Marmion, Vernon Hills end long wait for state
It had been a long time for one team, and it had never happened for the other.
So long, that the Marmion boys golf team wasn’t sure if it had ever advanced to the state finals or not.
As for Vernon Hills, the Cougars knew beforehand that they had never reached the state finals.
That’s all a moot point now as Marmion and Vernon Hills tied with a second-best score of 311 during Monday’s Class 2A Wheaton Academy boys golf sectional at Pheasant Run in St. Charles. The Cadets were given the nod for second place on the fifth-best score tiebreaker while Sterling won the sectional with a 306. Most significantly for both teams, they each advanced to the Class 2A finals at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University in Normal, Oct. 14-15.
The Cadets qualified for just the second time in school history and the first time since they took seventh place in the Class AA finals in 1983.
“I was out with surgeries the first month of the season with cancer and wasn’t sure what I was going to be able to do,” Marmion’s Matthew Fazio said. “Obviously, it wasn’t just me today.”
Fazio had a lot to do with the Cadets success though, shooting a a under-par 71. He tied Sterling’s Patrick Petrosky for the best round on the day. Petrosky won the playoff.
“I live 10 minutes way from here but had never played it before playing it Saturday,” Fazio said. “I hated it, but I knew I could come back and score. My swing was good today and I had a great up and down on the last hole which was pretty exhilarating.”
Marshall Kanute added an 80 and Zach Woytych and Liam Creamer each contributed rounds of 82 to help the Cadets earn a long-overdue trip to the state finals.
The Cougars will be joining them, thanks to a balanced effort that included a 79 from No. 6 player Russell Hutson. Senior Jake Zoll led the way for the Cougars with a 2-over-par 74, while Eric Swanon added a 77 and Chris Edwards posted an 81.
“When we came off the course we figured our chances were 50/50 so it was nerve-wracking watching the scores comes in,” Zoll said. “I started off 3-over after the first three holes with some bad breaks, but ended up shooting -1 for the rest of the round. I felt I hit the ball good, and I had some putts drop.”
It was a heartbreaking day for the sectional hosts, as Wheaton Academy took fourth place with a 312, just 1 stroke off of the 311 totaled by Marmion and Vernon Hills.
Lakes, Grayslake Central and Burlington Central also came up short on their bid to advance to the state finals.
Lakes came the closest to sending its team to Illinois State University, tying Rockford Boyland for sixth place with a 321. John O’Connor (75) and Matt Hirsch (76) led the way for the Eagles and both advanced as individuals.
Matt Weber led Burlington Central with a 74, tying with four others for fifth place, including St. Francis senior John Bruggeman, to also qualify to the state finals.
Other notable scores of players who didn’t advance to state, included a 78 from Grayslake Central’s Colton Brunk, a pair of 79s from Glenbard South’s Adam Turner and Will Lear and 80s from Wauconda’s Trevor Middleton and Antioch’s Grant Smith.