WW South, St. Charles East punch tickets to state
Wheaton Warrenville South was safe.
The central question surrounding the closing stages of the Class AA St. Charles East sectional was stark Monday afternoon at St. Andrews in West Chicago: Hinsdale Central or the host Saints for the second slot to the girls state golf tournament?
Hinsdale Central had the medalist in junior Samantha Postillion, but St. Charles East had the horses.
WW South won the tournament with a 321, and St. Charles nipped the Red Devils by a stroke, 326-327, for the second slot to the state tournament at Stone Creek in Makanda this weekend.
The Tigers received contributions from all four classes to make the team state cut for the first time since 2002.
Sophomore Sarah Skula led the way with a 77; senior Molly O'Connor received a third consecutive invitation with a 78, and freshman Emily Johnson belied her age with a pair of 41s for 82.
Junior Amy Wood provided an 84 for the Tigers' clinching score.
"It's the first time in a long time Molly didn't carry the team," said WW South coach Art Tang. "I'm really proud of the other girls stepping up."
"I knew we could definitely compete to do downstate," O'Connor said. "We were first concentrating on defeating Hinsdale Central, and everything else was gravy."
St. Charles East veterans Jenny Niemiec and Rachael Edwards once again carried the banner for the Saints' first state trip in eight years.
Niemiec fired a 6-over-par 77, and Edwards' 80 gave St. Charles East two solid scores.
Rebecca Norris had an outward-nine 37 to flavor her 84, and Nicole Rae shot an 85.
"I think it's more exciting to go as a team than individually," said Edwards, who was playing in her fourth straight sectional.
"We made it as a team - that was our only goal," added Niemiec, who will make her second straight appearance in southern Illinois.
Postillion nearly hauled the entire Hinsdale Central team on her back with her scintillating performance.
The Devils' junior turned back four-time Neuqua Valley state finalist Hannah Buck with a birdie on the first hole of sudden death after the pair tied with 1-under 70s.
Postillion drove the green of the short par-4 playoff hole and negotiated more than 60 feet of real estate with a brilliant lag putt.
Buck had her chance to extend slide past by inches.
"It would have been more fun if the whole team could go together," said Postillion, who had 7 birdies on the day.
"Looking at the whole round, I don't think I could have played much better," Buck said. "(The chance to tie) was a good putt, just a little bit of a mis-read."
St. Francis' Kayla Stueland led the Spartans (335) to fourth overall with a 76 that included an inward-nine 36.
"A couple of birdies really turned it around on the back," the Geneva resident said.
Glenbard West freshman Brooke Kochevar shot the same score as her twin brother Kyle did at the boys 3A sectional at Bartlett - 72.
The 1-over effort gave the Hilltoppers' ace solo third.
Naperville North teammates Marissa Miko and Elisa Palluiau are state-bound after posting respective rounds of 76 and 78.
"I was hitting all the shots I pictured in my head," Miko said.
Benet and Hinsdale South failed to advance any qualifiers.
Batavia and Geneva were sixth and seventh, respectively.
But the Vikings' Kim Connor was the only player to advance between the archrivals.
In making her second straight at-large berth, Connor joints Kaneland sophomore Hayley Guyton in snaring the final two slots with 79s.
Guyton will also be making her second finals appearance in as many years.
"Anything in the 70s I was going to be happy with, especially after that round at the (Minooka) regional," Connor said.
"I just wanted to shoot as low as possible," Guyton said.
St. Charles North junior Marin Beagley continued the North Stars' state inclusion with a 4-birdie round that ultimately translated into a 76.
"I knew I had to shoot at least a 79 to make it," said Beagley, correctly predicting the individual cut.