Boys golf: Geneva wins 4th straight regional crown
On a day filled with few surprises, Joe Novak offered a welcome one for Geneva's boys golf team Tuesday afternoon.
Playing out of the fifth spot in the Vikings' lineup, Novak, a senior, carded a season-best 75 - sandwiched between individual medalist Tyler Isenhart and classmate Jack McDonald - as Geneva captured its fourth consecutive Class 3A regional team title at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago.
"I've had some nice 9-hole matches but that's my best 18-hole round of the year," said Novak, whose scorecard included 12 pars and a birdie - a 3 on the par-4, 454-yard 11th hole. "I struggled putting but off the tee I was solid."
"His swing has been coming a long way over the course of the season," said Geneva coach Eric Hatczel. "He's a good ball striker. It was just a matter of putting the game together and carrying that confidence.
"He shot an 80 this past Saturday and a 75 today. I'm so proud of the kid."
Isenhart carded a 1-over-par 72 to claim his second straight regional title, while McDonald placed third with a 76.
"I played solid on the front side," said the Baylor-bound Isenhart of his 1-under-par 34 score that included 8 pars and a birdie. "I ran into two tough holes on the back nine but then finished with six pars in a row."
Will Klaus added an 82 as the Vikings' 305 total was 18 shots better than runner-up St. Charles East (323).
"It's kind of fun to look at the previous scores because Jack (McDonald) won (regional medalist) his freshman year in a playoff and Tyler (Isenhart) beat Jack in a playoff last year and now Tyler taking it this year," Hatczel said. "That's an excellent grouping of years."
Playing pain-free for the first time in several weeks, Saints junior Casey Makowski placed fifth with a 77; Bartlett's Justin Everson earned fourth in a scorecard playoff.
"Yesterday, I had surgery to remove a kidney stone stent," said Makowski, who carded a 1-under-par 34 on the front side. "When I was playing with it (stent), it would get really sore but today I felt loose. I felt so much better."
David Griggs (80), Jake Daeschler (82) and Chris Petri (84) added counting scores for the Saints.
St. Charles North earned the third and final sectional team berth with a 4-man total of 325.
Alex Lilly (79), Tanay Abichandani (81), Ethan Ring (82) and Evan Suyak (83) had counting scores for the North Stars.
Ring's round included back-to-back birdies on the par-5 14th and par-3 15th holes.
"I hit a perfect 8-iron within a foot and a half away on the par-3," said Ring. "I was really confident off the tee today. It put me in a good spot on the fairways and that left me 150 yards and in, which made the difference."
The list of players from non-qualifying teams advancing to Monday's South Elgin sectional at Bartlett Hills included West Chicago's Dennis Hoffman (78), Tighe Walsh (86), and Bobby Bartlett (88); Batavia's Will Huber (79) and Ryan Ingold (83); and Bartlett's Max Lewis (84), Mike Niewinski (88), and Francis Resurreccion (89); and South Elgin's Dilan Patel (89).