Girls golf: Barrington’s Wallace stays hot, wins sectional title in playoff

As Barrington sophomore Reese Wallace stepped to the No. 10 tee box for Monday's playoff hole to decide the individual championship of the Class 2A Barrington sectional at Bonnie Dundee in Carpentersville, the pressure was on after she and Stevenson junior Sophia Jeong fired 5-under par 66s for 18 holes.

"Definitely, a little nervous at the start," said Wallace, who had already won the Mid-Suburban League title and regional championship. "But once you get into it and in your element, you start to feel a little more comfortable."

And not to be forgotten was the fact that her grandfather was right there on the course watching all the action.

Thanks to "Grandpa Bill', Reese had to feel right at home.

He has been taking Reese to play golf at Bonnie Dundee since she was 7 years old. No one could have been prouder when Wallace dropped a 3-foot par putt to win the playoff hole and capture her first sectional crown.

And Reese, the Fillies' captain, was just as proud of her teammates who helped deliver Barrington its finest sectional score in program history, a 288, just three strokes behind defending state champion Glenbrook North (285).

Stevenson got a birdie putt from Joeng and a par from sophomore Campbell Ray (74) on No. 17 to take a 1-stroke lead over Fremd and then held on for third place over the Vikings by one stroke (296 to 297) to make their seventh appearance to the state final in 10 seasons under coach Emma Deegan.

"Absolutely the toughest sectional we've played in during my 10 seasons," Deegan said. "Hats off to Fremd. That's was an incredible round by them. It's just unfortunate that a team like that does not get down (state). I'm happy for us but I feel bad for kids who shoot that well and don't get rewarded. It was a really good job by Fremd."

Joeng's score of 66 was a program record in a sectional (previous was 68 by Emily Duan in 2018) and tied Stephanie Miller (2011-12) for the all-time best score by a Patriot.

Stevenson's scorecard was completed by sophomore Ava Alimissis (75), freshman Lily Wangt (81) and senior Allyson Duan (81).

Completing Barrington's scorecard were sophomore Teagan Carden (73), senior Praise Shim (74), sophomore Olivia Yoon (75), junior Annie Carden (85) and senior Sophia Chatgurvedi (87).

"I'm so proud of these girls," said Barrington coach Tim Martin. "We've got five new varsity players and they've worked so hard to shoot a 288 today in the toughest sectional I've ever seen since coaching. It felt like a mini state tournament and it felt good to make it out.

“Our sophomores played so well with Reese winning and Teagan had her low round of the season (73). She hit the ball so well and really played flawless golf. Olivia Yoon has just been getting better and better. She shot a 75 and we've seen that coming because her game has continued to improve. I just can't say enough about the work ethic of this team. Praise Shim has put so much into her golf game and she has done so much for her team and this program. To cap it off with a 74 gave us some real senior stability and leadership."

Wallace gave the Fillies her usual consistency and support, rallying on the back nine with four birdies after two in the front.

She placed seventh in last year's sectional which also saw Glenbrook North, Barrington and Stevenson finishing one-two-three.

"This was a big jump for me," said Wallace, who was second in the MSL meet and regional last fall. "Sophia (Joeng) and I have played with each other a few times so it's always good playing with someone you know.

"Second place for our team is incredible. I'm so proud of how the team played and how we handled the course so well. I'm so excited for the next two weeks to come. To be honest, I could have played a lot better. My irons were a little iffy today but we got it done."

"Reese gives so much confidence to her teammates," Martin said. "She has been inspiring them and motivating them, she was more concerned about what was happening with the team all day and I was trying to keep her from looking at that or the individual scores."

Scores of 75 or better were the cutoff for the individual advancers to state which included three players from coach Jeremy Malinowski's MSL championship Fremd Vikings.

That group included eight area players: Buffalo Grove junior Courtney Beerheide (67), Rolling Meadows sophomore Jennifer March (68), St. Viator senior Lily Zicarelli (70) Conant freshman Madeline Gutierrez (73), Fremd senior Gloria Lee (73), Fremd senior Keira Brazeau (74), Fremd junior Merritt Bell (75) and Fremd senior Kaelee Martin (75).

Beerheide tied for third in the individual competition with Glenbrook North's Alexis Myers while March took fifth place.

Beerheide will be making her third straight appearance in the state finals Oct. 18-19 in Decatur.

"I just tried to stay in the moment, didn't think ahead on any shot and didn't look at the leaderboard," said Beerheide, who posted 6 birdies. "I just focused on myself."

March heads to Decatur for the second straight fall.

"I just tried to hit a lot of fairways and greens," said March, who also recorded 6 birdies. "I did a good job of not getting ahead of myself. I just tried to take it one hole at a time and it worked out pretty well. I had one little hiccup on the back nine but other than that, things turned out pretty well."

Zicarelli placed eighth while Teagan Carden, Gloria Lee and Gutierrez tied for ninth.

Martin's Fillies advanced to the state finals for the ninth straight time.

"We are just thrilled, " he said "This could not have gone any better. Hats off to Glenbrook North. They definitely earned this but to get our team through was our goal and for Reese to win the championship against these players says a lot."

And it meant a lot to Wallace.

"Grandpa Bill grew up in South Korea and he didn't pick up golf until he was 50," Wallace said. "He brought me out here all the time and we played together and he still plays. It's like a full circle moment."

Martin applauded the crew at Bonnie Dundee.

"A big thank you to Bob Mertel and his team which had the course in immaculate condition," Martin said. "This was a true test of golf and an outstanding sectional site."