Boys golf: Highland Woods little match for area players
Highland Woods proved to be vulnerable Monday at the Fremd Invitational.
With the boys golf season entering its second week of competition, the par-72 Hoffman Estates layout was under siege with nine athletes shooting level par or better.
Glenbrook North, the reigning Class 3A state runner-up, returns five starters.
The Titans needed all the weapons in their considerable arsenal to hold off traditional power New Trier with a 288-289 victory at the nine-team tournament.
Hersey, behind senior linchpins Tyler Invin and Henry Quinn, was third with an equally impressive 296.
Individual top honors mirrored the team competition as Glenbrook North sophomore Jason Gordon edged the Trevians' Max Baer by a stroke with his medalist 5-under 67.
Kevin O'Regan, the Titans' returning all-state senior leader who is bound for Notre Dame, tied for fifth with his 71.
Karl Gustin maintained the Titans' torrid pace when he carded one of three even-par 72s to tie for seventh.
"Graduation didn't hurt us," Glenbrook North coach Justin Gerbich said. "We have got good players. We are in really good shape."
Gerbich was thrilled with the Titans' 18-hole season opener.
"We try to win every tournament," Gerbich said. "That was a great score with only five guys. Jason Gordon wasn't a shocker. I expect that from Kevin."
Invin and Quinn were third and fourth, respectively, with their rounds of 69 and 70 for third-place Hersey.
Luke Kruger and Ryan Beerheide from Prospect and Buffalo Grove, led their squads with their level-par efforts.
WWS new king of Wheaton
Wheaton North coach Mike Pribaz, whose program hosted the four-team city championship on Saturday at Klein Creek in Winfield, was speaking in both a literal and figurative sense.
"The course was playing really hard," Pribaz said.
The drought-like conditions in the western suburbs this month created USGA dream conditions for a major tournament.
Firm and fast was the order of the day.
"Balls were hitting in the fairways - and they were bouncing out of bounds," Pribaz noted.
Wheaton Academy, fifth in Class 2A last fall, was the favorite, but Wheaton Warrenville South emerged victorious with a 335-342 victory over the Warriors.
WW South's Danny Zawowski engineered the upset with a medalist-earning 5-over 77.
It is axiomatic at a prep golf tournament that the importance of the fourth score is inescapable; the Tigers picked up 13 shots on the Warriors to decide the city title.
"We don't look at (the Warriors) as a Class 2A state team," WW South coach Jimmy Selleck said. "We had to come together, have a plan and stay the course. Danny brought his 'A' game."
Wheaton Academy sophomore Jack Dykema was city runner-up with a 78.
CL South rules Fox Valley
Will Stewart is an undeniable central explanation for Crystal Lake South not only winning consecutive Fox Valley Conference championships but orchestrating the Gators' programs to an equal number of Class 2A state appearances in recent years.
"To have a player go into the 60s was a huge benefit for us," CL South coach Curt Wadlington said after Stewart crafted a masterful 3-under par 69 at Pinecrest to lead the Gators to the six-team title at Huntley over the weekend.
CL South also received fourth-place 77s from Ricky Falbo and Nate Stewart to ease past the host Raiders with a 304-315 triumph.
Jacobs (334), Burlington Central (340), CL Central (341) and Dundee-Crown (351) rounded out the exclusive league field.
Cole Frederick and Josh Good paced the host Raiders with respective rounds of 74 and 77.
"You take this year as a wash," Huntley coach Collin Kalamatis said. "It's not going to be a traditional season."
Aurora/Naperville border solid
Route 59, south of the I-88 corridor, historically produces storied individuals and teams.
The three Indian Prairie high schools, along with their twin Naperville counterparts as well as Lisle-based Benet never far from the conversation, are off and running once again.
The Bob Sterr Invitational, named after the former Naperville Central coach, and Naperville City Tournament come in rapid fire to open the season.
Neuqua Valley triumphed for team titles at both events last week at Naperbrook and the Naperville Country Club behind sophomore Calvin Steger, 2-under at the former and individual city champion Alec Cross.
But the Wildcats were not exactly able to bask in their back-to-back victories as Benet defeated Neuqua Valley in the schools' nonconference dual match by a mere stroke in Bolingbrook on Monday.
"With all six schools, I think we are going to be packed very tightly," Naperville Central coach Barry Baldwin said.
Neuqua Valley denied Benet 295-298 at Sterr, where the six programs all fielded two teams to compensate for restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Metea Valley was just north of the highly coveted 300 team barrier behind junior standout Arjun Vyas, who fired a par 72.
"(Coach) Pat (Brusveen) told me it was going to be the best Metea program they have ever had," Waubonsie Valley coach Eric Flodberg said. "He knows what he is doing. He is a very good coach."