Boys golf: St. Viator claims sectional title

St. Viator's boys golf team has had a great swing into the sectionals and has now won for its seventh time and for the first time in 10 years. Now, the Lions are ready to make a trip downstate this weekend in the Class 2A state tournament at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University this weekend.

The Lions carded a very impressive round of 303 which was nine shots better than Crystal Lake South and Kaneland as each had 312 at Hughes Creek Golf Club in Elburn on Monday. Both of those schools also qualified for state.

St. Viator handled the conditions very well on a wet course from the heavy weekend rains, warm temperatures and winds that picked up in the afternoon.

"We had a solid performance, but the big thing was just getting out of sectionals," St. Viator coach Jack Halpin said. "I think this was the toughest sectional in the state in 2A. The team to beat is Charleston. This course was rear back and fire. It did hold up pretty well, I think we got a break playing early because the wind was down. The wind was blowing a little bit and it picked up to 15 to 20 mph. But to win the sectional is really a big deal."

Nolan Doherty, who has committed to Loyola University, led the way with an even-par 72 on the 6,506 yard course. The others for St. Viator that carded scores were Timmy Crawford (73), EJ Reisinger (77) and Liam O'Neill (82)

Doherty had a consistent day staying composed with three birdies and three bogeys.

"It did get really windy towards the end, but I was hitting well all day and could've made a few more putts," Doherty said. "It was a little wet but the conditions were OK. You have to realize you're not going to get a lot of roll with the drive, so you have to be aware the ball wasn't going to go that far. We did expect to get here as a team. It's a great opportunity to get this far."

Crystal Lake South was playing in Class 2A for the first time because its enrollment has dropped. The Gators earned their opportunity and needed a fifth score (85-88) to be the runner-up.

"That was an emotional roller coaster and we weren't sure exactly where we were going to be at," Crystal Lake South coach Curt Wadlington said. "We thought we had a really good chance and sitting there watching the scores come in we started to realize that we had a really good chance. It was an emotionally awesome experience looking across the board. We wanted to get out of here and we did it. We had it down to five teams and we were one of teams We had a good season and did well in tournaments. We just had to go out and do it. They brought it together and grinded through it."

For the Gators, Will Stewart and John Lishchynsky each shot 76s. Ethan Wiggs (78) and Ricky Falbo (82) also scored.

Nebraska-bound Will Marshall led Kaneland with a 2-over par 74. The other scorers were Bryce Stair and Ryan Milton (76s) and Josh Pehl (82).

"Obviously, what I shot wasn't ideal, home course, and I was looking to go lower," Marshall said. "The wind definitely played a factor. It was kind of tough to gauge the distances out there and the wind was swirling a little bit. It was a grind out there and my short game kept me in it. It was more of a mental battle today."

Sycamore and Prairie Ridge tied for fourth (321), Rockford Boylan (322) was sixth and Vernon Hills (323) settled in the sixth spot. Antioch (338) was eighth and Aurora Central Catholic (352) 11th.

Vernon Hills will be missing state as a team for the first time since 2013 but it has won eight regional titles in a row.

"It was very competitive and a very strong sectional," Vernon Hills coach Shawn Healey said. "We knew that we had to play well. We just didn't make enough putts today to shoot the score we needed. It's a fun golf course, scenic. It's tough and a lot of places you have to make strategic decisions."

The Cougars were led by Rohan Vasudeva, who shot a 79 but who qualified as an individual for the weekend. The others that carded scores were Joey Levitan (80), Sujay Voleti (81) and Brendan Wise (83).

Vasudeva had to go through a playoff to reach state. Seven players were playing four spots. After the first hole, the 9th at 378 yards, two players shot bogey and dropped while the other, including Vasudeva, had a par. Then on to the second hole, which was the opening hole for 383 yards, three players had pars including Vasudeva and two others shot bogeys.

"I did like the idea of a playoff," said Vasudeva, who put a pair of shots near the pin for pars in the playoff holes. "It's better than a scoreboard playoff, because I had bogeyed 18. The short game is normally good for me and I bank on myself being a good short game player. Actually, today my short game wasn't there. It came down to my ball striking. I missed both the greens in the playoff here. Otherwise, I hit 15 out of 18 greens. This was my first time in a playoff. I wasn't thinking too much. I can't control what they do, I just can control what I do. I'm going to go out and play my game. I'm here for a reason and go out and play."

The other individuals that advanced were Rockford Boylan's Zach Schwartzback (75), Dominic Leli of Prairie Ridge (75), Sycamore's Brendan Fritz (76), Grant Klepich (77) of Prairie Ridge, Grant Wasson (78) of Rock Falls, Owen Hultman (78) of Rockford Christian, TJ Ptak (79) of Illinois Math and Science Academy, Nathan Turco (79) of Aurora Central Catholic and Deven Stewart (79) of Freeport, who won the final spot after four playoff holes.