State meet beckons Glenbard West freshman Kyle Kochevar

Some things are stronger than a bond between twins.

Golf isn't one of them.

A little over an hour after Glenbard West freshman Brooke Kochevar shot a 72 to finish third at the Class AA St. Charles East sectional, her twin brother Kyle nailed a 72 to claim the championship at the Class 3A Bartlett boys golf sectional at Bartlett Hills.

Kochevar edged out Downers Grove North junior Brian Berry, who finished with a 73, to punch his first ticket to the state tournament.

"I bogeyed the first hole and birdied the fourth, then I started to par a bunch of holes," Kochevar said. "This course really fit my game. It was long, but not that long."

Berry started off the day on a high note and used that to fuel the rest of the round to a second-place finish on the par-71 course.

"On the back 9, I got 3 birdies out of the first nine holes," said Berry, who shot a career low Monday. "It gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the round."

Making the individual cut was Bartlett's Trace Pomplun. The senior shot 38s on the front and back nines of his home course to make the 76 cutoff.

Larkin's Ryan Smith, who traveled to state last season as a spectator, will have a whole new role this season. Smith shot 37-38 for a 75 as he earned his first berth in the state tournament. Smith tied Lyons' Kyle Mulcahy and Apple for fifth place.

"I really played well today. I putted pretty well," said Smith, who needed only 28 putts for the round. "I putted 10, 12, 15 feet."

Hinsdale Central needed to maximize its performance on the back 9 in order to claim its fourth straight sectional championship and a team trip downstate.

"We had a couple of birdies in the last 3 holes," said Red Devils coach Jess Krueger. "It was certainly going to be close. At the turn, there were six teams in it. It's nice to see them grind it out and play the last three holes like that."

Grinding it out were Brett Tomfohrde (76) and Theo Lederhausen (74), who each shot 37 on the back nine. Sean Marquardt (78) and John Lewis (78) both finished with 40s on the back nine to give Central the victory.

"I was pretty nervous towards the end," said Lederhausen, who finished tied for third place. "I was trying to make birdies down the stretch."

The rest of the field was tooth-and-nail until Benet's John Callahan sank a 4-foot putt on 18 to send the Redwings downstate for the first time since 2002. Callahan, who finished with a 77, allowed Benet (310) to edge Lyons Township (311) and St. Charles East (312) to earn the state berth.

"I kind of knew we were hovering around (a top-two finish)," said Callahan, who qualified for state as an individual last season. "After 15, I sank in 4 birdies."

Adam Kirkenmeier led Benet with a 76, with seniors Mike Kenning (78) and Don Maag (79) both contributing solid rounds.

"Watching the scoreboard was kind of the nature of the beast," Benet coach Daniel Nagis said of his team's tight finish. "We didn't have a bad round. All six kids shot really well. We gutted it out."

As soon as St. Charles East fell out of team contention, senior Brett Weiss (75) and junior Wes Apple (76) started calculating their individual chances to qualify. Both made the cut.

"It was disappointing," Apple said of his team's fourth-place finish. "I tried not to look at the scoreboard, but them my teammates told me that unofficially I got in. I felt a little better."

Naperville North senior Jon Hendrickson found an opposite route to state.

"Everything was great, except my putting," he said. "I 3-putted from 15 feet."

Hendrickson rebounded to 1-putt on 17 and 2-putt on 18 to finish tied for third. The round was a huge improvement, considering Hendrickson did not even qualify for the sectional tournament last season.