Carmel's Watson sizzles; Lake Forest, Barrington advance
Qualifying out of the IHSA Class 3A boys golf sectional turned into a nerve-racking experience at Makray Memorial Golf Course in Barrington on Monday.
The teams that proved to have the steadiest nerves - Lake Forest and Barrington - both shot 311 and advanced on to the state tournament this weekend in Bloomington.
The Scouts captured the sectional team title on tiebreaker criteria, edging the 80-81 on the fifth score.
Jack Watson of Carmel earned medalist honors, shooting a 2-over 73 on the par-71, 6,580-yard course.
"Very relieved. I've got some great seniors and they deserve to finish out their year downstate," said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach. "It was a great field, a great golf course. It's a great honor to be one of the representatives at the state tournament."
Barrington was playing on its home course, and it might have given the Broncos an advantage.
"I'd have to say yes," Kallenbach said. "Some people will look at it that way. Maybe, it isn't, but it probably helped.
"For these guys, they just don't want to see their season end. They really turned it on the back side. Things are always so close, and every shot makes a difference. Our numbers were better on the right side than the left on the back nine.
The Broncos were led by Ross Frankenberg (76), James Ross (77) and Marc Ackermann (78), who birdied three of the last five holes. Their other scorers were Travis Smyczynski (80), Jason Batliner (81) and Nick Schiavi (82).
"It was a shaky round," Frankenberg said. "I'm more ecstatic for the team going to state for the third year in a row. I'm just glad to help the team out."
Lake Forest pulled through behind Peter Marshall (76), Casey Burke (77), Perry Johnson (79), Jon Klein (79), Drew Kenning (80) and Johnny Glyman (81).
DeKalb and Carmel ended in a tie for third place, 4 shots back (315). Rounding out the field were McHenry (317), Highland Park (318), Jacobs (323), Rockford Guilford (325) and Rockford Boylan (329).
"It was a very competitive sectional," said Carmel coach Jim Nolan. "We wish we had more support for Jack (Watson). He played great and you can't argue with that."
The Corsairs' other scores included Billy White (78), Alex Pabich (81), John Krzmarzick (83), Mitch Meyer (93) and Brad Smith (94).
Watson shot 36 on the front and 37 on the back, but he finished with an impressive birdie on his final hole, a par 5 that played 520 yards.
"I hit a shot out of the bunker leaving me with a scary 5-foot putt," Watson said. "The 5-footer, I was really scared on making it, until I made it.
"I left a few shots out there and could've done better."
Cary-Grove's Matt Efflandt posted a 75 and qualified to state as one of the eight individuals.
"It was a good score to get on this course,"Efflandt said. "It shows all the hard work over the summer. The conditions were good. It wasn't too cold and not too hot or windy. I had a good mindset all day. I just wanted to hit the simple shots."
Other players who advanced were Bennett Lavin (Deerfield) 73, Trace Royer (DeKalb) 75, Jim Van Fleet (McHenry) 75, Michael Grayson (Highland Park) 77, Corey Konieczki (Rockford Boylan) 77 and Kyle Rhymer (Rockford Guilford) 77.