Carlson, St. Viator won't be outclassed this fall

If hard work and dedication are any indicators of future success, Joe Carlson has a great chance at repeating as state golf champion.

The St. Viator senior has impressed coaches, teammates and fans alike with his second-to-none effort and devotion to the game.

"Joe is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen," said Viator coach Jack Halpin of Carlson, who last year rallied to claim the Class 3A title and help lead the Lions to a second straight team championship.

"He holds himself to a very high standard," added Halpin, "and on the last weekend of last season (at the state championship), it all came together for him. He proved that he could play at the highest level."

Carlson, who enjoyed a stellar 2008 regular season en route to the state finals, excelled in the pressure-cooker championship rounds at "The Den" at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington.

The talented Inverness native overcame a late tournament deficit to card a 69-68-137 and defeat Parker Freiburg of Quincy by 1 stroke.

"He was five down with six holes to go," said Halpin, "but he followed his game plan, and all of that hard work culminated in a championship. His 7-under broke the state scoring record.

"The entire tournament he was relaxed and confident."

The modest Carlson triumphed despite, in his own words, not playing as well as he could have.

"The funny thing was, I wasn't striking the ball particularly well, but I putted well, and I was able to get up and down when I needed to," Carlson said.

The state champ isn't resting on his laurels. Carlson, who's father Tom played golf at Viator, played in 10 tournaments over the summer to get ready for what hopefully will be a record-breaking 2009 season.

"My wedge game was struggling," Carlson said, "so I spent a lot of time working on that over the summer. I'm pretty confident now that everything is where it needs to be."

That can't be good news for the schools that will be chasing Viator this year as Carlson will team with fellow seniors Dan Stringfellow (fifth in state last year) and Brad Klune (tied for 23rd) to make another title run.

And according to Carlson, the competition that exists between himself and his accomplished teammates makes everyone better.

"We're all striving to be the best we can be," said Carlson. "We help each other out when needed, of course, but we know our own games, and I think it's the competition that pushes us."

IHSA Class 2A golf schools must have breathed a sigh of relief when they learned St. Viator would remain in 3A this year.

Due to a lack of numbers at the 2A level, eight schools were slated to go down a class and Viator, based on its student population, was one of the teams scheduled to make the move.

But Halpin and the Viator administration petitioned to stay in 3A and the request was granted.

"It was not only to remain at the highest class of competition," said Halpin of the appeal, "but we also knew we'd have a chance to make history.

"Seven schools have won back-to-back golf titles at the highest level, but there's only been one (Rockford East) to win three in a row, and that was 64 years ago."

Rockford won 4 consecutive championships from 1942 through 1945.

"We'd be crazy not to take the chance to go for it. I compare it (the quest for a threepeat) to East St. Louis football in the '80s, or Peoria Manual basketball in the '90s."

The state champs in 2007 and 2008 and runner-up three years ago will definitely be the favorites again this season, led by their experienced seniors.

Carlson and Stringfellow, who averaged 72.1 in tournament play last year, were named co-team MVP's. Klune holds the school 18-hole record with a 67 in his first high school tournament in 2006.

Junior Kenny Wienckowski will be counted on to contribute while seniors Joe Ferrari, Brian Keefe, Dom Zanfrandino and Nick Trapani provide veteran depth.

"The other local high school coaches must feel that these seniors have been around longer than Harry Potter has been at Hogwarts," joked Halpin. "I'm sure they look at them and say, 'when are these guys going to graduate?'

"But seriously, this is a memorable time in these young men's lives. They have the opportunity to win three consecutive state championships. It's going to be an exciting year for them."