Boys golf: DeKalb edges Lake Park for title at Larkin

Larkin senior Cy Kerber played baseball all summer and played very little golf.

Kerber displayed little rust in carding a 78 at Wednesday's Larkin Invitational held at Golf Club of Illinois in Algonquin. The invite was played in a steady rain.

"For my first time playing golf in awhile I was really pleased with the way I played," said Kerber. "With the way the conditions were I really had to concentrate. It became more of a mental game than a physical game especially the back 9."

In the team standings DeKalb took home the top trophy with a score of 308. Lake Park was a stroke behind with a 309.

"I was really happy with the way our team played for a first match of the season," said Lake Park coach Dan Batka. "It was a fantastic effort by the kids. They did a great job of concentrating in some very tough conditions. It is easy to play well on a sunny 80 degree day."

DeKalb's Colton Guy defeated West Chicago's Jason Gimre in a 3-hole playoff to win individual honors. Lake Park's Luke Tytus, who was eliminated in the first hole of the playoff, was third. Guy, Gimre and Tytus all shot 2-over 74s during regulation action.

For the runner-up Lancers, Jake Dianovsky (76) and Zach Place (78) joined Tytus with scores in the 70s while Al Green carded an 81.

Paced by Gimre, West Chicago was third with a score of 328. Other Wildcats scores included Nathan Rutledge (83), Dennis Hoffman (84) and Tommy Enger (87).

Led by a 77 from Justin Everson, Bartlett posted a fourth place effort with a score of 329. Norman Gorniak had an 83 followed by Matt Alberts (84) and Joe Tomazin (85).

"Justin played very well and considering the conditions we played OK," said Bartlett coach Jim Dinkheller. "We hope to keep improving and getting better with every match."

Batavia, with a score of 330, placed fifth 1 stroke in back of Bartlett.

The Bulldogs were led by Will Huber with a 79. Keegan Thompson and Ari Fragen scored 83s and Jason Schutt had an 85.

"I was really pleased with the way we played with all our new players," said Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker. "It was the first match for our top three kids. They were in all in the top 30 and showed a lot of poise in very tough conditions."

Led by a 79 from Brent Penrose, Palatine was sixth with a score of 332 while Hoffman Estates got a 78 from Alex Harrison to place seventh with a score of 342.

Dundee-Crown with an 81 from Matt McQuellen was eighth with a 346.

With Mark Spitzer carding a 79, Hampshire placed ninth with a 348 while Larkin led by Kerber was 10th with a 354. Harvest Christian with a 83 from Joey Pepper and Burlington Central paced by 87s from Anthony DiBartolo and Pat Laird tied for 11th with a score of 365.