culver Community in the second group out on 10.

The top three teams advance to the Warsaw Regional at Stonehenge next Thursday, as well as the top five individuals from non-advancing teams.

Haddad sees Plymouth and CMA as his team’s main competition for this year’s sectional crown, but he’s not necessarily counting anyone out, either. His players are feeling confident but by no means overconfident.

“We feel that if we play good, we should advance, that we’re that good of a team,” he said.

“Certainly other teams are capable if they have a good day and we have a bad day, but we believe that we just need to take care of our own business and we’ll be fine… Confident but focused, I think that’s important. We feel good about our ability, but we’ve got to come in ready to play. Can’t take anything for granted in golf.”

One reason to feel confident is the fact that the Tigers are playing on one of their home courses Friday. It’s a course the team has become very familiar with, and its proximity has afforded the Tigers plenty of opportunities to fine tune things throughout the week.

“It is, I would say comfortable, that we get to play on Rozella. We’ve been able to practice there all week, which certainly helps us be prepared tomorrow,” Haddad said.

The Tigers are playing well headed into the tournament, too, after a second-place result at the Northern Lakes Conference Championships May 22 followed by a sixth-place finish among some of the state’s top-rated teams at Warsaw’s regular season-closer at the Lafayette Jeff Invitational Saturday. If the Tigers aren’t the outright sectional favorites, then they’re definitely a part of the conversation, and perhaps their biggest obstacle heading into the tourney may be the weight of their own expectations.

They Tigers are anxious to get back on top at Rozella, and Haddad believes one of his most important tasks as their coach is to make sure they’re not wound too tightly Friday.

“These guys are highly motivated. I think as a first-year coach my job is to help them focus without putting too much pressure on themselves. That’s the risk,” he said. “My job is to kind of normalize the day and help them play a good round of golf.”