Boys golf: Scouting Cook and Lake County
The Illinois High School golf season is slated to be a memorable one with several teams from Cook County and Lake County bringing back talented players.
Antioch is a team filled with talented and young players capable of competing for the Northern Lake County Conference title. Senior Tyler Stackhouse, junior Rylan Frazer and sophomore Ryan Stackhouse are slated to lead the team.
"We're a very young team this year, but our team is already talking about how we can defend our conference championship," Antioch coach Trey Hickey said.
Barrington juniors William Lange and Drew Schauenberg headline the returning players capable of lifting the Broncos to a special season.
"We return our top seven golfers from a team that won conference, regionals and sectionals last year," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "We're excited about the possibilities of this season."
Buffalo Grove returns a strong trio of players in senior Connor Woodin, sophomore Cori Lee and senior Nathan Barbakoff to put them in the mix for a conference title. Woodin, a Loyola recruit, is a player to watch this fall.
"Connor has had an outstanding summer and will compete with the best in the area," Buffalo Grove coach Peter Duffer said. "Cori has improved tremendously after a great varsity season as a freshman and Nathan has been scoring strong this week. We also expect our new players to emerge. The hope is to compete for a division title and make a run at the MSL Conference."
Carmel is looking to raise the bar behind seniors Kevin Crow, Nathan Stuart and A.J. Miller.
"Kevin has been playing well and has a fire in his belly after barely missing the state tournament last year," Carmel coach Dave Silbar said.
Conant brings back one of the best players in the state in senior Nicolas Simon, along with talented junior Antonio Gutierrez and promising junior Ahilan Nayani and sophomore Peyton Kittivat.
"Consistency will be the key to success this season," Conant coach Scott Cieplik said. "I'm hoping our young guys pay close attention to our varsity leaders and watch how hard they practice and prepare."
Elk Grove will have a big void to replace following the graduation of standout Nick Lamberg, but senior Charlie Carlson is a key returnee.
"We have a very young team with only one returning varsity member in Charlie, but we will look to improve and grow as a team over the season," Elk Grove coach Brian Bucciarelli said.
Glenbrook South, which tied for fourth in the Class 3A state tournament last season, is one of the deepest and strongest teams in the state. With three top 30 finishers - Connor O'Hara, Chase Blanchard and Nick Ventura - all back, Glenbrook South is loaded and aiming for another run.
"This team is one of these rare teams that's filled with quality golfers and even better people," Glenbrook South coach Jeff Paek said.
Grant suffered some key losses from last season's team, though seniors Diego Delgado and Jack Martin both join several newcomers to round out a deep team.
Grayslake Central will have plenty of new faces on the roster, but all-state senior Dominic Lucchesi is back to spark the team, while junior Cal Hanson is a golfer to watch.
Grayslake North, aided by seniors Tyler Kregel, Jack Calhoun, Trevor Deering and Vinny Marino, is among the top teams in Lake County.
Hersey is undergoing a slight makeover following a strong run the past three years, but senior Chad Tramba is an elite golfer, while sophomore Owen Spokas is looking to build off an impressive freshman campaign.
Lake Zurich is relying on a balanced squad to top last season's second-place finish in regionals, led by Zach Lawler, Dreu MacKenzie Tyler Czabaj and Shailen Surati. Lakes has a good group of players across several classes, namely senior Connor Daley and junior Henry Samulak.
Mundelein is a senior loaded team, with Miles Begg, Ben Tieman and Adam Adaska providing leadership and experience.
"Miles Begg hopes to be one of the better players in the area," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "Junior Dylan Trajan looks to join the seniors to form a solid top four."
Prospect is filled with all the ingredients - talent, experience and motivation - to be among the best in the state. The Knights, led by all-state seniors Patrick Raupp and Luke Kruger, are thinking big in 2023.
"We have had an outstanding offseason as a team," Prospect coach James Hamann said. "Patrick and Luke have had multiple rounds in the 60s competing in tournaments the past few months. This season is going to be very exciting. We expect to compete with the best teams in the state."
Rolling Meadows' young core includes juniors Nico Haber, Jack Duffer, Connor Towle and William Edwards this fall.
Schaumburg is banking on senior Gavin Hinkle to lead a young team that includes Jake Caruso, Dyland Ogawa and Nate Vanden Boom.
Stevenson senior Richard Wang, an all-conference returnee, joins fellow seniors Bobby Yun and Abhay Agarwal to lead the Patriots.
St. Viator isn't backing down from expectations this season, namely because of the return of junior state qualifier Ryan Kalaway and seniors David Koziol, Max Maiorano and Ryder Schuch.
"We have an experienced nucleus this year with multiple state qualifiers leading the charge," St. Viator coach Jon Dean said. "We plan to make a run at bringing home some shiny new (state) hardware."
Vernon Hills is striving for another strong season after winning a 2A regional championship in 2022. Key returnees include seniors Kartik Vasudeva and Dylan Moncayo, along with junior Lundaa Hyanhirvaa, and sophomore Henrik Lundberg.
Wauconda is paced by seniors Jack Hansen and Colton McLennan and junior Blake Swanson.
Wheeling lacks seniors but features a talented team with several young players, led by sophomores Hogan Kang and Evan Fischer and juniors Cesar Delgado and Frank Ban.