Burlington Central takes second at Big Northern tournament

The Burlington Central boys golf team shot a 326 Thursday at Timber Pointe in Belvidere to finish in second place at the Big Northern Conference tournament.

Rockford Lutheran shot a 319 to win the team championship, while Hampshire came in third with a 331.

"This was a big tournament for us," said Burlington Central coach Brody Hamel. "We were in a three-way tie for third place going into today's tournament but by shooting so well and getting second place in the tournament we passed Hampshire and finished the season in second place overall."

Luke Fleming led the Rockets with a 78, which was good for fifth place overall. Kyle Brooks had an 81 for seventh place and Matt Allison shot 83 to finish ninth. All three of those players earned all-conference honors. Central also counted an 84 from Drew Kissel, who earned all-conference honorable mention.

"This is the first time in several years that we had four players earn all-conference recognition," Hamel said. "If we can put up these type of numbers on Tuesday at regionals we will have a good shot of advancing to the sectional tournament."

Hampshire's Grant Yoder finished second individually with a 75. The Whip-Purs also got an all-conference 81 from Jeremy Yoder.

Rockford Lutheran's Zack Larson also shot a 75 and won the individual title on a scorecard tiebreaker.

Hampshire will compete in the Class 2A Prairie Ridge regional next Tuesday at Prairie Isle while Central will play in the Class 2A Aurora Central Catholic regional at Phillips Park in Aurora.