Tiebreaker breaks MSL champion Barrington's way
The fifth-score tiebreaker.
In high school golf, it's the closest thing to a last-second buzzer beater or a 60-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass.
The tiebreaker format enabled Barrington to repeat as champion in Monday's Mid-Suburban League boys golf meet on a hot, windy day at the Arboretum Club in Buffalo Grove.
Travis Smyczynski's 87 edged two scores of 88 from Hersey to help give the Broncos the title.
Four scores of 83 or under helped the Broncos cap an 11-0 MSL dual-meet season with their outright overall crown.
"Our strength from top to bottom was great," said Broncos coach Mike Kallenbach. "Our consistency and our depth really paid off for us today."
Shooting a score of 326, the Broncos received an 80 from junior Jason Batliner, 81 by junior Ross Frankenberg, 82 from senior Ryan Quinn (82) and an 83 by senior Charlie Douglas (83).
Hersey junior John McIlree fired a 2-over 74 to capture MSL medalist honors.
"My short game was the best it's ever been," McIlree said. "I've played with my dad a lot on this course, so I know it pretty well. I made sure I was well-prepared for today and I felt really solid."
Hersey, which finished 9-2 in dual meets, also shot 326. Beside McIlree, Hersey's scorers included Dan Parks' 82, Jimmy Morrow's 84 and Johannes Seemann's 86.
Perhaps the biggest surprise in the competition was Schaumburg which went 4-7 in dual meets this fall.
The Saxons finished just 2 strokes off the pace with 328.
Brian Peterson, Kevin Machinos and Blaine Skinner all carded rounds of 80, which tied them for sixth place individually with Batliner.
Drew O'Donnell rounded out the Saxons' scoring with an 88.
Fremd placed fourth with a 330. Senior Erik Peterson shot a 4-over 76, which earned him the second-place medal.
Sophomore Sean Jones finished third with a 77.
Tying for fourth place were Rolling Meadows' Dan Alsup and Wheeling's Joe Kent with rounds of 79.
In over 30 seasons as Buffalo Grove's boys golf coach, Tom Dineen has become a fixture on the MSL scene. Dineen, who also coaches girl's basketball, is in his final season coaching the golfers.
The Bison finished eighth with a score of 352 after going 7-4 in dual meets.
"It's been a lot of fun being associated with golf and the MSL for all of these years," said Dineen, who received a plaque from his fellow MSL coaches in recognition of his service. "It's sad because I enjoy the camaraderie with these coaches and they are a great bunch of guys to be around. The most fun is still seeing the kids and seeing the progression in the game."