St. Edward's Winters in good position at state
St. Edward junior Eric Winters admitted he had a case of the jitters Friday morning when he teed off as a participant in the state boys golf tournament for the first time.
But Winters overcame the nervousness to post a respectable 77, leaving him tied for 14th place going into today's final round of the IHSA Class 1A tournament at Prairie Vista in Bloomington.
Winters is just 3 shots out of third place and 6 strokes off the lead, held by Raymond Lincolwood senior Shane Convery.
"I got off to a good start," Winters said. "I had a little jitters but I overcame them. I had a rough back nine but overall the round was something to build on for (today). I'm only 3 shots out of third place so with a good round (today) I can move up."
Effingham St. Anthony and Mt. Carmel shot 311s to share the team lead.
In the Class 3A tournament at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington, most of the Fox Valley area players struggled on day one.
Crystal Lake South sophomore Nick Robles had the best round of the day among the area contingent, shooting a 78, which tied him for 14th place.
Cary-Grove senior Matt Efflandt shot a 79 and is tied for 21st place, while South Elgin sophomore Xavier Owens and Jacobs junior Scott Cahill each had 81s, tying for 46th place.
Larkin senior Ryan Smith, who finished tied for 16th at last year's state tournament, struggled to an 87 Friday and is tied for 92nd place.
Defending state champion St. Viator shot a 308 and holds a 3-shot lead over Mundelein Carmel in the team title chase. St. Viator senior Dan Stringfellow shot a 69 and holds a 4-shot lead in the individual standings. St. Charles East senior Tom Laudadio shot a 73 and is tied for third place.
In the Class 2A meet at Weibring Golf Club in Normal, Springfield Sacred-Heart Griffin shot a 318 and leads Wheaton Academy by 1 shot. Wheaton Academy seniors David Flynn, the defending state champion, and Blake Biddle, each shot 75 and are in a 5-way tie for the individual lead.
John Radtke contributed to this report.