Ackermann, Stathakis lead the way for Barrington
Marc Ackermann had no problem relinquishing his share of the spotlight to Barrington boys golf teammate Mike Stathakis in Monday's Biltmore Invitational.
They shot 4-over-par 75s on the 6,400-yard Biltmore Country Club course to lead Barrington to the title of the tournament it hosted with a 309. But tying for third place was nothing new for Ackermann, who has four top-three finishes in 18-hole tournaments.
It was a different story for Stathakis, a sophomore playing his first varsity tournament on his home course.
"This definitely boosts my confidence," said Stathakis, who was 1-over with two holes to play. "I kind of had a slow start but this score tells me I can shoot low."
Also getting a 78 from Nick Schiavi and a 79 from Greg Conrad told Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach something about his young team as it edged St. Viator by 2 shots. Medalist Jordan Wetsch shot 71 to lead St. Charles East to third and finish 3 shots ahead of St. Charles North's Nate Clark.
"This is good for our confidence," Kallenbach said. "Our last couple of tournaments as a team we hadn't played very well. We wanted four scores in the 70s and that's what we got today."
Having a built-in advantage didn't hurt as Biltmore recently opened up the course for Barrington players to use any time.
"It really helps the entire team to know this course," Stathakis said after a consistent round with no birdies.
"He has great heart and determination," Kallenbach said. "He deserves it and he worked very hard over the summer."
Viator, which hosts its powerful invite Saturday at Old Orchard, got three 76s from Brad Klune, Joe Carlson and Dan Stringfellow. But it lost another 76 and the tourney on a disqualification from a scorecard error.
"It's a great lesson for all of us that we have to pay attention to dotting our I's and crossing our T's," said Viator coach Jack Halpin. "I'll take as much responsibility as the player did and it was definitely a mistake on our part.
"We played well today. Everybody had trouble with the greens and this is a tough course."
That's something Wetsch and Clark, both juniors, discovered in their first trip to Biltmore. Wetsch went out in 37 but started the back nine with a pair of birdies en route to his best 18-hole score of the season.
"My irons and putting were good today and I was getting up and down," Wetsch said. "It's pretty encouraging to know I could play this good. But I've never played here so I didn't think I'd play this good."
Clark had a shot at top honors but finished with a pair of bogeys.
"I think I forced it a little bit and I didn't do what I wanted to," Clark said. "My irons (were working) and I got up and down about five or six times, which helped a lot, and I had two 25-plus foot putts for par which saved me."
Wes Apple shot 78 and Nick Maze shot 79 for St. Charles East. Chris Thomas, Kyle Daldegan and Kris Davison had 83s for St. Charles North.
Larkin senior Ryan Smith finished in the logjam for fifth at 76. Smith had a wild round as he birdied two of the first three holes for a front-nine 33.
"My putter really saved me today," Smith said. "I played real well at state (tied for 16th last year), I'm playing well so far this year and I think I can play a little better.
"Golf is all about confidence. If you're confident you can play well and right now I'm pretty confident with my mental game."
Andrew Cisco and Zach Schrotenboer shot 81s to lead Geneva to a tie for sixth with Prairie Ridge (328). Ryan Starkman shot 81 to lead Hersey, Mike Nutter had an 80 for Lake Zurich and Brett Meihls had an 84 for Hoffman Estates.