St. Charles East, West Aurora rule UEC
St. Charles East was coming off a one-sided dual-meet defeat at the hands of Geneva last week.
West Aurora had not won a boys golf league championship in the Upstate Eight Conference since Jimmy Carter was president.
Then again, it was not your typical day at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club Wednesday in West Chicago for the River and Valley chapters of the conference.
Two freshmen not only won top individual honors but also secured respective player-of-the-year awards.
In the River, St. Charles East had to win the title outright or have Geneva finish two spots worse in the league standings.
The Saints settled for the former with a 3-shot triumph over Geneva, and West Aurora captured its first top-team award - and first conference championship since its lone title in 17 attempts eight years ago in the DuPage Valley Conference - by an even narrower margin over West Chicago in the Valley.
Daniel Hougen and Zach Podl finished behind only Geneva ninth-grader Tyler Isenhart to propel St. Charles East to a 310-313 victory.
Batavia, St. Charles North, Larkin, Elgin and Streamwood rounded out the River finish.
It was the eighth conference title for the Saints since St. Charles North opened at the turn of the century.
"We knew Geneva was going to come out and play their best," said Hougen, runner-up with a 3-over 74. "We had to give it everything we had. (Playing St. Andrews well) comes down to hitting the greens and hitting good putts."
Hougen demonstrated fortunes can change quickly in the sport.
"Daniel has been up and down," said St. Charles East coach John Stock. "He obviously played well today."
Podl was in solo third after becoming one of only six players - it was half that number in the Valley - to break 80 with his 77.
The Saints dearly needed the twin anchor scores as the Vikings' Andrew Abel complemented the medalist 73 Isenhart fashioned with a 78.
Isenhart denied his teammate for season-long top honors with his tournament title.
"My driver and irons were pretty good," said Isenhart, who also mentioned his ball-striking compensated for what he characterized as "all right" putting. "I made a lot of good pars."
Jack McDonald, Dawsom Peters and Ethan Dalton all fired 81s to complete the Vikings' four-man scorecard, but it was not enough as the Saints' Danny Buetow and Jacob Blook both bettered the mark by a shot for the Saints' corollary scores.
"Sure, we wanted to take the conference title away from (St. Charles) East," Geneva coach Eric Hatczel said. "It was just great competition. East played phenomenally."
Robert Carr (Batavia) and Hank Zimmer (St. Charles North) were fifth and 10th to round out the top players in the River.
West Aurora had yet another close escape in its 1-shot dual win over South Elgin, 166-167, on Tuesday at home to enter the tournament undefeated in league meets.
But the Blackhawks continued to play well enough to emerge victorious as Ryan Vanderway held off challenges from South Elgin senior Nate Reeser and West Chicago sophomore Jason Gimre to claim both medalist and MVP honors.
The Blackhawks' top-rated player had a 78 to deny his two closest pursuers by a stroke.
"I was pretty sure I could win conference," Vanderway said. "I was kind of thinking of (the tournament) as match play with the guy from South Elgin (Reeser). We played in the same group (on Tuesday) and we beat them by one. I was just trying to beat him."
"I've have had freshmen move up to varsity before," West Aurora coach Jay Bauer said. "But I have never had any (play) No. 1 from the get-go. An unbelievable freshman season."
Dean Lavery, Myles Whiting and Sam Lawless were between 84 and 87 for West Aurora to turn back West Chicago, 334-336.
It was the Blackhawks' first Upstate Eight title since 1979.
South Elgin, Glenbard East, West Chicago and East Aurora were third through sixth in the Valley.
Storm senior Reeser was solidly entrenched for all-conference status.
"Definitely satisfied with the regular season," said Reeser, declared runner-up on a scorecard playoff. "I scored points in all my duals except one. You had to hit it straight, hit it on the greens and make 2-putts (today)."
Gimre overcame a sluggish start as St. Andrews' notoriously impolite greens got the best of the Wildcats' sophomore on his outward nine.
"The first eight holes were not so good," Gimre said. "I made a 15-foot putt for birdie on No. 9, a par-5. I started making putts. After I got rid of the 3-putts, I felt confident."
The Wildcats' Dominic Lobocki and Corey Scudder had matching 84s, and the West Chicago foursome was completed by Ryan Hancock.
"As far as the difference (with West Aurora), I'm sure it came down to the short game and putting," West Chicago coach Nick Kempski said. "That's usually what it is. I was very proud of our guys."
Gimre and Lobocki were all-conference for West Chicago.
Glenbard East had all four of its counting scorers earn all-league honors.
The Rams' Andrew Honig and Tyler Reitz were fifth and sixth, respectively, with scores of 82 and 84.
Matt Kinney and Jack Moran closed out their senior regular seasons with a 90 and 92.
"I am really pleased with our regular season," Glenbard East coach Chris Wienke said. "In the DVC we really struggled with some of those programs. We are now playing schools similar to us. We're really excited about this year and going forward to see what we can do."