Boys golf: York, Downers Grove South claim West Suburban titles on windy day at Prairie Bluff

When he walked up to the first tee for the second time Tuesday at Prairie Bluff Golf Club in Lockport, Hinsdale Central sophomore Eli Havens wasn’t nervous.

After all, he made par on his trip through the hole.

“I wanted to do what I did the first time,” said Havens, who was in playoff with Lyons’ Grayson Lee after both shot three under 69s.

“I wanted a good drive and hit a wedge and make par. And I did just that.”

Havens’ par putt allowed him to slip past Lee, who bogeyed the hole, and capture medalist honors at the West Suburban Gold Conference meet.

York’s Brian Huber and Grant Hickman, along with Hinsdale Central’s Michael Jorski and Lyons’ Charlie Forrest, all tied for third with one-under 71s.

York was able to rally from being plus seven after five holes to win the Silver tournament with a one-under 287. The Dukes held off Hinsdale Central’s 288, Lyons’ 289 and Glenbard West’s 304 to win just their fourth tournament title in head coach Jim Borel’s 32-year storied career.

Huber and Hickman were joined by Henry Cecil, who shot 72, and Colin Pittman’s 73.

“The kids really had to battle today for themselves and their teammates,” Borel said. “And that is really fun when it happens.”

Hinsdale Central was even par thanks to Havens, Jorski, Ethan Bradley’s 72 and Blaze Burt’s 76.

“The fact that we hung in there with York was encouraging,” Hinsdale Central coach Serge Penksik said. “I thought we played real well today.”

Glenbard West was paced by Hank Case, who shot 74, Connor Rowley at 76, Oliver Ramos’ 78 and Jack Geils’ 79.

Downers Grove North was sixth with 321, led by Liam Faber’s 78.

On the WSC Gold side, sophomore Chase Betourney flipped the script.

Betourney was second last year in the Gold division meet to teammate Gabe Garron. On Tuesday, Betourney held off his fellow Mustang, shooting a 73 to Garron’s 74, to capture the medalist honor.

“The wind was definitely a challenge,” Betourney said. “The irons were rough. But I was able to get through and play my best round this year.”

Garron echoed Betourney’s feelings about the winds at Prairie Bluff, which is a links course.

“I’ll take second,” said Garron, who is a junior. “I hit the drive well, but I couldn’t make birdies. The irons were great today because of the wind.”

Willowbrook’s Kyle Yopchick was third with 75 while Hinsdale South’s Armaan Tvelil and Downers South’s Thomas Incrocci tied for fourth with 76s.

With Betourney, Garron and Incrocci leading the way along with John Moriarty’s 79, Downers Grove South won its 13th consecutive Gold division tournament with a 303. The Mustangs also won the division title with 12 points.

“Every year, we try to come out and try to do the same thing we did before,” Downers South coach Chris Beranek said. “Hinsdale South put up a good push against us today.”

Hinsdale South shot 316 to finish second. The Hornets were paced by Tvelil, along with William Steckel and Kaelen Tanaka, who each shot 82, and Sahil Patel’s 86.

Hinsdale South South coach John Richerson said that his team’s score was second to a 315 that his Hornets shot earlier this year.

“We played well today,” Richerson said. “We haven’s shot 316 in this tournament for at least four or five years.”

Addison Trail was third. Eric Debeau led the Blazers with 79, Marshall Rosenberg shot 80, Jacob Manglicmot 81 and Dominick Mastrino 83.

Willowbrook was one stroke back of Addison Trail with 324 and was led by Yopchick. Leyden was fifth with 346 and was paced by Andrew Zviefelhofer’s 85.