Lutheran survives horrible conditions, in contention for boys state golf title
Rockford Lutheran made the first-day cut at Friday's IHSA state golf tournament, surviving tough conditions to put itself in position to win only its second top-three trophy in program history.
And maybe even its first title.
Lutheran shot 319 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington and is in third place in the 1A team standings. While three other teams are within eight strokes of Lutheran, the Crusaders are only eight strokes behind leader Effingham St. Anthony and seven behind second-place Port Byron Riverdale, the team it beat to win sectionals last week.
“The team that’s leading teed off in front of us, and the weather got brutal,” Lutheran coach Kevin Flack said. “We had to play six holes more than them in 40 mile an hour winds and rain. I am really proud of how our team hung in there.
“All we wanted to do was get to Day 2. We did that. Now the boys are excited and have a chance to win tomorrow.”
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NUIC champ Thomas Hereau of River Ridge shot a 2-under-par 70 to take the individual lead.
Lutheran junior Jake Guse, who was fourth last year and took second in the Men’s City this summer, is tied for seventh after an opening round 75.
Joey Luna, the Big Northern champ, was second for Lutheran with a 79. Sophomore Gabe Harezlak (81) and junior Luke Carlson (84) rounded out Lutheran’s scoring Friday.
Class 2A boys
Byron, bumped up to Class 2A for the first time, shot 326 at Weibring Golf Club in Normal to make the top-eight cut, edging out Lemont on the fifth-man tiebreaker. The entire field was tightly bunched. Byron is only 13 strokes out of second place.
Cooper Mershon led the Tigers with a 79, followed by Maison Brandt at 80, Aaron Lorenz at 81 and Davis Baker at 86. Sophomore Cason Newton shot 87 to provide the tie-breaker win.
NIC-10 champion Cole Beto of Boylan shot an opening 84.
Class 2A girls
Boylan senior Eva Greenberg shot 77 at Hickory Point in Decatur and is tied for 12th. Belvidere junior Emma Pierson shot 84 and is tied for 52nd.
Class 1A girls
Stillman Valley junior Amelia Dunseth shot an opening 87 at Red Tail Run in Decatur and is tied for 35th. She is the only local golfer in the top 50.
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Lutheran in contention for IHSA state golf title
