Boys golf: WW South edges Barrington to win Wildcat invite
The 21-team Wildcat Invitational turned out to be a battle to the finish for boys golfers in both the individual and team competition Saturday at Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling.
Wheaton Warrenville South wound up making a late comeback to capture the championship by a score of 298-300 over runner-up Barrington while Evanston and Loyola (302) tied for third. Prospect (303) took fifth place followed by Stevenson (305) in sixth, Hersey (307) in seventh, St. Charles East (317) in 10th, and St. Viator (319) tied for 11th.
The individual title came down to a four-way playoff between four players who all shot 71's on the par-72 course. When all was said and done, Barrington senior William Lange hit a 20-foot eagle putt on the second hole of sudden death to beat Hersey's Owen Spokas, who birdied that hole.
WW South's Callen Fahey and Prospect's Cole Bielecki also shot 71's to qualify for the playoff round before bowing out after one hole.
Hersey's Derek Mysza and WW South's Michael Johansen tied for fifth with 72's. But Mysza's score did not count towards the Huskies' team score since he was seeded higher than fifth on his team or his 72 would have won Hersey the crown.
"We were trailing for the majority of the day and in the last six or seven holes we came back so we're proud of our guys for playing as a team and working so well together and finishing strong," said WW South coach James Selleck. "One under par is a great score, and we're proud of him (Fahey) for putting himself in that position to have a chance for sudden death. There are so many positives, and he gives so much to his team so we're very happy for him and everything he's doing."
Lange picked a great time for his first eagle of the day to take home first place after he had a good shot at winning the title on the first hole of the playoff.
"It was a pretty special moment especially after the short miss on the first hole of the playoff so I'm very thankful," said Lange. "We didn't have our best stuff, but it was great to see that we could keep it together and go from out of the top five to finish in the second position in just the last few holes."
Barrington coach Bryan Tucker was happy with Lange and his squad. "He (Lange) was here as a freshman in a playoff and it didn't go his way so it's kind of nice to have a little redemption as a senior to come out on top so I'm really proud of him," said Tucker.
Barrington's Drew Schauenberg (73) placed ninth while teammate Ben Bundrant, Stevenson's Andrew Chen, and Conant's Antonio Gutierrez (74) were among six players who tied for 10th. Out of the 112 golfers, 49 players shot 79 or better.
"This is what makes high school golf so special in terms of the game of golf with this unbelievable blend of team and individual both going on at the same time," said Hersey coach Dan Caporusso. "Owen (Spokas) played 20 holes if you include the playoff and he was minus-2 for 20 holes and he lost to an eagle on the second playoff hole when he makes birdie. Derek (Mysza) came in as an extra and he shoots 72, and he is certainly Hersey's most improved golfer so I'm so proud of him."
Besides Chen, Stevenson's Trenton Kurtz shot a 76 followed by teammate Jacob Zerull with a 77.
"This was a great day for him (Chen), and it was good to see him put together a reasonably good round," said Stevenson coach John Reuth. "Trenton struggled a little bit today with one shanked shot, and Jacob Zerull had his best 18 holes this year after a very slow start."