Neuqua Valley wins 1st sectional crown

Neuqua Valley senior Greg Crowley carried a long memory with him to the first tee Monday morning.

A year ago, Crowley missed an individual state-qualifying spot by a shot after his birdie putt on the 18th hole lipped out.

This time around, Crowley posted a 2-over-par 73 to solidify a state berth and his teammates followed through as the Wildcats earned their first Class 3A sectional golf title at St. Andrews Golf & Country Club in West Chicago.

Supported by Jack Vercautren (74), Jack Richards (74) and Thomas Huang, the Wildcats posted a 4-man total of 296, 3 strokes better than 3-time defending state champion Hinsdale Central.

"All of the guys were ready to play today," said Crowley. "This is incredible. This is the best team I've ever been a part of."

Ironically, Crowley lipped out a putt early during his round but hung tough to card a 1-over-par 36 on the front side.

"I kind of shook it off because I knew my ball striking was good today," said Crowley. "Last winter, that (lip-out) was the only thing I thought about. That was my one motivation for this year and it paid off."

"I'm not only very proud of the way he played, I'm very happy for him personally," Neuqua coach Bart Carbonneau said of Crowley. "He's ecstatic. His smile is going from ear to ear right now.

"Hinsdale (Central) was a team that we hadn't seen all year so you didn't know how we'd stack up against them," the coach added. "To be able to stand right up there with them gives us great motivation."

Led by freshman Jack McDonald and Tyler Isenhart, Geneva punched a ticket to this weekend's state tourney for the first time in 27 years with its impressive third-place score of 300.

McDonald fired a 2-under-par 33 on the front 9 while placing second individually with a 1-over-par 72 while Isenhart tied for fourth with a 73.

"Jack and Tyler - my gosh," said Vikings coach Eric Hatczel. "They bring two very unique qualities to the game. Tyler had a phenomenal AJGA and IJGA schedule. He knows what pressure is like.

"Jack, on the other hand, isn't your typical finesse golfer. He comes from a basketball and baseball type mentality and brings a little different fire and energy."

Andrew Abel and James Kruzich added respective scores of 76 and 79 for the Vikings.

"This is pretty cool - going down as a team," said McDonald, who recorded 3 consecutive birdies on the 8th, 9th and 10th holes. "I was even-par going into that little stretch so when I got to 3-under I knew I was playing well."

"They've been preparing so well," said Hatczel. "In the second half of the season, our team play has been stellar."

Opening his round with a birdie, Benet Academy junior Nick Schanzer earned medalist honors with an even-par 71.

"I got off to a good start and never lost momentum after that," said Schanzer. "This is my lowest tournament round ever. It's very special to me."

Other individual qualifiers from non-qualifying teams were Glenbard North's Kyle Tintera (72), Downers Grove South's Trent Caraher (74) and Dean Netzel (75), Glenbard West's Kevin Nelson (75), Waubonsie Valley's David Lipan (75) and Wheaton Warrenville South's Sean McCaffrey (75).

Marmion's Nick Huggins, St. Charles East's Danny Buetow and Waubonsie Valley's Jack Troy earned the final 3 individual state berths in a 5-man playoff.

"It means so much," said Buetow, a sophomore. "I've worked my hardest to reach this point. It's a huge difference last year to this year."