St. Charles East's Wetsch leads number of talented area returnees

Week No. 1 is in the books for the boys golf season, and there is one constant to the sport: the only guarantee is its unpredictability.

In the immediate area, however, the absorption of Batavia and Geneva into the golfing-rich Upstate Eight Conference will have far-ranging repercussions. The schools' inclusion has prompted the league to split into two divisions.

"I think it's going to be great for all sports, not just golf," said St. Charles North coach Rob Prentiss, who is also on the North Stars' varsity boys basketball staff.

"I really think this is where we've always belonged," Geneva coach Bill Koehn said. "The competition is going to be so good for our kids. I look for us to be right there at the end."

"I was at Waubonsie Valley in the Little Seven when Batavia and Geneva were there, and it will nice to have them back," said Neuqua Valley coach Spike Grossheusch.

The Geneva Invitational on Thursday at Mill Creek provided a dress rehearsal for the newly christened River division of the Upstate Eight. All seven members - Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Streamwood, Elgin and Larkin - were in attendance; the host Vikings, displaying remarkable depth and bolstered by their course knowledge, won the event. Geneva fielded a second squad that finished fourth in the 20-school tournament.

"We have a lot of good players around here, don't we?" Prentiss said after Upstate Eight schools swept the first five places.

St. Charles East was the standard bearer on the local scene last year; the Saints edged a powerful Hinsdale Central squad at their Class 3A sectional to snare the final team slot to the state finals. Jordan Wetsch, Jon Woods and Nick Maze are holdovers from the Saints' state run.

Wetsch is the best-known player in the Saints' fold; the senior had an ultra productive blitz on the equally competitive summer circuit.

"Jordan just had a great summer," said St. Charles East coach John Stock. "It probably ranks up there in the top two or three in the entire state. He won a five-state tournament in Ohio. He made the cut at the Illinois Open."

For his part, though, Wetsch is more interested in the camaraderie of team golf.

"To win a couple of tournaments as a team," said Wetsch. "That's all I care about."

Stock noted the Saints' best asset may be their zest for competition.

"We're going to have six, seven, eight guys who can really play," Stock said.

Andrew Cisco is the unquestioned leader at Geneva; the senior was a two-time all-conference selection in the defunct Western Sun, and he topped the 126-player field on his home turf on Thursday with a 69. Earlier in the summer, Cisco carded a hole-in-one at Mill Creek en route to a personal-best round of 64.

"Hopefully (Cisco) can ride on that wave," said Koehn.

In addition to his announced starters, Koehn has plenty of firepower in the bullpen. Ben Kale and Scott Parola were a combined 1-over par Thursday at the Vikings' invitational.

Batavia was a mere shot off the magical 300 team barrier on Thursday, but coach Tim DeBruycker enters the season with answerable questions.

"I only have one senior (Lucas Kuzmanic, who led the Bulldogs with a 74 at Geneva) in my top eight," DeBruycker said. "I am hoping that we will be consistent; that's my goal. I don't want my sophomores even (par) one day and (shoot) an 82 or 83 the next (day). Just because we're real young doesn't mean we can't compete."

At St. Charles North, Prentiss has Nate Clark, a two-time MVP, as his linchpin with Gow as a faithful sidekick.

"(Clark) is clearly the No. 1 player at this point," Prentiss said. "We have a nice mixture of returning players and new ones. (Stephen Gow) has really dedicated himself to the game. He wasn't even on our regional playoff team a year ago."

St. Charles East rates an ever-so slight edge as the favorite in the new conference configuration.

"Stock always has a great team at East," said Bartlett coach Tommy Boyle, who will compete in the River division. "When was the last time he was down?"

With the dissolution of the Western Sun, Kaneland has also joined a twin-division league: the Northern Big 12.

"We're hoping to finish in the top three of the new conference," said Kaneland coach Mark Meyer. "This is one of the deepest team we've had since I've been here. I'm pumped about the number of kids who are playing at a high level."

The four members of the Suburban Christian Conference have far more uncertainty than a year ago. Wheaton Academy was a runaway locomotive en route to a shared Class 2A state championship with downstate power Normal U-High.

"Last year we enjoyed being the favorite every time we teed it up," said Wheaton Academy coach Bob Broman, who has St. Charles residents Elio Vento and Danny Gryfinski in his starting lineup.

Marmion, Aurora Central Catholic and Aurora Christian all have experienced players at the top of their rosters.

"I have four guys (Taylor and Marshall Kanute, Matt Fazio and Zach Woytych) whom I consider to be interchangeable for No. 1," said first-year Marmion coach Doug Roberts. "I think any one of my top four guys has a chance to go real low."

Harreld is back for another stint at Aurora Central.

"When his short game comes around, he is going to be a really good player," Aurora Central coach Jim Parker said of his No. 1 player. "It's going to take him a little while; he spend the whole summer working on his basketball game."

Ettlebrick is the leader for Aurora Christian.

"Jake is just a solid player," said Aurora Christian coach Robbie Baumann. "He keeps it in play and makes birdies."

At West Aurora, the senior tandem of Nick Pavlik and Grant Lavery - key figures in the Blackhawks' coming-from-nowhere regional championship two years ago - is the key. "As always if we finish in the top four of the DVC, then it's a great season," said veteran West Aurora coach Jay Bauer.

West Aurora has an intriguing unknown for the fall: Adam Kanera, a foreign exchange student from the Czech Republic.

"This is my 18th year of coaching, and I've never had a foreign exchange student before," Bauer said. "The biggest challenge is converting (his iron play) from meters to yards."

At IMSA, Luke Nayak returns after qualifying for state. Jon Henricks qualified for regionals. The top returnees are seniors Luke Nayak, Will Erwin, Nick Virgl and Alex Smick, and juniors Jon Henricks, Peter Howes, Seth Butcher, Seth Zelman, Connor Tomasko and Justin Booth.

Boys golf at a glance

Projected starters: St. Charles East: Jordan Wetsch, sr., Jon Woods, sr., Nate Esler, sr., Eddie Hribar, sr., Nick Maze, sr., Michael Heithoff, sr., Sean Lenchner, jr.; Geneva: Andrew Cisco, sr., Bill Gregory, sr., Jeff Lapentina, sr., Ben Kale, sr., Matt Landry, jr., Collin Lilliebridge, so.; St. Charles North: Nate Clark, sr., Stephen Gow, sr., John Carroll, jr., Dan Shepherd, so., Kris Davison, sr., Quint Barr, jr.; Marmion: Taylor Kanute, sr., Evan Kline-Wedeen, sr., Zach Woytych, jr., Matt Fazio, jr., Marshall Kanute, jr., Liam Creamer, so.; Wheaton Academy: Elio Vento, jr., Danny Gryfinski, so.; Batavia: Nathan Podraza, so., Taylor Brandt, so., Peter Karkos, jr., Lucas Kuzmanic, sr., Peter Rudd, so. West Aurora: Nick Pavlik, sr., Adam Baumann, sr., Grant Lavery, sr., Brian Wilkinson, sr., Kyle Taylor, sr., Adam Johnson, sr; Kaneland: Hayley Guyton, sr., Josh Schuberg, sr., Troy Krueger, jr., Adam Grams, jr., Zach Douglas, jr., Luke Kreider, so.; Aurora Christian: Jake Ettlebrick, sr., Brent Minta, sr., Chris Stone, sr., Michael Free, jr., Zach Calamos, jr., Adam Johnson, jr.; Aurora Central Catholic: Ryan Harreld, sr., Jack McNally, jr., Sean Harreld, fr., Ryan Baker, jr., Reed Tack, jr., Nick Gregory, jr., Thomas Webster, sr.

Key dates: Sept. 4, Fenton Invitational, Sept. 11, Batavia Invitational, Sept. 15, Aurora City Tournament, Sept. 18, Dundee Crown Invitational, Sept. 25, Hinsdale Central Invitational, Week of Sept. 27, Conference championships, Oct. 2, Lake Park Invitational.

Predicted state champions: Class 3A Lake Forest, Class 2A Normal U-High, Class 1A St. Thomas More