Boys golf: Satisfying results for Mundelein's Wade, Stevenson, Libertyville

Mundelein senior Colin Wade found something to help his golf game halfway through his round on Monday.

A ham-and-cheese sandwich proved more than satisfying.

After shooting a 41 on the front nine at Shepherd's Crook, Wade fired a 1-under-par 35. His 5-over 76 allowed him to advance out of the Class 3A Zion-Benton regional.

"I just gained more confidence with the shots I wanted to hit," Wade said. "The front nine was more of a grind. On the back nine, something happened after eating a sandwich. I found confidence and played well. The best sandwich of the year, I was telling my teammates. I did hit a lot of good shots down the stretch."

North Suburban Conference champion Lake Forest took the regional championship with a 311, followed by Stevenson (317) and Libertyville (319). All three teams advance to next Monday's DeKalb sectional at Kishwaukee Country Club.

"It was a lot different (from conference)," Lake Forest coach James Matheson said. "It was really tough for us. Tees were really back and pins were in tough spots. The wind was up and it was a bit chilly (early on). The course won today. A 74 was a great round."

Lake Forest's Pierce Grieve, who won the NSC meet last Tuesday, needed a playoff to beat his teammate Jack Marshall. Both players had carded 3-over 74s on the 6,759-yard course.

In the playoff, Grieve birdied No 18, while Marshall parred it.

"I think the conditions were a little bit tougher. It's always windy out here, and it was a little bit wet," Grieve said. "But the Scouts prevailed and we got the team win. It's pressure, but when you have the right mentality, you can go out and post a low number anywhere."

Lake Forest also counted the rounds of Flynn Bradley (79) and Patrick Moorhead (85).

Stevenson was led by Nick Udoni's 76. Bradley Park shot a 79 for the Patriots, while Conan Pan and Jake Surane had an 80 and 82, respectively.

"The main goal is just to get through and move on to sectionals, " Stevenson coach John Rueth said. "We've experienced this before. A lot of different things can happen in the sectional. We fought hard today. A lot of kids had rough rounds. They stuck with it. They made double- and triple-bogeys with bogeys to save their round."

Udoni's day included a birdie on No. 18.

"With the wind today, the course was playing pretty difficult," Udoni said. "It was easy to get down on yourself after a couple of bad shots. Just keeping a strong mind set allowed me to pull off large shots I needed to qualify for sectionals."

NSC runner-up Libertyville edged Warren (321) by two shots.

"I think we could've gone lower," Libertyville coach Sean Matthews said. "We'll take it and move on. There was a 30-stroke difference from last week. This course is a bit more difficult with all the fescue and the open fairways. There were great conditions on the back nine. The front nine was a little bit tougher."

Bruce Jahanke led the Wildcats with a 78. James Schmidt had a 79, Danny Keating carded an 81, and Jason Ross finished with an 81.

Mundelein's Parker Neumaier (88) earned the final individual spot but had to play one extra hole to get past Lake Zurich's Jake Michalek (88).

Neumaier shot a par to a bogey for Michalek on the extra hole (No. 9).

"It's awesome to make it," Neumaier said. "I was so nervous. Making the last putt, it felt miraculous."

Others advancing included Warren's Kevin Borbath (79), Luke Behrens (79), Andreas Ackron (80), Garrett Porter (82) and Steffen Nerheim (84), Mundelein's Tanner Anderson (85), and Lake Zurich's Noah van Herik (85) and Jonah Schwartz (87).