Scouting DuPage County boys golf
Top teams: Hinsdale Central, Wheaton Warrenville South, Neuqua Valley, Naperville North, Lake Park, Naperville Central, Glenbard West, Waubonsie Valley, St. Francis, Downers Grove North.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Blaise Morris, jr., Jet Ramir, sr., Ricky Troha, sr.; Benet: Phillip Heidkamp, sr., Brian Moran, soph., Iain McCarter, sr., Matt Severino, sr., Jonah Snelling, jr.; Downers Grove North: Finn Grant, jr., Aidan Lafferty, jr., Cooper Marks, jr., TJ Molloy, sr.; Downers Grove South: Cameron Crowley, sr., Tommy Staruck, fr.; Fenton: Marcus Astorga, jr., Marco Faraone, jr., Nik Fischer, jr., Andrew Hill, sr., Brandon Koskiewicz, sr.; Glenbard East: Nick Guthrie, sr., Tyler Reitz, sr., Georgi Solar, sr.; Glenbard North: Jimmy Stark, sr., Josh Weisz, sr.; Glenbard South: Jacob Cyrus, soph., David Discan, sr.; Glenbard West: Andrew Barry, sr., Jay Ludington, sr., Colin Malec, soph., Bennet Richter, sr., Griffin Rosich, soph.; Hinsdale Central: Gabe Larson, jr., Stewart Leigh, soph., Josh Lundberg, jr., Mac McClear, jr.; Hinsdale South: Will Asmus, sr., Frankie Klemm, jr., Colin Lyster, soph., Connor Madden, sr.; IC Catholic Prep: Michael Hoffman, sr., Connon Leahy, sr., Charlie Schoonveld, sr.; Lake Park: Joseph Abraham, sr., Jake Brown, sr., Jake Dianovsky, sr., Al Green, sr., Jordan Fischer, jr., Zach Place, jr., Luke Tytus, sr.; Metea Valley: Scott Boyjian, jr., Tim Garlisch, sr., Matt Hummel, sr., Matt Loffredo, sr., Raghav Thatte, jr., Nick Zagurksi, sr.; Montini: Patrick Burke, jr., Josh Larson, soph., Luke Marciniak, soph., Jack Mullins, sr., Nick Renfro, jr.; Naperville Central: Ryan Cagan, sr., Tommy Dunsire, sr., Ryan Onorati, sr., Jack Ryan, sr., Tyler Schettek, jr.; Naperville North: Matt Branner, sr., Carl Christiansen, sr., Jarred Dunnett, sr., Parker Mullen, soph., Kieran Rajagopal, sr., Nick Sullivan, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Colin Chromy, jr., Ben Clavey, sr., Michael Rhee, sr., Cameron Sulzer, jr., Jack Vercautren, sr.; St. Francis: Luke Armbrust, jr., Nick Armbrust, sr., Ryan Keefe, sr.; Timothy Christian: Jason Grane, soph., Kyle Maher, fr., Ty Merrick, sr., Jack Rhiner, jr.; Waubonsie Valley: Jacob Fritz, soph., Cade Kenyon, sr., Kenny Knicker, jr., Will Troy, soph., Elliott Villeneuve, jr.; West Chicago: Harry DiRaddo, sr., Tommy Enger, sr., Jason Gimre, sr., Dennis Hoffman, jr., Nathan Rutledge, jr.; Wheaton Academy: Peter Crowe, jr., Jack Dykema, jr., David Frank, jr., Thomas Love, jr., Sean Reid, sr.; Wheaton North: Sam Berry, soph., Rocco Gambaiani, sr., Mark O'Connell, jr., Trevor Weise, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Joe Donzelli, sr., Cooper Kohout, sr., Jack Lilly, sr., Justin Seymour, sr., Michael Zubak, sr.; Willowbrook: Josh Lata, jr., Buddy Martens, sr., Logan Rattana, soph., Jordan Rust, soph., Joey Zopel, soph.; York: Jake Brown, sr., Blair Faber, jr., Joshua LaBounty, soph., Aidan Mann, sr., Casey O'Malley, jr.
Scouting report: Luke Armbrust and Brendan O'Reilly will be collegiate teammates a year from now. It is hardly the only common denominator between the two. O'Reilly had as close to possible a flawless four years for Hinsdale Central. The No. 1 player during his entire stint for the Red Devils, O'Reilly rolled to a 5-shot victory at the Class 3A boys golf tournament last year in Bloomington. Hinsdale Central had no issues in also storming to a fourth consecutive team title at the Den at Fox Creek by 23 shots.
Armbrust, meanwhile, instrumental to St. Francis' Class 2A team runner-up finish as a sophomore two years ago, was 5-over par during his two rounds at the Weibring Course on the campus of Illinois State University in Normal last fall to capture the individual championship by a stroke. Armbrust, a Wheaton native, will join O'Reilly next fall in Champaign after committing to the University of Illinois. But Armbrust has more of a team mindset for his final season at St. Francis. "I believe our team can contend for state," Armbrust said. "We have a lot of players who can contribute, which is a lot of fun." In fundamental respects the high school season in golf is an eight-week extension of the tournament-heavy late spring and summer schedule. "I definitely felt like I improved this summer," Armbrust said.
St. Francis' coach, Greg Baresel, is a club professional based out of highly regarded Cantigny. Baresel expects Armbrust to be at the top of his game this fall. "The best quality (Armbrust) has is to manage his game in stressful situations," Baresel said. "He hits it so well. He doesn't really miss a shot." Making the state finals is not an easy proposition. With the notable exception of the seven combined returnees from Hinsdale Central and fellow Class 3A team qualifier Wheaton Warrenville South, a grand total of four area golfers among the other 26 programs separated in three classes returns this fall. Lafferty and Vercautren from Downers North and Neuqua Valley, respectively, were at-large qualifiers last year in 3A. Armbrust is the sole returnee in Class 2A, and Lisle junior Guerrero holds the same distinction in Class 1A.
Hinsdale Central has Larson, Lundberg and McClear return to the fold to spearhead yet another state-title run. But the Red Devils' unprecedented feat among local programs the last four years has been accomplished through depth and a seemingly never-ending supply of talented underclassmen. "The sophomores are going to push (the older players)," Hinsdale Central coach Jess Krueger said. "It's going to be an interesting dynamic. It's not like there is any letdown (between classes)." But the competition throughout all of Chicagoland figures to be incredibly fierce this fall in Class 3A. "There are 10, 12, 14 teams (in contention)," Krueger said of the 3A field. "I think (the elite teams are) going to be pretty close."
WW South, Neuqua Valley and Naperville North are certainly in the conversation. Neuqua Valley was considered a strong bet to advance to the state finals last fall after defending its DuPage Valley Conference championship. But WW South reversed the schools' regular-season league results by claiming the third slot out of Oswego last October.
The Tigers have seniors Donzelli, Kohout, Seymour and Lillig in their quest for a return trip to central Illinois. "It would be nice to have the seniors lead the way," WW South coach Jimmy Selleck said. "That would be a picture-perfect story. We have a nice group of guys." The sting has not completely eased for the returning members of Neuqua Valley after falling a shot shy of WW South last year. "That hurt," Neuqua Valley coach Bart Carbonneau said. "We thought we had a good chance to getting (to Bloomington) last year. We were leading going into the turn (at Oswego). We lost it on the back nine."
Naperville North, West Aurora regional champion Metea Valley, Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley also made the sectional field at Oswego. Naperville North figures to give WW South and Neuqua Valley more than a run for their money this fall in the conference. "I think our conference is about as deep as it gets," Naperville North coach Ryan Hantak said. "I think just about any team can beat anybody. It should be a fun conference season."
Metea Valley, Naperville Central and Waubonsie Valley all have viable state finalists in their lineups. Boyjian is the top player for Metea Valley. "Scott has been growing by leaps and bounds," Metea Valley coach Scott Brusveen said. Hummel and Zagurski also return from the first Metea Valley postseason championship squad in program history. Dunsire won the Naperville City Tournament earlier this week, besting Waubonsie Valley sophomore Troy by a shot. "I think (Dunsire) is one of the best players in the area," Naperville Central coach Barry Baldwin said. "Unfortunately in this area that doesn't mean you're going to make it downstate. (Dunsire) needs to play the caliber of golf he's playing and good things will happen."
The Warriors' Troy seeks to duplicate the state-qualifying performance of his graduated brother, Jack, from a year ago. "I am very encouraged for the season," Waubonsie Valley coach Eric Flodberg said. "We have a lot of guys who have really stepped it up." Like Cagan for Naperville Central with respect to Dunsire, the Warriors' Wade complements Troy as the No. 2 player for Waubonsie Valley. "I think (Dunsire and Cagan) are about the best 1-2 combo in the area," Baldwin said.
Lake Park is yet another DuPage Valley Conference member to advance out of the regional a season ago as a full unit. The Lancers did not lose a single member of their postseason squad to graduation. "I probably haven't had a group like this since the (Class AA) 2003 team went to state my first year as coach," Lake Park coach Dan Batka said. "I think some of them were disappointed (with their sectional results). I think they are going to use that as a catapult mechanism to get better. All they do is eat, drink and breathe golf."
This will be the final season for the DuPage Valley as a nine-team conference. Lake Park, Glenbard North and the two Wheaton high schools are joining forces with Batavia, Geneva and the two St. Charles schools next year. "I'll start thinking about the new conference (the DuKane) at the end of the season," Wheaton North coach Mike Pribaz said. "Right now, I have Neuqua and Naperville North on my mind." Gambaiani is the top player for the Falcons. "I love coaching against all those guys, especially the Naperville schools," Glenbard North coach Paul Craig said. "Obviously, it's a great golf conference."
In the two West Suburban Conference divisions, Glenbard West, York and Downers North look to end the Hinsdale Central hegemony. "I think Downers North will be pretty good," Krueger said of the Lafferty-led Trojans. "I think we have five guys who can score," Downers North coach Anthony Calderone said. "This could be the deepest team we have ever had."
Ludington is the ace for Glenbard West. "I have a really strong senior," Glenbard West coach Paul Hezlett said of Ludington. "He is really committed. I know he will provide some leadership for our younger guys. I'm hoping we can be competitive in the West Suburban Conference." Rosich is another returning sectional qualifier for the Hilltoppers. In the Gold, Addison Trail seeks to dethrone longstanding league power Downers South behind the play of returning regional advancers Morris, Ramir and Troha.
"They are pretty much interchangeable," Addison Trail coach Eric Norberg said of his top trio.
The lone local member of the East Suburban Catholic Conference, Benet, has sectional returnee Severino to lead its cause.
In the Upstate Eight Conference Valley, West Chicago senior Gimre is poised to end the two-year MVP reign of West Aurora returning state qualifier Ryan Vanderway. Reitz holds a similar position for Glenbard East, third last year in the division. "Tyler has a chance to be our first state qualifier," Glenbard East coach Chris Wienke said. "He is just really committed."
The limited number of Class 2A schools in the area features Fenton looking to make a run in the Metro Suburban Conference. "Expectations are high," Fenton coach Rick Johnson said. "We have pretty strong players. We just need to get one more score."
Wheaton Academy will have a say in the Bison search for supremacy in the Metro Suburban. The Warriors return five members - Crowe, Dykema, Frank, Love and Reid - from their sectional team. In Class 1A IC Catholic Prep coach Don Sujack is still thinking about what could have been last year. "We could have won state," Sujack said. But the Knights' dominant regular season and first state preliminary came to a crashing halt at the Westminster Christian sectional. The Knights could only wonder what-if after finishing fourth; the three teams ahead of them swept the three state trophies. Leahy, a past state participant, has one final chance for the Knights. "He is very motivated," Sujack said of the Elmhurst resident.
Key dates: Aug. 19, Bartonville Limestone Invite; Aug. 24, Geneva Invite; Sept. 2, Fenton Invite; Sept. 2, Buffalo Grove Invite; Sept. 2, St. Viator Invite; Sept. 9, Batavia Invite; Sept. 11, West Chicago Wildcat Open; Sept. 18, Minooka Invite; Sept. 23, Hinsdale Central Invite; Week of Sept. 25, conference championships; Sept. 30, Lake Park Invite.