Geneva completes perfect run
The narrow window preventing Geneva from capturing the Western Sun Conference boys golf championship slammed in a hurry.
"We knew it was a winner-take-all situation," said Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker, whose team entered Fox Bend Golf Course in Oswego on Wednesday in second place.
"We didn't even come close."
In defending their league championship, the Vikings provided veteran coach Bill Koehn with yet another plum for his silver anniversary.
"Overall, probably the best team I've ever had at Geneva," Koehn said.
Cole Osthuizen, the reigning MVP, and classmate Jeff Paustian paced the Vikings' 305-stroke total with matching 75s.
Sophomore sensation Andrew Cisco, who was medalist five times in the Vikings' dual-meet season, added a 76, and Braden Thompson concluded the 3-stroke win over DeKalb with a 79.
Rochelle was third with a 309; Batavia fell to fourth place overall with a 315, followed by Sycamore (317), Kaneland (321), Yorkville (322) and Glenbard South (341).
"Everyone pretty much did what we had to do," said Oosthuizen, who secured his second straight all-conference selection with his third-place tie. "I had a few bad breaks (on the front nine), but played better on the back."
The real surprise for Geneva has been Cisco, the only underclassman on the Vikings' seven-senior roster.
"I wasn't happy with the way I started," said Cisco, who was level-par or better in his five regular-season medalist performances. "I couldn't putt today, but it seemed like all my chips were close. That's how I was making my pars."
"You never know how the older guys are going to react to an underclassman on varsity," Koehn said. "Everyone of these guys said to me that (Cisco) belongs on the team. (Cisco) matured a lot over the summer."
Shawn Steurer secured a major consolation prize for Batavia, which entered the tournament with its only regular-season loss at the hands of archrival Geneva.
Steurer fired a 74 to place second to DeKalb senior Trace Royer (72) for the tournament individual championship, but the Bulldogs' senior leader overtook Cisco by half a point to win league MVP.
"I wasn't aware of (the possibility) until today," Steurer said. "Everyone knew that we had to win (the tournament) to win conference. The conditions were tough."
Collin Huber and Tim Schofield, the defending champion, added 79s for Batavia, which secured its final score from Ian Sohst (83).
After going winless during the regular season, Kaneland found a measure of redemption with its sixth-place finish.
Sixth-man Hayden Senese led the Knights with a 79, his low score of the season, with Curtis Lubic and Edie Musuras adding 80s.
Jeff Smith concluded the Knights' total with an 82.
Hayley Guyton, the Knights' female returning state qualifier, fired an 88.
"I just used this round to get ready for the (girls class AA Minooka) regional (Wednesday)," Guyton said.
Scott Iliff is one of many coaches at Glenbard South who felt the Raiders would be welcome beneficiaries of class expansion, especially in tournaments with three tiers.
But the Raiders' youth and inexperience showed at Fox Bend in the cold and windy conditions.
"We're a pretty young team, but so is the rest of the conference," Iliff said. "We know we have our work cut out for us. We need to step up our summer work. But I'm proud of the conference."
Matt Johnson had composite nine-hole scores of 41 and 40 to lead the Raiders with an 81.
Vince McPherson added an 86, and the quintet of Mitch McNeily, Matt Casenza, Tony Scotellaro, Jake Oakes and Matt Cacciato all had 87s.