West tops Marmion; Warriors take 3rd
The West Aurora boys golf team looked like a group of expectant fathers as the final Marmion player approached the 18th green at Phillips Park.
There was a lot of pacing going on.
The two-time defending city champion Cadets needed a 77 or better from their seventh man, or the Aurora City of Lights Tournament would crown a new team victor.
One day after dropping a heartbreaking DuPage Valley dual meet to Naperville Central by a stroke, the resurgent Blackhawks were on the other end.
Brandon Vicory and Kyle McCradic had inward-nine level-par rounds of 35 to flavor their second- and third-place individual performances as West Aurora overcame the medalist 71 by the Cadets' Bryce Emory to ease past Marmion 303-304 Wednesday afternoon in Aurora.
"Any time you beat Marmion it means so much," said McCradic, who birdied the par-5 closing hole to card a 75. "I was in the bunker (on No. 18) in two and made the putt from about 7 or 8 feet."
Vicory would have matched the even-par 71 turned in by three-time individual champion Emory if not for a triple-bogey 8 on the third hole.
But the Blackhawks' No. 1 player turned the near-calamity into a mission, employing a pair of birdies into a second-place 74.
"I tried to go for (the par-5 third) in two," Vicory said of a errant second that ended up out of bounds.
"I've played this course a million times. I knew there were a lot of birdie holes left. I played even par after that."
The two squads have been going full-tilt toward one another since the season-opening Larkin Invite, but this was the first time the Blackhawks had defeated Marmion in head-to-head competition.
West Aurora set a new school record (302) at Batavia last Saturday, but the Cadets were even lower at Fox Valley with a 298.
Jeff Etter added a 77 for West Aurora, and junior southpaw Kurtis Luedtke, coming off a school-record-tying 69 at Batavia, duplicated the 6-over-par total largely courtesy of a front-nine 37.
"It's a surprising victory," said West Aurora coach Jay Bauer. "We're pretty good -- on any given day it proves that adage."
Waubonsie Valley (315) was comfortably in third, while St. Charles resident Jeff Hund paced the fourth-place Aurora Central Catholic (334) score with a 79. Sean Wear (83) was the low man for Aurora Christian (353).
Waubonsie Valley is in the thick of the Upstate Eight Conference race after St. Charles North knocked off Neuqua Valley, the only team to beat the Warriors in league play, earlier this week.
Freshman Josh Stefanski, playing as the third man for Waubonsie Valley, led four players in the 70s with a 78 that included a 37 on the inward nine.
"I only live two minutes away from here (Phillips Park) and practice here all the time," said Stefanski.
"I just feel like I've got the game (to play on varsity as a freshman). My approach shots were fairly nice, but my putting and chipping could have been better."
The Warriors' contingent of Paul Asheim, Matt Nied and Chris Gregg supported the Stefanski round with matching 79s to not only garner top-10 individual status but also complete their team scorecard.
"We know (West Aurora and Marmion) are two teams we're going to see in the regional," said Waubonsie Valley coach Dave Owles. "We saw them first-hand today. We have some work to do. We've been competitive, but the stakes are getting higher."