'Pretty fearless golf' leads Bloomington South boys back to state

​  ​​​     1 / 22Lighthouse Christian’s Nathan Biggs hits a tee shot during the IHSAA boys’ golf sectional at Cascades Golf Course on Monday, June 8, 2026.(Bobby Goddin / For The Herald-Times)MONTGOMERY — Owen Wisley made all the difference at last year’s boys golf regional when his fifth score won a tiebreaker over Jasper’s highest score for the third and final berth to state.The junior was a tipping point again out of the No. 4 spot for Bloomington South at this year’s Washington boys golf regional at Country Oaks on Thursday, June 11. Maybe not as dramatic, yet satisfying nonetheless.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThis time, he and No. 5 man, junior Easton Bellini shored up a season best team score as Wisley shot a 74 and Bellini a career best 75 to help the Panthers take second with a 295 to trail only No. 5 Castle (291) and top the other state qualifier, Evansville Memorial (299).Bloomington North was ninth at 315, seven shots better than sectional champ Brownstown Central (322).More: Walker, Couch work overtime to get Bloomington South baseball to semi-stateBloomington South’s Owen Wisley hits a putt during the IHSAA boys’ golf sectional at Cascades Golf Course on Monday, June 8, 2026.”It’s pretty awesome,” Wisley said. “Especially for my two seniors (Colton Watson and Carson Gady), they’ve been my role models the past few years, so for me to help them, it’s a great feeling.”AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”It’s amazing,” Bellini added. “That’s what you hope for. Just do your job, and hopefully you can contribute. And that’s what I did today.”Wisley’s round included a big shot when he holed out on No. 3 (his 12th) from 130 yards for eagle.”I had a lesson a couple days ago,” Wisley said. “A double lesson and it helped my confidence a little bit. I got a good warm-up and I felt pretty confident. Made a par on the first hole and game over from there.”Bloomington South’s Easton Bellini hits a shot during the IHSAA boys’ golf sectional at Cascades Golf Course on Monday, June 8, 2026.Bellini’s been building his confidence all year. A change in his approach to putting, spending less time hanging over the shot and simply trusting his line and hitting it, made a big difference.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement”I’ve been hitting the ball well for a while now,” he said. “I had a bad start to the season, but it’s coming together. I finally started making some putts today. Just mentally stayed in it. I think I did a good job of that.”For Bellini, he’s sees himself more as an insurance policy, one that the Panthers cashed in on.”As a 5 guy, I really get to play free,” Bellini said. “If I play well, they’re probably going to take my score and it’ll help. And if I play bad, I know I have four other great teammates that we can fall back on.”Bloomington South’s Carson Gady hits a tee shot during the IHSAA boys’ golf sectional at Cascades Golf Course on Monday, June 8, 2026.Watson (73) and Gady (73), who was six shots better than l