Boys golf: Conant claims MSL tourney title; Barrington nets overall crown
With all the problems Barrington's Ian Bouchard had on the front nine at the Mid-Suburban League boys golf tournament Tuesday at Old Orchard in Mount Prospect, it would have been pretty easy for the senior's round to go south.
It started with a driver that couldn't find a fairway. Bouchard got that settled down only to struggle with his putting all the while battling windy conditions.
Nothing was working.
"Front 9 overall was really bad," Bouchard said.
He made the turn at 41 - then flipped a switch.
Bouchard nearly drove the par 4 12th for a birdie. He also birdied No. 15 and parred the other seven holes for a 41-32-73, the low score for the Broncos with their 301 total.
Conant shot the best round Tuesday at 298, but the Mid-Suburban League awards its champion based on a combination of dual meet and tournament results. That left Barrington (40 points) on top of Hersey (38), Conant (36) and Prospect (36) in a four-team dogfight.
"Stepping on the 10th tee I just told myself I'm going to grind it out and make some birdies," Bouchard said. "No more being passive. When you have a 41 you have to put your anger aside and set your mindset to that grind mindset. I'm very happy with the way I finished."
Teammates Owen Naughten (74), Dylan Dunne (76), Brock Dickson (78) and Matt Lee (78) all made all-conference.
"They kept their heads when they got a bad bounce or hit a bad shot," Barrington coach Bryan Tucker said. "They just took it to the next shot. They stuck together as a team. They know the guy behind them is counting on them."
Playing without one of its best players, freshman Chad Tramba (rib injury), Hersey took third at 304 behind all-conference players Tyler Irwin (71), Henry Quinn (73) and Max Sheldon (77).
"Those are great scores," Hersey coach Dan Caporusso said. "We just needed one more score."
Conant's Nikko Ganas finished as the top individual during the MSL dual meet schedule. He added the tournament title Tuesday.
Ganas was the only player in the field to break par with his 1-under 69. The senior played steady golf, shooting 35-34 and just two bogeys.
"I was just scrambling really good," Ganas said. "I couldn't hit that many greens. My chipping and putting definitely saved me."
Nicolas Simon added a 71 for Conant, Aashir Patel 78 and Ayush Patel 80.
Luke Kruger and Nathan Chung both carded 77s for fourth-place Prospect (314). Buffalo Grove's Dori Lee finished two shots back of Ganas with his 71, and Luke Duffer from Rolling Meadows finished in the top 10 with a 76.
Palatine's Pablo Castro (78) and Wheeling's Nathan Feldheim (79) also made all-conference based on their tournament scores, as did Prospect's Cole Lannert, Buffalo Grove's Lee and Ryan Beerheide, Conant's Simon and Schaumburg's Vassilios Davis for their dual meet success.