Powell, Barrington are in the zone
Last spring, Barrington’s Brad Powell was on the mound pitching for the Broncos when the lefty threw a fastball and something didn’t feel right.
“I heard something pop right away in my left elbow,” Powell said. “I had to stop pitching because my elbow couldn’t take it anymore. But fortunately for golf, I need my right arm and not my left that much.”
Powell used that good right arm to score a 1-over-par 72 to win medalist honors Monday at the Mid-Suburban League boys golf meet at Schaumburg Golf Club.
Powell becomes the fourth consecutive conference medalist from Barrington, following Marc Ackerman, Greg Conrad and Nick Schippel.
Powell was pleased with his game that included one birdie and two bogeys.
“It was good out there today,” Powell said. “Nothing was outstanding. My putting was OK. But I was steady throughout the course.”
Powell also helped lead the Broncos to the team title with a 296.
Prospect, which defeated Barrington is a dual meet last week, was second with a 301. Fremd was third with a 319, followed by Buffalo Grove (325), Palatine (328) and Hersey (329).
“The kids played very well,” said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach. “I figured we needed to break 300 today. I thought 298 would be a real nice score and we did even better than that.”
Barrington also got a strong performance from Joey Batliner, who finished tied for second with a 74.
“It went really well for me today,” said Batliner, who carded a 37 on both the front and back nine. “I was hitting every shot that I wanted to.”
Barrington had all six of its golfers finish in the top 20.
Burke Barsamian and freshman Tom Calbi were tied for fifth with a 75. Cole Kempinski was ninth with a 76 and Tim Lim 12th with a 79.
Prospect also had all six of its golfers in the top 20.
The Knights, the MSL East champions, were led by Reid Dahlstrom, who tied for second with a 74.
“It was a great day,” Dahlstrom said. “The weather was perfect and the course was playing well.”
Grant Gavin and Ralph Tenuta tied for fifth with a 75. Jacob Schwister was tenth with a 77, Josh Johnson was 11th with a 78 and Jack Kavanagh was tied for 12th with a 79.
“I thought we played very well today,” said Prospect coach Tom Martindale. “If you look at the way Barrington played, they averaged a 74 out there today and we were just over a 75. It’s not that we played bad, we just got beat by a better team today.”
Fremd’s Jamie Drost, who was one of the favorites for the individual title, overcame a bout of stomach flu to finish tied for 18th with an 80.
“I got sick on the 12th hole,” Drost said. “I just didn’t feel right all day. But I have regionals and sectional to look forward to.”
While Drost struggled, teammate Dylan Norys had one of his best matches of the year, finishing with a 74 to tie for second. The finish may have been better had Norys not double-bogeyed the ninth hole.
“I bladed one over the green from 60 yards out,” Norys said. “But I didn’t let it bother me and came back to play well on the back nine.”
Fremd coach Josh Teschner said that his team needs to play better if they hope to achieve their goal of going downstate.
“If you go by record, we finished where we were supposed to,” Teschner said. “But all year long, we have been underachieving. We need to pick things up in the next couple of weeks.”
Buffalo Grove, which was fourth, was led by Matt Froemming’s 79 (12th place) and Matt Eilrich’s 80 (18th).
Palatine was paced by Tom Broders and Preston Towers, who each shot 81s while Hersey was led by Kenny Mleko’s 79 (12th) and Mak Herren’s 80 (18th).
Conant, which finished with a 339, was led by Mickey Mayers and Zach Drill who each scored an 82.
Hoffman Estates and Rolling Meadows tied with a 345.
But Hoffman was awarded the tiebreaker with its their sixth score.
Jon D’Amico led Hoffman with an 83 while Sean Behrens led Conant with a 79.
Schaumburg scored a 349 and was led by Brandon Tudor while Elk Grove tallied a 353 and was led by Jordan Guerror’s 79. Wheeling was led by Zach Boesen.