Hencier rolls to 26th place for Vernon Hills
Erik Hencier of Vernon Hills had a great opportunity to compete in a pair of IHSA state finals, a few months apart.
First, he advanced in Class 2A boys golf at Weibring Golf Course on the campus of Illinois State University. And just his weekend, he made the boys bowling state tournament at St. Clair Lanes in O'Fallon.
Hencier went through 12 games with a pin total of 2,492, good for 26th place on Saturday. That matched the same finishing spot he attained as a sophomore two years ago.
"It's really cool making it in both sports," said Hencier, who placed 52nd in golf and can go for a third state tournament by playing tennis in the spring. "I believe bowling is more intense and golf is laid back."
Hencier threw a 599 series on Saturday morning and followed it up with a 597 in the afternoon.
"I believe I showed I'm a consistent bowler," Hencier said. "Anybody can do it - as long as you put the work into it."
Hencier's work helped Vernon Hills pick up 11th place (11,997), one spot ahead of 12th-place Lake Zurich (11,808).
Plainfield South rolled to the tournament title (12,604), finishing ahead of Lake Park (12,513) by 91 pins. Oswego (12,334) ended in third place.
"We did have another state series and a top-12 finish," said Vernon Hills coach Ron Long, who also coached the school's best finish, third place, in 2006. "We're always hoping to make the second day and wanted to make things better. We just didn't get the scores to be competitive and couldn't make progress in the field."
Nick Garpow knocked down 46th place (2,400) for the Cougars. Others VH finishers included Steven Linda (2,216), Eric Swanson (1,735), Alex Wong (1,599), David Goldberg (633), Jimmy Tyrcha (529) and Mason Madej (373).
Lake Zurich's Austin Wells finished 28th individually (2,485) to lead the Bears. Luke Mueller was 44th (2,426), one spot ahead of teammate Steve Garcia (2,407). Garcia had an outstanding 716 series Saturday morning with games of 268, 234 and 214. Others LZ finishers included Kyle Hunter (1,924), Tony Giannecchini (1,292), Mike Schmitt (924), Quinn Nelson (193) and Jeremy Krause (157).
"We were looking to be competitive all day," Lake Zurich coach Peter Kupfer said. "We just couldn't find the answer. We still kept our spirits up. It was tough being in last place today, but we're still 12th in the state."
Kyle Anderson of Lockport picked up the individual championship with a 12-game total of 2,799 (233 average), edging Adam Johnson of Oswego (2,735) by 44 pins. Justin Sanetra of Notre Dame finished third at 2,726.