Marmion blisters field at Geneva
The Geneva Invitational proved to be a continuation of the Marmion postseason run from a year ago Thursday afternoon at Mill Creek.
In their second boys golf competition after being reclassified to Class 3A after finishing last season as the state runners-up in 2A, the Cadets routed the large-school-dominated 20-team field with a blistering 4-over-par 288 showing on the Geneva layout.
Marmion used every ingredient — including the local knowledge of Mill Creek resident Liam Creamer — to turn back Batavia (300) by 12 shots.
St. Charles North was third with a 302, followed by a school-record-showing by Kaneland (304) to place fourth.
Burlington Central, which produced the medalist in junior Matt Weber, who fired a 2-under-par 69 to deny the Cadets’ Creamer by a stroke for top individual honors, paced the five Fox schools with a 311.
“It’s definitely a little bit of an advantage,” said Creamer of living in the neighborhood after authoring a 2-under 34 on his inward nine to negate a plus-one front nine to lead four Marmion players in the top nine with a 70. “It’s the lowest round I have shot out here this summer. We have another deep squad this year. Today we proved we could stay up there with those big schools.”
Marmion stood a mere 1-over-par after its first three players completed their play in the event delayed three hours by morning thunderstorms.
Naperville resident Joe Fritz came less than a foot from the rarest of developments in the sport: an albatross, or double eagle, when his second shot on the par-5 17th hole landed a mere 10 inches from the cup en route to a third-place, level-par 71.
“I was aiming right of the green,” Fritz, the Cadets’ top-rated junior, said of his hybrid from 210 yards away. “I was playing a draw (right-to-left for a right-hander), and I knew it was there as soon as I hit it. One my playing companions was watching it for me and later signaled (with his hands, less than a foot apart) how close it was.”
J.R. Fredstrom put the finishing touches on the Cadets’ stellar scorecard with a 74 to frame the lowest team score since their squads from the early part of the century dominated the Aurora City Tournament.
“Two-eighty-eight is unbelievable,” said Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker, whose second-place unit was led by the 72 from four-year varsity member Nathan Podraza. “Obviously, Marmion had a great day.”
“I’m glad these guys did what they did,” Marmion coach Doug Roberts said. “Realistically, I don’t know if we ever put up that kind of (team) number.”
For Batavia, meanwhile, Podraza, the Bulldogs’ senior leader, was denied by highly regarded St. Charles North junior Raghav Cherala in scorecard playoff for fourth overall with their identical 72s.
“I’m just trying to keep (my score) in the 70s in the early part of the season,” Podraza said.
Cherala, the reigning Upstate Eight Conference River Division MVP, was a picture of consistency for the third-place North Stars.
“It should be a good season,” Cherala said. “I am very pleased with today. I left a few birdies out there.”
Kaneland coach Mark Meyer witnessed his four-scoring players — Brody Kuhar (74), Luke Kreitzer (76), Matt Yonkovich (76) and Connor Williams (78) — reduce the Knights’ lowest tournament score during his tenure by 9 shots to place fourth.
“I really want to get to state as a team,” Kuhar said.
Host Geneva was a disappointing sixth after senior stalwart Colin Lillibridge fired a 74 for low-man distinction.
“I think our guys are still on vacation (mentally),” Geneva coach Bill Koehn said. “We need the rest of the guys to work as hard as (Lillibridge) does.”
St. Charles East, which had Connor McCadam lead the way with a 78, finished in the middle of the pack as its top players were competing at another tournament.
Weber recorded 7 birdies on his round to become the sole player to break the 70 barrier for Burlington Central.
“I hit the ball better than I have been,” Weber said. “I started off pretty well (on the back nine in the shotgun start). It would have been a lot better, but I kind of lost my way a little bit. I did make (one birdie putt) from about 20 feet. Most of (the birdie conversions) were pretty short.”
Austin Niesel and Andrew Sherman also broke 80 for the Rockets, who received an 86 from Austin Dell to complete their team score.
Ryan Wolfe, the senior standout for Bartlett, was the Hawks’ only player to shoot in the 70s with his 7-over effort of 78.
Cody Lewis’ 83 and Zach Evans’ 86 were the second-and third-lowest rounds for Bartlett.
South Elgin, Streamwood and Elgin all finished well off the leaders.
Waubonsie Valley enters the season with its customary grand expectations after winning the Valley Division of the Upstate Eight for the second straight year last season.
Depth has been a centerpiece of the Warriors’ program in recent years, and the first week of the new campaign shows no signs of aberration.
Senior Eric Copeland is the Warriors’ lone state qualifier but his 83 on the blustery afternoon was only fifth-best for Waubonsie Valley.
Zach Mayer, a newcomer to varsity, earned all-tournament status with his sixth-place 73.
Jason Marrs’ 76 included a 1-over on the opening nine, and Alex Schreiber had a 77 for the Warriors’ fourth card; Tate Anderson rounded the Waubonsie Valley scoring with an 82.
Waubonsie Valley turned back Burlington Central for seventh place overall on a fifth-card tiebreaker when each team finished regulation with matching scores of 311.
“I kept the ball in play,” Mayer said of his career-low effort. “I found fairways and hit greens. I knew I had to stay focused (after the wind freshened noticeably midway through the round) and I did.”
“It’s kind of quirky course,” Waubonsie Valley coach Dave Owles said. “We played decent. I think (all the players) would say the same thing. They made some mental mistakes that cost them.”
Senior Doug Browning had an 83 to lead West Chicago.