Boys golf / Conference tournament scouting, Northwest

By Bill Esbrook

Daily Herald Correspondent

Mid-Suburban League scouting report

When: 8:30 a.m. Tuesday

Where: Mt. Prospect Golf Club

Title race: Barrington looks to make it two consecutive MSL titles as it went 11-0 and undefeated in conference play for the second straight year. Prospect (10-1) is hot on its heels going into the meet that gives equal scoring weight to conference wins as well as placement in the tournament. Fremd (9-2) is close with another stellar campaign, while Wheeling has enjoyed its best season in years at 8-3 with an outside shot at the crown if everything falls its way.

Individuals to watch: Greg Conrad (Barrington, jr.); Taylor Ganzer (Barrington, sr.); Josh Yoo (Conant, sr.); Josh Rosenzweig (Fremd, so.); Kyle Chisholm (Palatine, sr.); Joe DeSario (Palatine, sr.); Ryan Kowalski (Prospect, sr.); Dan Wojtowicz (Rolling Meadows, jr.); Jack Ferguson (Wheeling, jr.)

Team by Team (in order of conference standings)

Barrington (11-0): The perennial title-contending Broncos are back with a vengeance this season not only in MSL play but also in 18-hole tournaments. They have an unblemished record in league play and have scored an impressive 4 wins and 3 second-place finishes in seven tourneys in 2011. In addition to Conrad and Ganzer, seniors Mike Stathakis and JP Talbot have been lighting it up all season. “It’ll be a tough tournament,” said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach. “We may have caught Prospect on an off day in our dual match, and it’ll be difficult to beat them twice.” Conrad was individual medalist at the Biltmore and Inverness invitationals.

Prospect (10-1): Another in a string of tremendous seasons for the Knights is fronted by senior standout Kowalski, who led his team with a round of 30 in conference play and also fired a 67 in an 18-hole event. Prospect won this year’s Homewood-Flossmoor Invitational and took third at the Zion-Benton and Wheeling invites. Ryan Maloney and Neil O’Grady add to the Knights’ attack.

Fremd (9-2): Season highlights for the Vikings include a third-place finish at the Addison Trail Invite with an outstanding score of 300, plus a tourney title win at the Dundee-Crown Invitational. Needless to say with 9 wins Fremd has been a force to be reckoned with in MSL play behind Rosenzweig, Zach Isoda, Tom Daddono, Steven Drodgen, Steven Rawls and Jamie Drost. “We know we can compete on the same level with Prospect and Barrington,” said Vikings coach Josh Teschner, “but our scores haven’t shown it yet. The question is can we focus and play at a high level starting with an MSL tournament title, and we think the answer is emphatically yes.”

Wheeling (8-3): The Wildcats unprecedented success story has coach Mark Menich looking for even bigger and better things. “This is a history making year for our team,” said Menich. “Hopefully that trend continues and we have a good showing at conference.” Wheeling is led by Ferguson, who was a state qualifier as a frosh and has excelled this year, taking medalist honors at Ivanhoe with an even-par 72. Michael Taylor has been consistent while Menich calls senior Sean Chechang our “dark horse.” Zack Nauert recently fired a 37 in a conference match against Palatine.

Palatine (6-5): The Pirates had a top-five finish this year at the Geneva Invite, and top-10 finishes at Larkin and the Charger Invite. Palatine’s top-level division placement has a lot to do with the stellar play of senior leaders Chisholm and DeSario. “Our kids have really worked hard this season,” said coach Mark Johnson. “We’ve been extremely competitive in our 9-hole matches and our public course 18-hole events. I’m hoping that the kids are ready to exceed their own expectations at the conference tourney.”

Conant (6-5): There have been more ups than downs for the Cougars this year as they stayed in the upper tier of the MSL standings by posting an identical record to the 2011 team.. A big highlight was Yoo firing a 70 at Maple Meadows to take runner-up honors in that tourney. “We’ve been pretty consistent,” said coach Jerry Song. “Back-to-back winning records is a good sign. I know all of the boys are excited about the upcoming challenge.”

Schaumburg (4-7): The Saxons are up-and-coming as they closed out MSL play with a three-match winning streak. “I’m optimistic,” said Schaumburg coach Chris Zickert. “We’ve been playing better the last few times out. But there are a lot of great teams in the conference and we hope to compete with them.” Matt Kozlowski has been shooting well as of late and senior Nick Brandt recently took third at the Inverness Invite. The Saxons’ best tourney finish this year was fourth at the Charger Invitational as Kozlowski and junior Carmen Valerio both carded 78s.

Hersey (4-7): It’s been an unusual season for the Huskies with a losing record, but coach Dan Caporusso knows the mark is not a reflection of the way his team has competed all season. “We’ve lost six matches by 2 strokes or less,” said Caporusso. “I’m hoping and the kids are hoping this tournament is our time to shine. We know our record is not indicative of our talent.” Junior Grant Manno shot 36 in both of Hersey’s final two duals, junior Matt Haussmann medaled at the Biltmore Classic and senior Ryan Krebs and Manno did the same at Inverness.

Hoffman Estates (2-8): Hoffman coach Dave Grabarek is excited about the play of seniors Gabe Alvelo and Brandon Tarallo. Alvelo recently medaled at the difficult Elgin Invitational at Bartlett Hills, and both seniors have been extremely consistent all year. “Those two guys have been playing well all season,” said Grabarek. “They been 1-2 for us and my expectation is they’ll continue leading our team at the tournament.” The Hawks will play a makeup match at the tourney against Rolling Meadows.

Buffalo Grove (2-9): The Bison have an extremely youthful team this campaign as coach Pete Duffer has seen good things from sophomores Matt Eilrich, Matt Froemming and Brandon Matchen. BG also counts on senior Ari Kazan, who has enjoyed a solid season. “We hope to continue to be competitive,” said Duffer. “I feel that we have four players who could surprise some people at conference if they can limit their ‘blow up’ holes and manage the course well.”

Elk Grove (2-9): The Grenadiers have leaned heavily on junior Ryan White this season, who qualified for sectionals last year after firing a qualifying score at the Addison Trail regional at Oak Meadows Golf Course. Dan Guido and Mike Fox contribute mightily to the Grens cause.

Rolling Meadows (1-9): The Mustangs haven’t had the record they’ve hoped for but first-year coach Rob Bowers knows he can count on Wojtowicz, who has excelled all season. “I expect Dan to finish in the top five (at Mount Prospect),” said Bowers. “He’s peaking at the right time. In general, our team plays well at this course.” Meadows defeated only Elk Grove in league play but had tough 1-stroke losses to Palatine and Buffalo Grove.