Golden Eagles rise to the occasion

Jacobs' boys golf team arrived at Prairie Isle Golf Club on Tuesday hoping to answer some questions.

The Golden Eagles departed with a piece of history - the first regional title in program history. They shot 298 at the Class 3A Prairie Ridge tournament in Crystal Lake to edge Barrington by a stroke.

"It just feels awesome," said Jacobs senior Donnie Langland, who shot 73. "We played well as a team and everyone chipped in. We're flying real high right now."

Crystal Lake South freshman Nick Robles got off to a flying start with a birdie on the opening hole. Robles shot a 4-under-par 68 to take medalist honors by 3 shots over Jacobs sophomore Scott Cahill on the 6,601-yard course.

Jacobs also got 77s from Mike Kniep, who just returned two weeks ago from a stress fracture in his back, and Andrew Meier to advance to next Monday's Barrington sectional at Makray Memorial.

Barrington, which had won three straight regionals and 13 overall, got 73s from Ross Frankenberg and Travis Smyczynski.

"Our main goal was just to advance and to win it was a bonus," Langland said of the Fox Valley Conference champions. "I thought maybe we'd finish closely behind Barrington. To beat them is unbelievable."

Cahill put aside some struggles he had in a couple of tournaments leading up to Tuesday.

"I definitely had to make sure I hit the ball straight off the tee," Cahill said. "If I can do that I know my iron game is good enough to put myself in position to make good numbers."

Cahill, Langland and coach Jeremy Bauer said one of the Golden Eagles' strengths is the ability of everyone to post solid scores.

"We definitely want to be known as the best team to come through our school," Cahill said. "After winning conference there were still some question marks.

"Now that we got to sectionals as a team and hopefully go to state as a team we'll answer those questions."

Robles also answered any questions about any rookie jitters in a round with no bogeys and 4 birdies.

"I was pretty relaxed and treated it like any other tournament," said Robles, the FVC medalist whose previous 18-hole best was 70. "I knew if my nerves got to me it would be pretty bad so I just held it together."

McHenry took the third and final sectional team qualifying spot. Cary-Grove couldn't duplicate its magic of last year when it qualified for state for the second time in history but junior Matt Efflandt (72) and Ryan Laughlin (79) advanced.

"I'll take that any day," Efflandt said. "I've been hitting the ball well lately and I stayed out of trouble.

"This was a really hard regional. There were a lot of good players here."

Dundee-Crown senior Jordan Nelson will also make his second straight sectional trip after shooting 73. On the back nine, Nelson missed only 1 green and shot even par.

"My putting was a lot better than it's been previously," said Nelson after exceeding his best 18-hole score by 3 shots. "I had probably the best iron strikes I've had all year.

"For the sectional this gives me a lot of confidence. It's a pretty big boost for me."

Crystal Lake South's Nick Remley (77) and Justin Squires (79) and Prairie Ridge's Robinson Logue (78) and Ben Boncosky (79) also qualified for the sectional.