Boys golf: Complete team effort lifts Hersey over Stevenson for regional crown

Rudyard Kipling would have loved high school golf. And he would especially have loved the Hersey Huskies boys team.

All season long, Hersey assistant coach Mark Gunther has been using the famous Kipling quote: “For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack” to motivate the Huskies in a sport that is not used to playing as a team.

It worked to perfection Wednesday at the Class 3A regional at Palatine Hills Golf Club in Palatine.

Hersey needed to use its full 6-man roster to win the regional title. The Huskies outlasted Stevenson in the second tiebreaker with sixth golfer Michale Szabo coming thought for Hersey to win the regional title.

It was the first regional title for Hersey since 2020.

Both teams advance to next Monday’s sectional at the Buffalo Grove Golf Club. They will be joined by Barrington, which finished third.

It was also a first for Hersey coach Dan Caporusso whose teams had never won a meet using the second tiebreaker in his storied 40-year career.

“I've had many losses on a fifth score, some wins on a fifth score, never to the sixth score,” Caporussa said. “And then win a regional. Wow! What a day.”

Hersey’s Colin Lockwood (72), Owen Spokas (73), Henry Esposito (74) and Tucker Hemminger (75) combined for the Huskies’ 294. They were evenly matched with Stevenson’s Trenton Kurtz (70), Victor Jagasia (72), Ben Merdalo (74) and Dylan Lee (78) as the Patriots also carded a 294.

The fifth players from both teams, Hersey’s Davis Lockwood and Stevenson’s Nathan Guo, tied with each golfer shooting a 78.

It then came down to the final golfers on each team with Szabo shooting an 80 to Stevenson’s Tyson Daube’s 81 to give the Huskies the regional title.

“I was very, very nervous this morning after I woke up,” said Szabo, who is s sophomore. “It was just the anticipation of playing for my school. I struggled a little bit today, but just kept going hole by hole, shot by shot. Just to get a good score for the team, just in case something like this happens.”

Stevenson coach John Rueth was proud of the way his team played Monday.

“We knew this regional we had to play well coming in,” Rueth said. “Hopefully, we can turn it on in Buffalo Grove and go on from over there, then advance downstate, which would be awesome.”

Barrington finished third with 300. Sam Uuttala led the way with a 70. Jonathan Radosh shot 76, and Sam Schauenberg, Charlie Blomquist and Ben Bundrant each had a 77 for the Broncos.

Barrington finished ahead of Prospect’s 307, Fremd’s 321 and Palatine’s 314 in the highly competitive regional.

“Like any other playoff sport, survive and advance,” Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. “We knew how competitive this field might be. Just to get out of here and to be playing on Monday is a great accomplishment.”

Barrington’s Uutala and Stevenson’s Kurtz tied for the medalist with each golfer shooting a 2-under 70. They then went to the par-four, 10th hole at Palatine Hills, where Uutala made par and Kurtz bogey as Uutala won the playoff.

“I was happy to go into a playoff today and luckily win,” said Uutala, who is a senior and has drawn interest from Illinois Wesleyan, Barry College in Georgia, Methodist and Aurora.

“I put my drive just right rough. It was fine. And then my shot was a little short approach, but I went up and down, and that was enough today.”

Lockwood, Jagasia, Prospect’s Luke Ginsberg and Buffalo Grove’s Cori Lee each shot even par 72 to tie for third.

Ginsberg and Lee were the top two of the 10 individual qualifiers. They will both be at Buffalo Grove next week along with Fremd’s Bobby Oberstar (74), Palatine’s Charlie Hulsebosch (75), Fremd’s Rayden Tee, Lake Zurich’s Tyler Marini, who each shot a 76, and Prospect’s Ryan Murray (77). Palatine’s Darrin Dick and Bryson Landerman along with Lake Zurich’s Evan Kerr also advanced with 78s.