Watson, White propel Carmel downstate
Jack Watson and Billy White have taken on a leadership role for the Carmel Catholic boys golf team. Both shot 75 Monday afternoon and helped carry the school to a trip downstate for the first time since 1980.
"It's mainly competition," White said. "We try to make each other better. Everyone knows (Watson) is a better player. I can push him a lot of times."
Together, their scores helped Carmel (309) finish second behind host Lake Forest (289) in the Class 2A boys golf sectional at Lake Bluff Golf Club.
Both teams earn the chance to compete for a state title at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington beginning Friday.
The Corsairs have waited a long time for the chance at a state tournament trip, and all the work finally paid off.
"This whole season everyone has worked real hard," White said. "Since the beginning of our season it was our goal to make it downstate. We've been talking every single day, 'We've got to play good and get the team through.' "
Other scores for Carmel came from Doug Meyer (78), John Krzmarzick (81), Alex Pabich (82) and David Markiewicz (85).
"We've got a strong bunch of seniors and a couple juniors," said Carmel coach Jim Nolan, whose team won the East Suburban Catholic Conference title by 1 shot. "We were hoping for the best and finally got it.
"We've been playing well and have had the momentum going. We beat some pretty good teams."
Lake Forest won the sectional with an impressive score. Peter Marshall was the top individual medalist, shooting a 2-under par 70 on the 6,537-yard course and winning in a playoff over Rockford Boylan's Corey Konieczki.
"It was a great field," Lake Forest coach Jim Matheson said. "Coming in you didn't know what to expect. Any one of nine teams could've won. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves playing on our home course. It was the best score we've played all year."
Other Scouts scores posted were Charlie Marshall 71, John Michael Boyle 72, Perry Johnson 76, Alex Schwartz 76 and Peter Skinner 79.
The remaining individuals qualifying were Nick Robles of Crystal Lake South and Scott Cahill of Jacobs at 72; Deerfield's Dan Jaklin and Bennet Lavin along with Guilford's Cody Rhymer at 75; and Stevenson's Ryan Prince, Highland Park's Jonothan Gerrard and Cary-Grove's Matt Efflandt with 76.
"Last week, I made it out of the regional by one shot," said Prince, who will make his first downstate trip. "I made it again here. There's a couple of shots in both rounds I'd like to take back."
The Golden Eagles' Cahill will be making his first trip downstate and posted a sold even-par round 72, with a 36 on each side.
"I've been playing well for a long time," Cahill said. "I knew if I kept going and play solid that I would be able to shoot well enough to do it. There were a lot of good players I knew out here from summer tournaments. There's always a lot of good competition in the state."