Boys golf: Scouting Northwest
LeydenThe Eagles are coming off a succesful 2015 season in which they finished third in conference and had 3 golfers advance to sectionals. "We did lose two top golfers to graduation," says Leyden coach Steven Siekierski, "but we have four strong seniors along with promising sophomores and freshmen. We are looking for finish in the top three in conference again and hopefully advance to sectionals as a team." Roster will include seniors Ryan Langer, Graham Pedersen, Hunter Hankins and Andrew Quezada, sophomore Jared Hankins, and freshman Sutape Chantapim, who Siekierski says "is a very good ball striker and I am looking forward to seeing him develop."
Maine WestThe key returnees for the Warriors in 2016 will be seniors Kyle Roscoe, Max Rothweiler, and Shane Ronan along with junior Matt Mustari. "We have a lot of new players this year at the varsity level," said West coach Mike Godlewski, "and it will be very exciting to see how well they adjust to playing at a high level." Other roster members will include juniors Matt Fairhead, Danny Fowler, Christian Mirza, Chase Stephens, Evan Shacklette and Mike Hanson, and sophomore Luke Rothweiler. "We've had a very good summer," added Godlewski. "Success is not always measured by wins and losses, but rather how well our players improve and learn the game while competing at the best of their abilities."
St. ViatorLions coach Jack Halpin says he has "the most depth of any team that he has ever had in his 23 years at Viator." That's saying a lot considering all of the Lions success in recent years, and they will be led in 2016 by sophomore Timmy Crawford, who Halpin says "is one of the top players in the state." Joining Crawford will be EJ Reisinger and Nolan Doherty as top scorers, in addition to Sean O'Grady. Rounding out the cast will be seniors Jack Neubauer, Jackson Elstro, Nate Anderson, Matt Dennison, Nick Bavaro, and Matt Atchison; juniors Ryan Flynn, Bennett Rizner and Chase Metzger; plus sophomores Michael Ruben, Conor Warner and Liam O'Neil.
BarringtonThe Broncos will be an experienced group in competition in 2016, returning outstanding seniors Tom Calbi, Tim Lim, Sean Dolan, Ryan Loutos and Jack Markham. "The guys had a great summer playing individually," said Barrington coach Mike Kallenbach, "and I know they are looking forward to getting the band back together to try to make another run to an MSL title, as well as another trip downstate." Also to be counted on are senior Mike LaSpisa and junior Michael O'Toole." Calbi returns this year as the defending individual MSL champion, as also won three invitationals in 2015 as well.
ConantCougars coach Scott Cieplik says that his team is excited to get the season started. "We've got a young team," said Cieplik. "We're looking to improve every week as the season continues, and I want to build this program from the bottom up." Cieplik says top returnees Kevin Adnjulis (all-conference) and Zack Kahl will "look to keep our team hungry and focused." Other players expected to contribute will be seniors Ryan Schweinberg and Antonio Salerno; junios Tyler Mercurio, Ethan Kim, Sungjin Park; and sophomore Kyle Lejman.
Hoffman EstatesThe Hawks hope to fly high in 2016 behind a 2015 sectional qualifier, Alex Harrison, who returns for his junior season. Coach Todd Meador says his team this year will be "anchored by a trio of stellar players" - Harris, senior Conor Windels and junior Alex Mayani.
FremdCraig Robinson, a sophomore, is returning for the Vikings. He was the No. 2 player on the team last year and another soph, Nathan Schmidt, will be counted on to be a key contributor for Fremd. "We lost several strong seniors from last years squad," said coach Ryan Moreau, "but we have an outstanding group of sophomores and juniors returning to fill the squad." Also to be counted on for the underclassmen-led team will be sophomore Bill Gao; juniors Pierce Allord, Mike Arango, Alec Grundman, Alex Guan, Coling Kowalczyk; and seniors Jonathon Jandura and Ryan Arbour.
PalatineThe Pirates will go to battle with a roster that includes Matthew Weltzien, a senior who was a sectional qualifier last year. Other roster members will include seniors Kody Newman, Rohan Devaguptapu and TJ May; and juniors Max Myszka, Matt Helms, Brent Penrose, Caleb Choi and Caleb Nilsen. "We're looking to improve this year," said Pirates coach Mark Johnson. "We definitely have the talent to compete with the better teams in the area but we just need to find more consistency in our play."
SchaumburgCoach Chris Zickert is optimistic - cautiously - about the upcoming campaign. "We have a number of golfers who have the skills and ability to go low," said Zickert. "I believe the group we have is depth-wise more talented than we've had in the past couple of years. If we can consistently put four scores together we can be competitive." Making the grade for the Saxons this year will be Nick Tudor, a sectional qualifier who Zickert says "had a good summer playing tournaments," along with senior leader Miguel Go. Other roster members will include Nzelu Maitha, Nick Calip, and Dan Meister.
Buffalo GroveBison coach Peter Duffer will be counting on two sophomores, Kyle Richards and Michael Speer, who have made strides in the off-season. "These guys have put in a significant amount of time and it shows," said Duffer. "Both have posted the lowest practice rounds we've had thus far and teamed in an early scramble for a team best 73." Good things are also expected from key returning seniors Ryan Oddo, Gavin Wolf, and John Weiss. Rounding out the roster will be seniors Justin Harris and Ben Carnes, and juniors TJ Consterrina, Zach Fricke and Josh Figus.
Elk GroveGrenadiers standout Joe Leone was a sectional qualifier last season, and he is back to lead the Grens in his senior campaign. "We're looking to finish in the top third of conference this year," said Elk Grove coach Mike Meyer, "and have at least four team members advance to sectionals. We were disappointed in our performance in these two areas last year and we are making a big push to meet our goals this year." Blake Treder will return for the Grens as a senior, and Jacob Sullivan (junior) is back as well. The rest of the roster will include seniors Danny Klinger, Joe Rheinschmidt, Brett Taucher and Michael Wucki and junior Jacob Hartness.
HerseyLong-time coach Dan Caporusso returns to coach the Huskies in 2016, and he'll be happy to have seniors Jason Deans, Josh Glassman, Mark VandenAvont, Erich Thuer, and Peter McElmeel on his side. "The golfing Huskies have not lost their focus or work ethic, and are making strides every week toward developing outstanding team scores," said Caporusso. "We finished the 2015 with our best performance of the year in the highly competitive Northwest Suburban regional tournament, and with four starters returning we're excited to challenge the best teams in the area." Completing the cast for Hersey will be juniors Tommy Lumsden, Joey Carlson, Michael Thomas, Cade O'Neal, Ben Jackson, and JP Flowers.
ProspectLast year the Knights earned a second-place finish in the Mid-Suburban East, and this season coach Tom Martindale says that his team is "looking forward to the season - the players have worked really hard over the summer." One returning senior for Prospect is Robert Garmoe, who was all-conference last year and has been a two-time state qualifier. Other players expected to excel for the Knights will be seniors Nick Tenuta, Brad Woodle, Patrick Fusilero, Kevin Placko, Matt Groark, Jason Caswell, and Mike Nicalou, along with juniors Mark LaCamera, Nate Dunker, Riley Kingston, Josh Kern; and sophomores Jack Knott and Charlie Busch.
Rolling MeadowsSuccessful was the word for the Mustangs in 2015, as they won the MSL East and qualified for sectionals as a team. They'll also be back playing their home matches at a newly renovated Arlington Lakes Golf Club. "We want to compete again in the East and qualify for sectionals," says Meadows coach Joe Szabo. "We've got a nice core coming back with seniors Jimmy Ingolia, Kyle Kornblum, Dan Luhan and Matt O'Grady." Joining the four talented seniors will be a freshman, Chris Cho, who got off to a great start in the first meet of the season by carding an 84 in his initial high school meet.
WheelingTwo veteran golfers will be looking to lead the Wildcats to the upper echelons of the Mid-Suburban League this year. "I'm looking for big things from DJ Godlewski and Tyler Testa," said Wildcats coach Mark Menich. "DJ has put in a lot of work and played in numerous tournaments over the summer to prepare himself to compete at a high level this season, and Tyler has all the skills necessary to be one of the better players in the conference." Other players of note for Wheeling will be Androu Yutakis, who Menich says is his "dark horse for the season after working very hard to improve his skills in the off-season," along with Max Derry, Ian Johnson and Jared Moser, all of whom should be posting solid scores.
- Bill Esbrook