Boys golf: Crystal Lake South prevails in competitive FVC tourney
Crystal Lake South's boys golf team won the Fox Valley Conference championship Thursday at Redtail Golf Club on a day the entire conference played well.
Only 28 shots separated the nine schools, with Crystal Lake South's 296 coming in 4 shots ahead of Huntley.
Prairie Ridge was next at 308 followed by McHenry (312), Jacobs (314), Dundee-Crown (316), Cary-Grove (319), Crystal Lake Central (320) and Hampshire (324).
"It was a great tournament," Gators coach Curt Wadlington said. "We were pleased with that as coaches collectively. Collectively we were pretty happy with how all the scores came out and how close everybody was."
Nobody had more depth than the Gators who had six players shoot in the 70s and five earn all-conference.
"It was good to see that, it was awesome to see that," Wadlington said. "They (our top four) had a good day. They have been very consistent all year. They definitely set the table for us. The good thing about our team is we are pretty deep."
Will Stewart and John Lishchynsky paced the Gators with matching 73s on the par 72 layout; Stewart earned his with a 34 on the back.
"That's about where I was hoping they would fall," Wadlington said. "They were about where they have been all year. It was a good day for them to come out and perform when they had to."
Griffin Coakley checked in at 74, Casey Hunter shot 76, Ethan Wiggs carded a 78 and Ricky Falbo shot 79.
Coakley lowered his score by about four strokes off his average.
"Griffin had a really good day today," Wadlington said. "He came through today. He's a senior so I think he was having fun today and knowing it's his last FVC tournament he wanted to come out and play well. It's a golf course he knows really well. I was happy for him he was able to do that."
Individually, Dundee-Crown's Jake Zirlin and Dominic Leli from Prairie Ridge tied for first place with 71s. They got there in opposite fashion - Zirlin shot 38 on the front and 33 on the back; Leli started with a 33 and finished with a 38.
Zirlin pared the first playoff hole to take first.
"I am very proud for him and happy for our team as a whole," Dundee-Crown coach Bob Sweeney said. "It was nice to see Jake put it all together for a full 18 holes."
Sweeney said he wasn't sure if Zirlin is the first player in school history to win a conference championship, but he is the first one to win in Sweeney's 16 years as coach.
"To have a chance to play in the playoff with a small contingent of his peers following was a great experience for him as well as the rest of our players who were watching and showing their support," Sweeney said.
Matt McQuillen followed Zirlin for the Chargers with his 74.
With Alex Matsas shooting 81 and Ben Bartelt turning in a 90, the 316 total for Dundee-Crown was a season-best.
Garrett Heinke and Trevor Book shot 74s to lead Huntley to second place. Jack Wagner was right behind at 75.
Garrett Tighe (77), Kyle Schutt (78) and Jordan Stone (79) all broke 80 for Jacobs.
Trevor Beaugureau topped Cary-Grove with a 78, and Hampshire's Craig Bracke turned in a pair of 37s on his two sides for a 74. Teammate Mark Spitzer shot a 79.
The FVC schools split up for regional play next Tuesday. The Gators head to Class 2A at Marengo Ridge with Prairie Ridge; the rest of the conference will be in the 3A division at Randall Oaks Golf Club, hosted by Dundee-Crown.
"It's a little tight," Wadlington said of Marengo Ridge. "The trees are definitely mature. It's not too long. It's a different style course than the boys are normally playing."