Furtney, St. Charles North win DKC in a walk
Megan Furtney was visualizing the closing stretch at Phillips Park from the get-go.
"I was thinking about it the whole round," the Duke-bound St. Charles North senior golfer said.
Furtney, nationally ranked, and her North Stars teammates made mincemeat of the par-72 Aurora layout at the inaugural DuKane Conference championship Wednesday.
Three of the final four holes at Phillips Park are risk-reward par 5s.
Concluding her fourth consecutive conference championship with birdies on all three holes, Furtney toured her inward-nine holes in 5-under-par 31 as part of a blistering 67.
The North Stars' Katelyn David, Sarah Arnold and Catie Nekola monopolized the second through fourth positions as St. Charles North continued its unblemished season with a resounding 289-330 victory over Geneva.
The collective 1-over-par total matched the North Stars' program record.
The North Stars' fifth through eighth players - Brooke Bayless. Emma Hayes, Isabella Spinazze and Kendall DePaul - would have defeated Geneva by 4 shots with their four unneeded scores.
Hayes' commitment to Illinois-Chicago illuminates the North Stars' extraordinary collection of talent.
"It's super nice to have a team as deep as ours," Hayes said. "It's nice to have five or six scores in the 70s."
The two 3-putt bogeys Furtney endured on her opening nine were a distant memory as the senior responded with 7 birdies.
"(Hole) No. 11 was a turning point for me," said Furtney, who claimed three Upstate Eight titles in previous seasons. "I made a 13- or 14-footer for birdie. It was great to come in and see the other (team) scores."
David (Stetson) and Arnold (Western Kentucky) are Division-I-bound athletes as well for the North Stars, fourth in Class 3A last year.
"My chipping was very good today," said David, who offset three dropped shots with an equal number of birdies. "When I needed to get it close, I was able to do it."
Without a senior in the program, Geneva - a five-time tournament champion this season - had Avery Frick as its standard-bearer.
The Vikings' junior ended the North Stars' individual stranglehold with a fifth-place 77.
"Everybody always plays their best round the same day," Avery said of the Vikings' success this fall.
Batavia senior Sammi Hasemann anchored the Bulldogs' third-place fifth-card win over St. Charles East with a seventh-place 77.
The schools tied at 356 in regulation.
Sasha Danielson was the mainstay for the DuPage County contingent.
One of three returning sectional qualifiers for Wheaton North, Danielson led the fifth-place Falcons (360) with an 85.
"I was happy with the front nine, which is actually the back nine here," Danielson said of an opening 41. "I messed up with my putting (on my back nine)."
Lake Park was sixth at 363 as junior Vic Hocuk was one slot behind Danielson in 14th place with her team-best 86.
"My driver was working today," Hocuk said. "I was happy with how I did on the par 5s."
Brook Schenck is the lone Lake Park sectional returnee with the graduation of Nicole Hansen (Nebraska).
Schenck fired an 89 for the Lancers.
"The front nine (Phillips' back) was really good," Schenck said. "I was on my game."
Two years removed from the only state championship by any girls program in school history, Wheaton Warrenville South is in transition.
"I was on JV when all those amazing seniors won state," WW South junior Grace Ellison said. "They were a huge inspiration. I just hope I follow somewhat in their footsteps."
Ellison paced seventh-place WW South (374) with an 87.
Madison Gordon had the low score, a 98, for Glenbard North (416).