The IHSA boys and girls golf state tournaments tee off Friday morning, with a handful of McHenry County area golfers competing at courses in Bloomington, Forsyth and Decatur.
The state tournament will consist of two 18-hole rounds, with the top four scores each day counting in team scoring. After the first day of competition, the field will be reduced to the top eight teams (and ties) and top 40 individuals (and ties) not on the top eight teams for Saturday’s final round.
Here are the local golfers competing this weekend. Starting tee times and more information can be found at IHSA.org.
Boys golfClass 3Aat The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course, Bloomington
Teams: Burlington Central (Matthew Zierk, sr.; Tommy Wyse, sr.; Colin Gritzman, sr.; Brock Wilbrandt, sr.; Evan Sarallo, jr.; Colin Kurz, jr.)
Individuals: Logan Henning, Jacobs, jr.; Chase Garden, Jacobs, sr.; Asher Johnson, Crystal Lake Central, sr.; Will Larkin, Hampshire, jr.
Worth noting: The Rockets are competing at state as a team for the third time in the past four seasons, just missing qualifying a year ago. This will be Central’s first time competing at state in Class 3A. Zierk led the Rockets to the Burlington Central Sectional championship with a medalist performance, firing a 4-under-par 68. Central won the sectional with a 308, ahead of Geneva (310) and Lake Park (311). Also scoring for the Rockets were Wyse (fifth place, 74), Gritzman (36th, 81) and Wilbrandt (61st, 85). The Rockets won back-to-back regional titles and their third straight Fox Valley Conference championship. Zierk (second, 72), Gritzman (third, 75), Wyse (seventh, 78) and Sarallo (10th, 79) scored at regionals, which Central won with a 304. At the FVC Tournament, Wilbrandt led the Rockets with a 73, placing second. Central shot a 302, also counting scores from Zierk (fifth, 74), Wyse (fifth, 74) and Sarallo (25th, 81), and finished one shot ahead of runner-up Jacobs (303). … Henning returns to state for the second year in a row for Jacobs. As a sophomore, he tied for 29th with an 80-74-154. The Golden Eagles just missed qualifying for state as a team, finishing fourth at the Burlington Central Sectional with a 312, one shot behind the third-place finisher. Henning tied Barrington’s Sam Schauenberg for first at the Barrington Regional with a 2-over-par 73. He placed third at the Burlington Central Sectional with a 73 and eighth at the FVC Tournament with a 75. … Garden, a first-time state qualifier for Jacobs, placed fifth at the FVC tourney with a 74, seventh at regional with an 81 and 10th sectional with a 77. … Johnson will be making his third state appearance for the Tigers. Last year he carded an 84, tying for 81st, but did not advance to Day 2. This year Johnson finished 10th at the Burlington Central Sectional with a 77, 17th at the Barrington Regional with an 84 and 10th at the FVC tourney with a 76…. Harkin, making his state debut, finished 10th at the FVC Tournament with a 76, fifth at the Harlem Regional with a 76 and 15th at the Burlington Central Sectional with a 78, advancing to state in a playoff.
GirlsClass 2Aat Hickory Point Golf Course, Forsyth
Individuals: Giuliana Dickson, Crystal Lake Central co-op, so.; Natalie Zimmerman, Jacobs, sr.
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Worth noting: Dickson and Zimmerman will each be making their state debuts. Dickson won the Crystal Lake Central Regional championship with a 3-over-par 75, beating runner-up Rory Sweet of Rockford Guilford by six shots. Crystal Lake Central co-op would have won the regional title but weren’t able to count a team score because their combined enrollment exceeded the IHSA threshold of 3,500. Dickson earned her first trip to state with an 80 at the Jacobs Sectional, placing 17th. She won her first Fox Valley Conference individual championship with a 76, also leading the co-op to the team championship. Crystal Lake Central co-op won with a 341, 29 shots ahead of runner-up Jacobs (370). … Zimmerman earned her way to state with a 6-over-par 77 at the Jacobs Sectional, placing 12th, at the Golden Eagles’ home course at Randall Oaks in West Dundee. She also took 12th at the Barrington Regional with a 77. At the FVC Tournament, Zimmerman was runner-up for the second year in a row, again shooting a 77.
Class 1Aat Red Tail Run Golf Course, Decatur
Individuals: Jordan Cheng, Marian Central, jr.; Miranda Hoeft, Marian Central, jr.; Charlotte Machac, Marengo, sr.
Worth noting: Cheng, in her third season, is back at the state tournament after also qualifying as a freshman and sophomore. Last year she placed 70th with a 91-94-185. Despite it being her second time qualifying a year ago, Cheng was competing at state for the first time after withdrawing her freshman season in order to compete for the Hurricanes’ highly-successful girls tennis team at sectional, which took place on the same weekend. This year Cheng placed runner-up at the Johnsburg Regional with an 81, third at the St. Viator Sectional with an 81 and runner-up at the Chicagoland Christian Conference Tournament with an 84. … Hoeft, a first-time state qualifier who transferred from Huntley, placed fifth at regional with an 84, 12th at sectional with an 88 and fourth at conference with an 87. … Machac, another first-time state qualifier, was eighth at the Johnsburg Regional with a 93, helping the Indians win the regional crown. She placed 14th with an 89 and earned the final advancing spot for state at the St. Viator Sectional in a playoff. Machac placed third at the Kishwaukee River Conference Tournament with a 91, helping the Indians secure the team title.
