Scouting DuPage County boys golf
Top teams: Hinsdale Central, Neuqua Valley, York, Waubonsie Valley, Lake Park, Naperville Central, Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville North, Benet, St. Francis.
Top athletes: Addison Trail: Blaise Morris, so., Georgie Neri, sr.; Benet: Austin Feldman, sr., Jack Grove, sr., Jack Mannebach, sr., Jack Neenan, sr., Nick Schanzer, sr.; Downers Grove North: Aidan Lafferty, so., TJ Molloy, jr., Alex Malone, sr.; Downers Grove South: Riley Dockendorff, sr., Dean Netzel, sr., Kyle Soderstrom, sr.; Fenton: Nik Fischer, so., Andrew Hill, jr., Brendan Tomczak, sr.; Glenbard East: Ryan Kelly, sr., Tyler Reitz, jr., Kyle Yeoman, sr.; Glenbard North: Sahil Patel, sr., Josh Weisz, jr., Tyler Zitzka, sr.; Glenbard South: Jake Filip, sr., Tim Weesner, sr.; Glenbard West: Jay Ludington, jr., Kevin Nelson, sr., Jacob Valvick, sr.; Hinsdale Central: Jack Hoiberg, sr., Josh Lundmark, so., Matt Wingren, sr.; Hinsdale South: Tyler Hulvat, sr., Alex Schmid, sr., Justin Schoenhardt, sr.; IC Catholic Prep: John Hoffman, sr., Connon Leahy, jr., Trey Morris, sr.; Lake Park: Jake Dianovsky, jr., Al Green, jr., Zach Place, so., Luke Tytus, jr.; Lisle: Bryan O'Connell, sr., Samuel Russo, so., Trevor Stitt, sr.; Metea Valley: Scott Boyajian, so., Jack Dziewiatkowski, sr., Steven Tom, sr., Nick Zagurski, jr.; Montini: Danny Mallory, sr.; Naperville Central: Ryan Cagan, jr., Tim Caseria, sr.; Tommy Dunsire, jr., Jack Noha, sr., Hayden Williams, sr.; Neuqua Valley: Ben Clavey, jr., Thomas Huang, sr., Matt Rouches, sr., Bryan Stogdill, sr., Jack Vercautren, jr.; St. Francis: Luke Armbrust, jr., Kevin Doherty, sr., Ryan Keefe, jr., Logan Rayburn, sr., Jared Riesenberg, sr.; Timothy Christian: Graham Loughead, jr., Daniel Mattox, sr., Jonny Strobe, sr.; Waubonsie Valley: Cade Kenyon, jr., Kenny Ko, sr., Nathan Martahan, sr., Jack Troy, sr., Will Troy, fr.; West Chicago: Josh Babor, sr., Justin Babor, sr., Jason Gimre, jr., Jake Malay, sr., Robert Szulczewski, sr.; Wheaton Academy: Kyle Bertsche, sr., Peter Crowe, so., Jack Dykema, so.; Wheaton North: Aidan Brock, sr., Zach Gerry, sr., Caleb Shadid, sr.; Wheaton Warrenville South: Connor Dale, sr., Joe Donzelli, jr., Justin Seymour, jr.; Willowbrook: Joey Guthrie, so., Tim Keese, jr., Buddy Martens, jr.; York: Jake Czernik, sr., Kyle Kubycheck, sr., Mark Leali, sr., Tom Manning, sr., Mitchell Russell, sr.
Scouting report: Once again Hinsdale Central and Neuqua Valley - with York also making claims for area supremacy - are the teams to watch in the largest-class division this fall.
Neuqua Valley is poised to make another trip to central Illinois come October. The Wildcats came out of the gates firing on all cylinders behind state contender Vercautren. The junior opened his campaign on Monday at the Naperville Central Invitational with a 5-under-par 67 to put a medalist stamp on the Wildcats' cumulative 1-over 289 team total. Vercautren had 6 birdies the following day to make it consecutive victories for Neuqua Valley at the Naperville City Tournament. The Wildcats' standout has team goals on his mind, however.
"Coach (Bart Carbonneau) had the confidence to put up four good scores (in the opening two tournaments)," said Vercautren, who shot a level-par 72 at the Naperville Country Club on Tuesday. "Trying to win all the tournaments (is the team goal). We only lost two tournaments (Bartonville-Limestone and Normal West) last year. We're going to try and win all of them again." Huang, who led the Wildcats' downstate contingent last year, and Rouches are the other returning starters for Neuqua Valley.
The Red Devils' Brendan O'Reilly announced his presence as a unique talent when he bested former Naperville North great and current Iowa senior Raymond Knoll to win the Illinois state amateur as an incoming freshman. Three years later, the Illinois-bound O'Reilly will attempt to become a central figure on a fourth straight state championship team. Normal U-High holds the state record with seven consecutive boys state championships. "I have some kids who can play some good golf," Hinsdale Central coach Jess Krueger said. Underclass contributions have been a critical facet for the Red Devils' first run of championships since the early 1960s. This fall figures to be no different. "I have some sophomores who have played really well," Krueger said. "They are going to push the juniors and seniors."
York cannot be overlooked in either the West Suburban Silver or the state series. The Dukes, like Neuqua Valley, captured a sectional title en route to a second consecutive state berth, finishing eighth. York coach Jim Borel has a dynamic returning triumvirate in seniors Leali, Manning and Russell. But varsity newcomer Jake Brown has been a revelation for the Dukes after being promoted from the frosh-soph team. "He has been our best player (in tryouts)," Borel said of the junior. The veteran York coach is well aware of the vagaries of the sport, though. "We have three sophomores who might help us," Borel said. "We're definitely excited (about our prospects), but I have been doing this long enough to know there are a lot of good teams out there."
With the three Indian Prairie high schools about to enter their second season in the DuPage Valley Conference, the nine-team league dominates the preseason top 10. Waubonsie Valley also broke 300 at the season-opening Naperville Central Invitational. "Any time you break 300, that's a great score," Waubonsie Valley coach Eric Flodberg said of the Warriors' 299 runner-up finish to Neuqua Valley at Naperbrook. The Troy siblings are the anchors for Waubonsie Valley this season. Senior Jack is one of the few returning local at-large Class 3A qualifiers, but his little brother started the season No. 1 in the Warriors' lineup. "The regional and the sectional is always stacked," Flodberg said. "Our primary goal is to get to the sectional as a team."
Lake Park is also looking for a breakthrough season. The Lancers began their invitational campaign with an impressive double-digit victory at Larkin on Wednesday. "That was a good start for us," Lake Park coach Dan Batka said of the Lancers' 309 finish at the Golf Club of Illinois in Algonquin. Naperville Central and Naperville North will undoubtedly be heard from as well this season. Naperville Central has a trusted trio at the top in Dunsire, Noha and Cagan. "They have been on varsity for three years," Naperville Central coach Barry Baldwin said of his team leaders. "I think when all is said and done Tommy Dunsire will be one of the better players in the state."
Heavy graduation losses were a central element entering the season. Naperville North lost its entire St. Charles East sectional-qualifying roster to the next level. "We're definitely younger than we have been in recent years," Naperville North coach Ryan Hantak said. "They'll get some good experience this year."
The two Wheaton high schools look to leave their imprint on the DVC as well. "We are young and energetic," WW South coach Jimmy Selleck said. "Our best players are younger. I can't imagine (the league) is going to be unlike past years."
"I like where we're headed," Wheaton North coach Mike Pribaz added. "We have some nice really young talent. There is no rest in the conference."
Neuqua Valley has been anointed a major favorite to defend its conference championship, according to DVC coaches. "They're definitely the cream of the crop," Hantak said. "Neuqua is going to be tough to catch," Baldwin added.
"(The Wildcats) are a force to reckon with," Batka said. "Naperville North is a traditional power. Waubonsie Valley can come out and beat anyone."
Benet senior Schanzer is the defending St. Charles East sectional champion; West Suburban returnees Nelson (Glenbard West) and Netzel (Downers South) are the only other returning state qualifiers.
"We have really high expectations," Benet coach Marty Gaughn said. "We have a couple of young kids who are a bright spot in our future. They may be guys who can contribute when we get to the end of September, beginning of October."
In Class 2A Armbrust, Keefe and Doherty represent half of St. Francis' squad that finished runner-up to downstate Morton. "They have a strong desire to get back (to Normal)," St. Francis coach Greg Baresel said. "It's a huge motivation. To return three of them is a lot of progress going forward."
For the first time in almost four decades Glenbard South - which qualified for four Class 2A tournaments in a five-year span beginning in 2010 - will have a different coach. Scott Iliff retired after 38 years; Rudy Yudys is the Raiders' new coach. Glenbard South seniors Filip and Weesner have past state experience. "They will be our co-captains," Yudys said. "We're rebuilding this year, but we have a solid group of freshmen and sophomores."
IC Catholic Prep has designs on a state berth in the Class 1A finals. "We have the makings of a deep team," Knights coach Don Sujack said. "The boys are convinced - and I am, too - that we need to have the right focus." The Knights' Morris, top 15 last year, and Leahy were the area smallest-school state representatives last year.
Key dates: Aug. 25, Geneva Invitational; Sept. 3, Fenton Invitational; Sept. 3, Buffalo Grove Invitational; Sept. 10, Batavia Invitational; Sept. 10, Providence Catholic Invitational; Sept. 14, Aurora City of Lights Tournament; Sept. 17, Wheeling Invitational; Sept. 24, Hinsdale Central Red Devil Invitational; Week of Sept. 26, Conference tournaments; Oct. 1, Lake Park Invitational; Oct. 1, LaSalle-Peru Invitational.
- Kevin McGavin