Boys golf: Wheaton Academy’s Coniaris sets course record during sectional winning performance
A new course record and becoming the Class 2A White Plains sectional champion.
That's not enough to satisfy Wheaton Academy junior golfer Owen Coniaris.
No, the Class of 2027 Auburn commit shot a 6-under 66 to set the new course record — according to golf oro Andrew Godfrey — but he was still frustrated by his performance at White Pines Golf Club in Bensenville.
Having lost in a playoff for the state championship in 2024 as a sophomore, Coniaris has a clear goal set.
“Being 7-under through nine (holes) is not an experience you get to have a lot, but I had a few rough holes coming in,” Coniaris said. “I feel like I was still playing my game, getting good shots, I just had a couple of unlucky breaks off the tee.”
Coniaris started his round with five straight birdies and seven of them on the first nine holes. Through 11 holes, he sat at -8, having already run away from the field.
Instead of a smaller 4.25 inches, the standard golf hole is, he joked he was seeing a bucket to drop the ball in.
“I didn’t know what the golf course record was coming into today, but after that front nine, I was definitely thinking about what the course record is and how I can break it,” Coniaris said. “Sure enough, I got it.”
Wheaton Academy teammate Ben Patel, who shot 72, joked that he treated Coniaris' front-9 like he was throwing a no-hitter in baseball.
“When I saw him in between a hole, I just let him be,” Patel said with a laugh.
Coniaris shot a 1-over on the back nine and that's what he was most worried about.
Wheaton Academy scored a 289, shooting 1-over as a team to win the sectional. The team missed out on third place and a state berth the year before.
With a strong start from Coniaris, the Warriors never had to worry about missing the cut on Monday.
“The team played around as I expected,” Wheaton Academy coach Brian Kelly said. “I told them I was looking for a score around 290. … They came out firing. I think we were 5 or 6 under at one point. Owen casually shot 66 and it's just unfair.”
Nick Ratini (73), Clayton Barrett (78) and Jett Yaros (78) also scored for Wheaton Academy.
Last season, Coniaris said his final hole in the playoff did not go as planned, which made him finish as runner-up. While winning a state championship is still the goal, he is more excited about something else.
“Going as a team for the first time, I am going to be rooting for the team more than for personal goals,” Coniaris said.
St. Viator finished second with a score of 296, seven shots back of the Warriors. F.W. Parker finished third with a score of 306, four shots ahead of DePaul College Prep.
“The team played great across the board,” St. Viator coach Jim Dean said. “We had our sixth man shoot even par, which isn't something you expect. But we had six good solid scores today, so the boys played well as a team overall, tough course, and we kept the ball in front of us and ate a lot of pars and produced.”
Patel, St. Viator's Cullen Hughes and F.W. Parker's Max Satterfield finished in a three-way tie for second place with 72s.
“I played good,” Patel said. “Had a good start and then a couple of rough holes. But then I turned it around and made some putts.”
Joe Lang (74), Mac Dean (75), Oscar Marzec (75) and Zak Roesch (76) were the top scorers for St. Viator in addition to Hughes.
The individual qualifiers for the state tournament were: Latin’s Jack Zeiger (73); Lemont’s Joey Scott (73); DePaul College Prep’s Kyle Sritong (73); Montini’s Charlie Paciga (74); St. Rita’s Braden Miles (74); IMSA’s Cyrus Dumser (74); Nazareth Academy’s Axel Perez (74); Providence Catholic’s Alex Hartman (75); University’s Daniel Chang (75); and St. Francis’ Beckett Jones (76).