Boys golf: Lishchynsky, Crystal Lake South capture sectional titles

Golf is a much more fun game to play when almost every putt you hit finds the bottom of the cup, a feeling Crystal Lake South senior John Lishchynsky enjoyed Monday at the Class 2A Burlington Central sectional held at Whisper Creek in Huntley.

Lishchynsky sank a long putt for par on the first hole and kept making them the rest of the round en route to a 3-under par 69, giving him a sectional championship and leading the Gators to a 2-stroke win over Rockford Boylan for the team title.

About the only putt Lishchynsky didn't drain came on the 18th hole where a crowd had gathered to watch him finish. His approach left him just about seven feet for birdie and what would have been a career-best 68.

"I was never making that in front of all the people," Lishchynsky said. "I hammered it too."

Lishchynsky did run the birdie putt past but made the comebacker to complete a round with 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. With Will Stewart (74), Tanner Coakley (81) and Ricky Falbo (84) following, the Gators finished at 308 to Boylan's 310 and a 313 from Carmel - the three schools who advance to this weekend's state tournament.

It's the Gators' sixth sectional crown.

"They didn't do their best, they weren't too happy," Lishchynsky said of his teammates. "I just think they were nervous about making it to state. Getting the team down is a lot more fun experience."

The Gators certainly wouldn't have prevailed without Lishchynsky's hot putter.

"I was making every putt I stared at even outside of 20 feet," said Lishchynsky, who was coming off a regional championship last week. "I hit a couple in the hazards but even if I hit those on the green I'd still one-putt those to save the par.

"It feels good I can be this consistent again. Sophomore year I was kind of like this and then junior year I fell off a little but now I'm back again a lot better."

Carmel junior Ryan Hogan holed an 80-foot chip shot and teammates Clint Bailes and Michael Wattelet both sank long putts to help their team finish seven shots ahead of fourth-place finisher Kaneland.

Bailes and Wattelet both shot 77s, Justin McKenna carded a 79 and Hogan 80.

Carmel last qualified for state in 2016 when it finished second.

"Clint and Michael played great and Justin helped out a lot and Ryan had a good day today," Carmel coach James Nolan said. "It was pretty good. We've kind of been peaking at the right time."

Coming off a seventh place finish at last year's state meet, Kaneland was hoping to get another shot this season. The Knights didn't have their best day Monday but will send Josh Pehl (78) and Cody Ganzon (79) as individuals with Lucas Pehl (81) missing the playoff for a spot at state by one shot.

"We could have done a little better," Kaneland coach Mark Meyer said. "It was kind of a collective effort where we weren't on our game. Each one of our players save maybe Lucas and Cody shot a little over their scoring average and it's such a strong sectional. It wasn't our day."

Other local team finishes included Vernon Hills, Marmion and Aurora Central Catholic all shooting 330 to tie for fifth, Prairie Ridge at 331 and St. Viator at 335.

Each of those schools will be represented at state: Aurora Central Catholic senior Nathan Turco tied for second with a 73, senior Rohan Vasudeva from Vernon Hills and Prairie Ridge junior Edward Winkelmann shot 77s, Marmion sophomore Charlie Burke had a 78, and Burlington Central sophomore Tyson Malak and IMSA senior T.J. Ptak both fired 79s.

St. Viator junior Jack Lynch, Prairie Ridge's Grant Klepitsch and Dylan Josephson from Vernon Hills all shot 80 and took part in a playoff for two spots. Lynch earned his spot with a birdie on the first playoff hole, No. 18, which the other two both bogeyed.

"That was crazy," Lynch said. "That was pretty exciting. That was about as nervous as I've been playing golf before but that was awesome. It was kind of a blur the last 15 minutes."

Lynch hit a perfect 3-wood off the tee, then a hybrid to about 120 yards out where he stuck a wedge to 8 feet. He calmly sank the right-to-left breaker.

"I thought it (my approach) might go long but I saw it land right next to the hole and it was a huge sigh of relief," Lynch said.

Klepitsch sank a par putt on the second playoff hole while Josephson hit the green in regulation but 3-putted with a lip-out on the last for bogey. That would have qualified Klepitsch for state too until officials realized afterward that only one of the three in the playoff should qualify.

Klepitsch will find out Tuesday from the IHSA if he's also allowed to go to state.

Turco has no such worries after his 73 that tied Boylan's TJ Baker.

"This was probably the best round I've seen him play," Chargers coach Mike Cowen said. "He did everything well. There was no stress on him at any point in time. When you are a senior playing a sectional it's probably one of the toughest. I was proud of him. He was spot on."

Turco chipped in for birdie on his second hole of the day, No. 11.

"My ball striking was excellent today," Turco said. "Playing in the middle of the green trying to give myself looks because the cut could be anything between 77 and 82 and as long as I'm making pars, it's fine."

Turco also qualified for state last year and is looking to improve on his 82.

"I was just happy to be there," Turco said. "This year I'm hoping to put up some better numbers. I'm hitting the ball a good 20 to 25 yards further but the key is my putting. I'm on my fourth putting grip of the year and I finally found one that's been working."

Vasudeva will make his fourth trip to the state tournament despite an off-day on the greens Monday.

"I was having trouble on the (practice) putting green and once I got on the course my putting was really not there today," Vasudeva said. "I would try to baby a putt to the hole and it would still go three, four feet past. I was able to overcome it with hitting a decent amount of greens."

Burke shot a 39 on each side and like Vasudeva wasn't entirely pleased with his round, though he had the opposite woes.

"I didn't play too well actually," said Burke, a Batavia resident. "I didn't strike the ball well but I had a lot of nice putts and my short game was on today. That helped a lot."