A SPARTAN FIRST: Glenbrook North girls golf team secures state berth

Three girls who have walked the halls of Glenbrook North High School for less than three months, and one less than 14, helped make history for the school's girls golf team at the Bridges of Poplar Creek Country Club on Monday.

Freshmen Alexis Myers (76), Kacie Moon (80) and Kaylee Hwang (84) teamed up with sophomore Alina Chie (86) to post the four low scores for the Spartans and give them their first state appearance as a team in program history.

Glenbrook North's score of 326 was good enough to place third behind traditional powers New Trier (311) and Loyola (317)

"The future is bright," said Spartans nine-year coach Michael Schroeder. "We knew this was possible with some young players coming in and some veteran players who were able to give us scores throughout the season. I'm very happy for them. They worked hard all season and put themselves in this position."

Myers' 6-over par score gave her fifth place in the individual competition. New Trier junior Amy Beanblossom (74) took first place while Glenbrook South junior Effie Perakis (75) was tied for second with Whitney Young junior Meilin Oshino (75). North's Nicole McGuire (85) also is advancing to state.

Perakis, who shot a 5-under 63 at Arlington Lakes as a freshman and went on to be 10th in the state, said her long game was the key to Monday's round.

"Most of my shots were straight," she said. "I was getting them on the green so I could make pars."

Glenbrook North's Myers sat out the regional due to being quarantined for COVID-19 after placing a second-place finish at the conference meet.

"We were hopeful she'd be back for this and it worked out," Schroeder said. "She gave us a great performance."

"It's pretty crazy," Myers said about the Spartans' youth and advancing to the Class 2A state tourney on Friday in Decatur. "We never really talked about (going to state). We (freshmen) really pushed each other while playing together in competitive summer tournaments. Next year should be really good, too, with two more girls coming in who shot in the low 70s. It's exciting."

Schroeder had heard things about the three freshmen coming in this fall.

"Then I saw them at tryouts (Willow Hill and Chevy Chase) and I knew first hand what great players they were," Schroeder said. "I could see right away these girls were the real deal and they worked tremendously hard all season."