Golf: Glenbrook North wins girls state crown, pair of area boys win individual titles

Glenbrook North, led by junior Kacie Moon's 4-over par 148, brought home the Class 2A state girls golf championship trophy on Saturday after negotiating the 36 holes at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur at 27 over-par.

Moon was assisted by sophomore Laura Huh (150), sophomore Martha Kuwuhara (152) and junior Alexis Myers (153) as the Spartans (603) won their first state title while making only their third appearance as a team.

Winning the individual title with a par-144 was Lincoln-Way West senior Kaylee Dwyer over Benet senior and Michigan recruit Jenna Shilts (146).

"I'm proud of Jenna for her second-place finish," said Benet coach Mike Bremner. "She's such a talented and hardworking young woman. I know how badly she wanted this but second place is excellent. I'm excited for what she'll accomplish at Michigan."

Other teams receiving trophies were runner-up Hinsdale Central (605), Stevenson (621) and Barrington (631).

Leading the Red Devils were third-place finisher, junior Caroline Owens (147), Elyssa Abdullah (149) and junior Toral Bhatt (153).

Freshman Campbell Ray finished a superb season for Stevenson, tying for 10th place with Rolling Meadows freshman Jennifer March and Wheaton North senior Bridget Craig (all shot 151). Also counting scores for Stevenson were sophomore Sophia Joeng (153), senior Megan Lee (159) and junior Allyson Duan (160).

"Our underclassmen are pretty strong, for sure," said Pats coach Emma Degen. "We had a game plan. We picked out the holes we needed to play well and we did really well on those holes we emphasized. We just were up against some really tough competition in Glenbrook North and Hinsdale Central. Hats off to both of them. I'm just glad we were in the hunt today. We had a great front nine both days but it just didn't work out."

The rookie Ray (76 on Friday and 75 on Saturday) worked hard to help lead the Patriots to their fourth trophy in the last four state tourneys under Degen (state title in 2019 and runner-up in 2021 and 2022).

"Campbell had a great round (Saturday)," Degen added. "She hung tough the whole time. She seemed to be unphased. For her to come out as a freshman and finish in the top 10 in this state tournament is a real big accomplishment.

"The state of girls golf is really changing. It's getting so much better and we're just happy to be in the mix and to be talked about."

And the talk doesn't appear to be slowing down.

"We are happy to come with the hardware," Degen said. "We know how tough it is. We're young so we are looking to come back even stronger the next few years."

Barrington was led by freshman Reese Wallace (tied for eighth with a 150), senior Sydney Terada (158), senior and Nebraska recruit Bridget Butler (161), senior Leah Gaidos (162), junior Kalena Lee (168) and senior Breanna Brown (174).

The seniors won three trophies in their three downstate appearances along with four Mid-Suburban League crowns.

"Our seniors wanted to end their career on a high note and they did - they had an incredible run," said Fillies coach Tim Martin, who directed the team to its fourth trophy in the four possible years of winning one, including the 2021 state crown led by Mara Janess, two seasons after Caroline Smith led the team to second place. "I feel so lucky and honored to coach these girls. They never cease to amaze me and they did again this season at the state tournament.

"Reese was so good for two days. She can do it all. The bigger the stage, the bigger her game. No one works harder than Sydney or cares more about Barrington girls golf. Leah has been a four-year starter and her 74 in her very first state round was so key for us when we won the state title. Bridget just got better and better and she is the longest driver around. Watch out for her in the Big Ten and beyond. Kalena Lee is our most improved player this season. She showed she really belongs. And Breanna is the most improved starter I've ever had. Her work ethic is second to none. She is the type of player we look for in our program, so dedicated and a joy to coach."

Other top area finishers were Buffalo Grove sophomore Courtney Beerheide, the Mid-Suburban League and regional champion, who shot a 148 to tie for fourth place. St. Francis senior Emmy Hollarbush tied for 13th with a 152, and Neuqua Valley senior Madison Coffey tied for 19th with St. Viator junior Maggie Carlson (155s).

Benet (664) took sixth place, the highest in program history.

"I'm very proud of these girls and what they've accomplished," said Benet coach Mike Bremner. "Jenna carried our team all year and did so again this weekend. But we had great contributions from multiple players. Audrey Wake played in her third state tournament here as a junior this year. Audrey Simkus put up a good score on Friday to help us get to Saturday. Reina Maceren, a sophomore who came in playing No. 6 for us, put up scores on both days for us as well as at the regional and sectional. (Kerregan) Reilly and (Isabelle) Grane (juniors) have been solid scorers all year as well. We will miss our seniors but we are so happy with their success through the years."

Neuqua Valley took eighth place with a score of 671. They were competing as a team for the third straight year in Decatur.

"Only six teams have done that in that time period - I'm really proud of my team," said Wildcats coach John Keller. "It's the best three-year stretch in more than 20 years for Neuqua Valley. And we won our first sectional championship in more than 20 years.

"Our goal was to win conference, advance to state, and make the cut to play on day two at state. We accomplished all those goals and it feels very gratifying."

Boys golf

In Class 3A, held at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington, Hinsdale Central and New Trier entered Saturday tied for first. The Trevians shot a 297 to the Red Devils' 299 to win state by two strokes with a 598 total.

Prospect and Barrington both came in at 303 on Saturday to take third and fourth, respectively. Wheaton Warrenville South started the day in third but shot a 321 to slip to sixth. Fellow DuKane Conference member Geneva was seventh at 648.

Individually, Conant senior Nicolas Simon stole the show with a sizzling 5-under 67 to come from behind and win state by 1 shot with a 143 total over Moline's Isaac Rumler, who started the day 5 shots ahead. of Simon.

Simon parred all nine holes on the front but tore up the back nine. He birdied No. 10, 11 and 12, parred the next four holes, then birdied both No. 17 and 18.

Barrington junior Drew Schauenberg was third at 145. Alex Rasmussen from Hinsdale Central, Prospect's Luke Kruger, Palatine's Pablo Castro and Prospect's Patrick Raupp all finished in a group at 149 in sixth place.

Just behind came at 150 came Callan Fahey from Wheaton Warrenville South, Benet's Charles Davenport, St. Charles North's Charles Davenport and Hinsdale Central's Kevin Wesolowski.

Marmion junior Regan Konen fired a 71 Saturday at Weibring Golf Club in Normal to win the Class 2A boys state championship.

Konen's even-par round Saturday gave him a 1-under total of 141 over the two-day tournament - one shot better than Cal Johnson from Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

Konen bogeyed the first hole but got it back with a birdie on No. 2 and then birdied the ninth to shoot 1-under on the front. He parred the first seven holes on the back before a bogey on the par-3 17th. Konen rebounded to par the 18th for his one-shot win.

St. Francis sophomore Beckett Jones finished third at 144; Dominic Lucchesi from Grayslake Central was fifth at 146. Zazz Atendido also finished in the top 10 in seventh at 147.

St. Francis finished fifth in the team standings at 634. Sacred Heart-Griffin won at 623; Burlington Central was ninth (652) and Carmel 10th (674).