St. Charles East, Bartlett's Burdi shine at regional

The new kid on the block joined the seasoned veteran, and an unexpected bunch joined the party at the last minute Tuesday at the Class 3A Streamwood boys golf regional.

St. Charles East ripped through the Bartlett Hills layout in a, considering the elements, stellar 306 to win the regional title, the Saints' 16th in program history, fourth this decade and second straight.

Meanwhile South Elgin, for the first time in program history, advanced to the sectional round with a second-place showing of 321 and Bartlett, which counted an 86 and an 87 on the wet and windy day, shot a 323 to nab the third and final sectional qualifying spot.

Those three teams as well as eight individuals not on those teams will play in the St. Charles East sectional at St. Andrews on Monday. The Saints will be seeking their first sectional title since 2004.

Bartlett senior Anthony Burdi, who advanced to state as a sophomore but didn't make it out of the regional last year, was the individual champion with a 2-over par 73.

And despite the conditions, the regional also had a hole-in-one as Glenbard North senior Ethan Waterman carded an ace on the par-3 11th.

But the day, as many do on the golf course, belonged to the veteran Saints.

"The team did well," said Saints' coach John Stock. "We had six scores 81 or under and a 306 in today's conditions is a very good team score. It's one step and we'll come ready to play Monday at St. Andrews."

The Saints got matching 75s from senior Wes Apple and junior Jon Woods, which was good for a tie for second place individually with Larkin senior Ryan Smith.

"Our team played really well and we're happy to get out," said Apple. "The only thing I was really disappointed with was that I had a string of bogeys on 13, 14 and 15. Other than that the whole day was fine. You just had to grind it out through the weather."

Bartlett's Burdi was in a middle group, bringing his 73 in well ahead of most of the top players. But it held up as the wind picked up in the afternoon, helping scores soar.

"It got really windy on the back nine," Burdi said. "But my drives were going for me and my chipping was going for me. I was really pleased, but then the last hole frustrated me. I pushed it by the bunker. That's the only hole I was really disappointed in."

South Elgin was hoping to sneak into the third spot and was a surprise second-place finisher when St. Charles North blew up and finished fourth, which also allowed Bartlett to sneak in.

"We snuck in there," said Storm coach Jay Bartholomew. "We had some solid scores in this weather and we're just happy to get the team out."

Sophomore Xavier Owens shot a 78 for the Storm, junior Ryan Pondel had a 79 and seniors Jack Reagen and Nick Schweisthal each had 82s.

"The wind made it tough," said Pondel, who qualified for sectionals as an individual last year. "Overall I had a good round. At the beginning of the year we knew we had a good team and it was our goal to get out of the regional."

Bartlett coach Tom Boyle didn't think his team had much of a chance of advancing for most of the day but when the final scores were posted, the Hawks had snuck in the back door.

"We'll take it," Boyle said. "You just never know. I'm real happy with Anthony's round today. I wouldn't have cared if that won it or not, that was a solid round. And (junior) Mike Marciniak came up big with a 77 for us."

The Hawks also counted an 86 from sophomore Cody Linkenheld and an 87 from freshman Ryan Wolfe.

Then there was Waterman's hole-in-one, which came on 154-yard 11th. He used an 8-iron.

"I two-bounced it and dunked it," smiled Waterman of his first career ace. "I hit a good shot and I got pretty excited. It's pretty cool."

In addition to Larkin's Smith tying for second with a 75, the other individual qualifiers were Waterman (78), St. Charles North's Jake Helgeson (79) and Pete Roschmann (79), Larkin's Scott Harm (80), Glenbard North's Kevin Belford (80), and Geneva's Andrew Cisco and Billy Gregory, who each shot 80.

"The front nine wasn't too bad to start," said Smith, who also advanced to sectionals last year. "But when we got to 6 and then on the back nine, it was rainy and windy. But I kept it in there. It's the same for everyone. Everyone has to play in it. You just have to keep the big numbers out of it.

"I came prepared today with lots of towels and rain gear. My dad wouldn't let me leave the house this morning without a lot of towels. I was able to hit a lot of knockdown shots today, I got up and down a lot and I putted well."