Boys golf: Warren second to Lake Forest at NSC tournament

The Warren boys golf team made a big push for the top spot in the North Suburban Conference meet. The Blue Devils put together one of their best team scores in school history with a 307 at the Veterans Memorial Golf Course in Great Lakes on Tuesday, falling just 3 shots shy of team champion Lake Forest.

Some rain, cooler and wet conditions overnight made the event a bit different from the ideal conditions for most of the golf season.

"Finishing second was the best we've done in an extremely long time," Warren coach Dave Zaban said. "We've been scoring super well all year. Anytime we played 18 holes we've done pretty well. I was expecting for us to shoot well. For us, we're used to playing in tough conditions. Whenever it's windy or raining we're trying to practice. At the end of the day, they had a great attitude by staying positive."

Lake Forest won the meet with a 304, Warren was the runner-up and Stevenson finished third (316). Libertyville was fourth (317), Lake Zurich fifth (318), Mundelein sixth (329), Zion-Benton (seventh) 371 and Waukegan eighth (421).

The Scouts won the title with only one returning player from last year.

"We've been on a good run the last few years," Lake Forest coach James Matheson said, "We're coming into the time that matters and we'll see how well we respond. It was tough out there today. It all matters how well you can play when the weather changes."

Lake Forest's Jack Marshall was the top golfer with a 1-under 71 on the 6,435-yard course. He is Lake Forest's only returning senior.

"I've come out here for conference for four years now; this was my lowest score," Marshall said. "I was happy to break the barrier and happy that our team was able to win as a team. There was tough conditions. It was wet and super windy. Anywhere around par was a good score for me."

Libertyville's Aleks Slesers shot a 2-over par 74, which put him in the second spot among the individuals.

"I just took advantage of my putting. I was really on," said Slesers, who had 4 birdies on the front side on his round. "Hole 9 was the best, I thought. I hit the water (on the tee shot). I was a foot short. I just hit a good shot on the green and left it 10 feet away."

Andreas Ackron posted a 75 and led the Blue Devils with good company from his teammates.

"The course was well-conditioned and the greens were great too," Ackron said. "My chipping, going up and down today were incredible. No matter where I was, I was able to stick my wedge three or four feet away (from the flag). I was able to put three within a foot from like 40 yards. I was making pars and that kept me consistent."

Also scoring for Warren were Anders Johnson (76), Vaughn Hartnig (78) and Alex Welder (78).

Stevenson, which finished second overall in the conference counting dual meets, was led by AJ Goldberg and Maadhav Muralidharan, each with a 78. Tate Donica had a 79 for the Patriots and Dylan Kaplan an 81.

Some of the other top scores posted were: Libertyville's Wyatt Sorenson (75), Spencer Collins of Lake Forest (76), and Mundelein's Kevin Edquiban (77). Lake Zurich's Zack Lawler, Jake Michalak and Noah van Herik each shot 78.