St. Charles E. wins 4th straight regional
The competitive juices do flow at conference meets and there’s an intensity in the air.
But it’s different a week or so later as shown by the golfers, coaches and those gathered Tuesday for the Class 3A Larkin boys golf regional at St. Andrews Golf Club in West Chicago.
Golfers and coaches stood in front of the scoresheets set up outside in the patio area late in the afternoon adding up scores in their head as they waited for the final groups of golfers to finish up. What would it take for a golfer to advance? Or what would it take for a team to move on to Monday’s Bartlett sectional at Bartlett Hills?
Three area teams will hit the links for at least one more day with some individuals also extending their seasons.
St. Charles East won its fourth straight regional title, shooting a 317. Geneva was second with 320 and St. Charles North (325) was third.
“The last couple of weeks they’ve put it together,” said Saints coach John Stock. “We have no returning starters (from last year) and one senior played today.”
That senior was Sean Lenchner, whose 74 made him meet medalist. He shot 36 on the front nine and 38 on the back.
“I started off poor. But I got the gears turning. On the eighth, ninth and 10th holes, I made three birdies in a row. At this time of the year all you can do is make sure you save for par and that’s what I did.”
Brad Riva followed on the SCE scoresheet with an 80. Freshman Keone Derain shot an 81 with Connor McCadam (82), Max Kelly (83) and Jimmy Liss (91) rounding out the lineup.
“We’ve had lots of great days at Bartlett Hills and heartbreaks,” Stock said of the sectional course.
Geneva was boosted by 79s from Bill Gregory and Pat Cuscaden.
“We shot our average and that got us out of here. But they’ll have to do better,” said Vikings coach Bill Koehn. “We’ll try to improve. There’s some great weather coming up and we want to take advantage of that.”
Following Gregory and Pat Cuscaden were Matt Landry and Adam Milano with 81 each along with Colin Lillibridge and Ted Cuscaden each shooting 85.
“Making it out as a team was a goal this season,” Milano said. “Last year, we qualified five individuals. We’ve played at Bartlett Hills, so we’re familiar with the course. For us to do well, everybody is going to have to put a good round together.”
Junior Dan Shepherd was tops on the St. Charles North scoresheet with a 78, shooting a 36 on the back nine after a 42 on the first nine. He was glad he did what he needed to do to keep his round on track.
“With the pressure everyone here is under, I’ll take a 78. From the 10th through 13 holes, I made four birdies in a row, just that itself makes me happy,” he said.
Teammates John Carroll and Quint Barr each shot an 82. Pete Rochmann finished with an 83. Raghav Cherala earned an 85 and Jason McAleese an 86.
South Elgin senior Xavier Owens finished second overall with a 77 including a 36 on the front nine.
“The back nine did play tougher. The trick was the pin locations,” he said. “I congratulate Sean (Lenchner). He’s a good player and made some key putts together.
Also qualifying individually for the Storm is Ryan Ford, who played to an 84.
Three Batavia golfers extended their seasons — Nathan Podraza (81), Matt Milauskas (84) and Peter Rudd (84).
“All three are capable of better at sectional. You are just one good day away from state,” said Batavia coach Tim DeBruycker.
Larkin sophomore Jack McCracken hit an 83 and heads to Bartlett on Monday.
“I left a few putts,” he said. “But I was striking the ball well. There are a few holes (at Bartlett Hills) that have tight out of bounds. I just need to get past those holes and score on the rest.”