Boys golf: St. Viator chasing Class 2A title
St. Viator's boys golf team finds itself atop the leaderboard heading into Saturday's final day of the state Class 2A state championship tournament.
The Lions lead by 4 strokes over second-place Normal, and St. Viator coach Jack Halpin was impressed by his team's consistency Friday at Weibring Golf Club on the campus of Illinois State University.
"This is the first time all season that we've had four scores in the 70's," said Halpin. "What a great time for it."
The Lions are seeking their first state crown since 2010, when they won the last of their three straight titles in Class 3A.
"EJ and Nolan really came through today," added Halpin.
EJ would be EJ Reisinger, a Viator junior who carded a 74 Friday, while classmate Nolan Doherty finished tied for fourth place individually with an even par-71.
St. Viator shot 301 to Normal's 305, with Tommy Kuhl of Normal firing a 63 - 7 strokes better than second-place Cameron Karney of Crystal Lake (70) and Kolten Bauer from Alton Marquette (70) in the individual medalist race.
Doherty had 5 birdies on the day, and the only blemish on his scorecard was a triple-bogey on the fifth hole.
"We had high hopes we were going to come out here and perform," said the junior of his team's success.
"Putting" added Doherty when asked about what led him to the fourth-place finish. "I had 24 putts today, and I was getting up and down a lot."
Reisinger birdied holes 2 and 10 enroute to his 74, while Timmy Crawford and Ryan Flynn each shot 78 to count scores for the leaders.
• In Class 3A, 2 local individuals find themselves right in the thick of the race for medalist honors at the "Den" at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington.
Junior John Cantieri of Prospect shot even-par 72, a round that included 4 birdies, to enter the final round in fourth place - just 3 strokes behind leaders Josh Lundmark of Hinsdale Central and Ben Tyrell of Edwardsville.
Hinsdale Central is 7 strokes in front in the team race as they seek a sixth straight Class 3A title.
Colin Robinson of Fremd, another junior competing as an individual at the Den, carded a 73.
Robinson had 4 birdies, and would have been even closer to the top if not for two double bogeys over the final 4 holes.
"It was really phenomenal," said Fremd coach Ryan Moreau of the play of Robinson. "It was a pretty awesome day (for him). Colin has been so determined to make it to state for so long, and he was able to just turn it on today and keep it going.
"He just shot his second-best ever prep score on a day with crazy wind, and he had a couple of weird situations where his ball was just caked in mud."
And the outlook for the final day of the tourney?
"I think he realizes he's got some momentum going into Saturday," said Moreau, "with a great score today."