Boys golf: Prospect's tourney victory nets MSL tie with Barrington
Prospect came up with a trio of bests to become tied for the best.
Trailing Barrington in the conference race, Prospect needed to win the MSL boys golf tournament Tuesday at the Bridges of Popular Creek Golf Club in Hoffman Estates.
Riley Kingston, Nate Dunker and Charlie Busch posted their best score of the season for Prospect as the Knights jumped up to beat Barrington 306-308.
With that first-place finish, Prospect tied Barrington for the overall conference title with 42 overall points.
Kingston shot a 75 while Dunker and Busch each had a 76. Jack Knott and John Cantieri each had a 79, with one of their scores counting towards the Knights' final tally.
"It was a very consistent effort today by the kids," Prospect coach Tom Martindale said. "We had five guys breaking 80, it was very helpful today."
Kingston, who finished tied for second in the meet with a 75, said the Knights were leaving no shots behind.
"We came out here to play," Kingston said. "I hit the ball real well today."
Dunker felt the Knights had a good shot at catching Barrington.
"It was really awesome to win conference," said Dunker, who is a senior. "I felt coming we had a good chance to do that."
Busch said it was the right time for the Knights to have their best game.
"We knew if we could play our game, we could give them a good run," Busch said. "Timing is everything."
Barrington was able to finish second in the meet on Tuesday by beating Fremd in tiebreaker. Fremd also had a 308, but the the Vikings' fifth score of 82 was bested by Barrington's Bobby Beaubien and Anthony Scaletta, who each carded 81s.
It was the second time this year Barrington beat Fremd on a fifth-man tiebreaker. And since Barrington entered Monday's tournament unbeaten and with 22 points, the Broncos and Prospect tied for conference honors with 42 points.
"We are all very evenly matched, " Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach said. "We did not have one player with varsity experience coming back from our third-place state team. None of these guys played in the varsity tournament last year, so I am very happy."
Barrington's Matt Lee had not played in varsity match all year. Normally a junior varsity golfer, Lee was inserted into the lineup late on Monday when Barrington captain Michael O'Toole was ill. Lee shot a 76 to match teammates Dominic Scaletta and Sean Markham, while Brandon Dorian finished with an 80.
"It was an honor to play here," said Lee, who is a freshman. "I was expecting to play JV, so it was great to play well."
Fremd coach Ryan Moreau said his team can't get any closer against Barrington.
"We have seen these guys twice, and both times we lose by 1 in the playoff," said Moreau, whose team will meet Barrington a third time next week in regional play.
"We are playing our best golf late in the season so it looking good for us."
Fremd was led by MSL champion Colin Robinson, who finished with a 73 - 35 on the front, and 38 on the back. Robinson credits going to the irons off the tee for his turnaround this season.
"I struggled a bit earlier this year," said Robinson, a junior. "I was not keeping the ball in the fairway on my tee shots. I became more conservative off the tee by hitting more irons instead of driver."
Pierce Allord scored a 76, while Nathan Schmidt had a 79 and Alex Guan an 80 for the Vikings.
Hersey was fourth with a 321. The Huskies were led by Tommy Lumsden, who had a 77, and Joey Carlson with an 80.
Conant's Kevin Andjulis tied Kingston for second place in the meet with a 75.
"It was a little breezy in the back and I wasn't striking it well," Andjulis said. "I was scrapping around and making some putts, so I was able to come in with something respectable."
Conant coach Scott Cieplik said Andjulis has been a solid performer all season.
"It was a great day for him," Cieplik said. "But he expects more from himself. That is why he is playing so well."
Rounding out the top golfers were Hoffman Estates' Alex Harrison, Schaumburg's Dan Meister and Palatine's Brent Penrose, who all shot a 76.