Golf: Wheaton Academy boys win state title by record margin; Hinsdale Central’s Jorski takes Class 3A crown
It was a good day for a great day for the Wheaton Academy boys golf team.
Wheaton Academy crushed the Class 2A field with a 16-under-par score of 552. The Warriors set a state mark for winning margin. They were 39 strokes ahead of Quincy Notre Dame, which finished second with 591.
“That was a great showing by the boys,” said Wheaton Academy coach Brian Kelly, whose Warriors were third last year.
“It’s possible we could beat some college teams with those scores. We actually kind of struggled after the first day. But we knew what we could do. We played this course earlier in the summer and we shot an 18-under par in a tournament. Then today they came out and they shot an 18 under again to match their school scoring record. So in this one season the boys shot 18 under twice.”
Owen Coniaris led the way for the Warriors. The senior shot a nine under 133 to finish one stroke ahead of teammate Ben Patel, who was eight under with a 134. Coniaris, committed to Auburn, birdied both 17 and 18 to win the state title.
“The team win was the absolute goal and what I had my mind set on,” said Coniaris said. “What an amazing team we have. It was a joy to win the individual title as well. Especially with the birdie on 18 to win it all.”
Their teammate Luke Patel finished fourth with a four-under 138, while Torsten Karlson and Clayton Barnett each shot 150.
Brady Cross from Lakes was sixth with a two-under 140 to lead his team to an eighth-place finish with 618. St. Viator finished fifth with 606.
In boys Class 3A, Hinsdale Central’s Michael Jorski won the state individual title with an eight-under 136. That was one stroke better than Evanston’s Lester Low, who shot 137.
Hersey’s Julian Bugara was fourth with a three-under 141, while teammate Davis Lockwood was tied for fifth with an even-par 144.
With those three players leading the way and Colin Lockwood’s 154, Hersey had its highest finish ever, second with 591.
Evanston won the state title with a 581, while New Trier was third with 592, Benet fourth with 597 and Hinsdale Central fifth with 600.
Naperville North’s Colin Mills also tied for fifth with 144. Lake Park’s Sloan Voytek and Prospect’s Ryan Murray tied for eighth with 146.
Girls golf
Stevenson, which finished in the top three in the last five years, finally claimed the state title that has eluded the Patriots. Stevenson shot a four over 580, to finish way ahead of Lincoln-Way East’s 595 as Stevenson won its first girls ’state golf title since 2019.
The 580 score by the Patriots eclipsed the 585 score set by Glenbrook North In 2024.
“We have been fighting hard for this one and it feels good to finally get one.,” said Stevenson coach Emma Degen whose Patriots finished second on four different occasions and had a third-place finish.
“It was four years of preparation with some of these girls. They've had the experience being down here. They knew what it was going to take and, you know, they just went out there and they executed. They played lights-out today. They knew what they wanted to do and they made a statement to do it.”
Victoria Shao tied for fifth overall with a one-under 143 to lead the Patriots. Emma Fiocchi, eighth overall, shot 146. Campbell Ray, who was 16th, shot 147, and Nanette Song shot 148 to finish 18th. Ava Alimissis had a 152 and Lily Wang 156 to round out the scoring for the Patriots.
Lincoln-Way East was second with 595, while Barrington shot 614 to finish third. The Fillies were led by Reese Wallace, who finished seventh with an even-par 144. Teagan Carden shot 151, Phoenix Hernandez 160 and Addison Yoon 161.
Hinsdale Central finished fourth with 621. The Red Devils were paced by Amelia Gambla’s 151, Sara Han’s 155, Natalie Frandsen’s 158 and Naya Shirsat’s 159.
Plainfield East’s Taylor Miller was the individual state medalist with a seven-under 137. Edwardsville’s Ally Suhre was second with a five-under 139 while Oswego East’s Alli Wiertel tied for third with a four-under 140.