Boys golf: North Suburban Conference race looks to be an open one

Competition will abound in the race for the North Suburban Conference boys golf title this season.

Libertyville, second in the NSC tournament, will be bolstered by junior Aleks Slesers (76 for 18), along with four-year veterans Ethan Lindberg, and the multisport duo of Brendan Max and Mack Imm.

Lake Zurich, fourth in the conference a year ago, returns all-conference performers in Noah van Herik and Zach Lawler, while Jacob Michalak provides strong leadership and Trey Kenyon will make an impact with his all-around solid game.

Mundelein returns Kevin Equiban, Brandon Hinkle, Jackson Koenigsknecht, Matthew Kisselburg and Shane O'Malley - all with sectional experience from 2020. "This group has a great attitude and is a joy to be around," Mundelein coach Todd Parola said. "We look to improve every day and hope to be playing our best at the end of the year. We hope to be competitive in a very good NSC."

Warren has seven of its top eight back, "so we feel like we are a team on the upswing," coach Dave Zaban said. That group includes low-scorer Nick Steinhilber (3-year varsity veteran) and seniors Andreas Ackron and Anders Johnson. "Our goal is to be one of the three teams to qualify for sectionals," the coach said.

Over in the Central Suburban North, Vernon Hills is coming off a third-place showing, as well as a team sectional qualification last year. Senior Dylan Josephson averaged under 80 for 18 and dove heavy into the tournament scene this summer, while senior AJ Kaprosy and sophomore Kartik Vasudeva are back. Senior Adam Brann, junior Sam Gottlieb, juniors Tyler Hammond and Ryan Irvin and sophomore Owen Sones provide scoring depth for coach Shawn Healey.

When it comes to Northern Lake County Conference action, the target will be on the Grayslake Central boys golf team's back this season. Coach Jim Mazzetta's squad went 10-0 last year, won the conference tournament and earned a Class 2A regional title.

While the Rams did lose two key components to graduation, two-time NLCC individual champion Thomas Bolin is back, along with classmate Nolan Bleniss, junior Nolan Mussay and sophomore Dom Lucchesi. "We will fill those holes the best we can and try to improve as the season goes on," Mazzetta said. "We have some good, young players coming up and look forward to the development in their own games, as well as the team's chemistry."

Lakes finished second to Grayslake Central in the conference last season. Junior Josh Anderson leads the way. He averaged 44 for nine and spent ample time over the offseason working on his craft. "Josh had a great 2020 that didn't finish how he wanted," Lakes coach Kevin Shifley said. "He put in a lot of time over the offseason. He is going to have success this season due to his improved focus and determination."

Senior Kallal Riley and sophomore Connor Daley, who earned the team's young-gun award as a freshman, also will contribute.

Across town from Central, Grayslake North finished fourth in the league and returns all-conference performer Creighton Campbell, along with Brandon Baker. Zach Huffman, Tyler Kregel and Trevor Deering are up-and-comers on coach Tim Hough's radar. "We hope to improve on our conference finish and have some individuals advance to sectionals," Hough said.

Things also are looking bright for Antioch. Junior Donald Barnett is a returning sectional qualifier, while coach Michael Hickey lauded the improvement of junior Ethan Frasch. "Ethan has improved his handicap by at least 10 strokes over the off-season," he said. "This year's team is going to be exciting. We have four returning from last year's team and all of them have made significant improvements over the off-season."

Grant returns senior Cody Cornell, Zeven Linbo and Kyle Splitt, along with junior Cameron Finlayson. Juniors Erick Guzman, David Hernandez and Aidan Schrank will help as well. "We will begin our season with many golfers who gained experience last year. Hopefully, our returning players and our newcomers will be able to focus on the challenges at hand, maintain that focus and take one shot at a time," Bulldogs coach John Eiduke said. "If we can do that, we will make progress and have a fun season."