Oct. 8—SAVOY — Happy birthday, Maddux Quick.
The Monticello senior celebrated his 18th birthday on Monday by competing at what’s turning into one of his favorite courses, the University of Illinois Golf Course. Two weeks ago, Quick won an individual Illini Prairie Conference title there with a 3-under-par round of 69.
On Monday, back for the Class 2A Centennial Sectional, he posted a 1-under 71 to earn individual runner-up honors and punch his ticket to the state tournament that begins Oct. 18 at Weibring Golf Club in Normal.
“He always enjoys and embraces these moments,” Monticello coach Andrew Turner said. “He didn’t play very well in the regional, and he was going to be on a mission. Not to mention, it was his birthday. It was great to have him finish that high because that’s about as tough a sectional as you’ll find in the state.”
Quick bookended his sectional round with birdies and was back-to-back bogeys on the 15th and 16th holes away from a blemish-free day.
But it wasn’t just Quick who had a solid showing for the Sages. Just three strokes behind in seventh place was fellow senior Andrew Neef. Quick convinced Neef to play golf in eighth grade, and he’s since shaved about 30 strokes off of his scoring average. Before the start of postseason play, Quick called Neef “phenomenal” and added that he doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Neef proved that Monday.
“Andrew’s a No. 1 on most teams, almost every team,” Turner said. “What Andrew did this year was he took a step that we were waiting for him to take. We’ve been waiting for him to step up into that big moment, and he took it up another notch this year. He’s gone back and forth with Maddux more this year than he ever has. He’s always been the bridesmaid, but this year, he was the guy who made Maddux step up his game.”
Both Quick and Neef will compete at the state tournament as individuals, as will one more Monticello senior.
Macy Printy held her own in the girls’ 1A Effingham Sectional with an 84, good enough for 11th place. She was on the hot seat as one of the last golfers projected to advance going into her final four holes. Already at 13 over par, it appeared that one more bogey would likely end her chances. Instead, she recorded three straight pars and ended with a birdie — she hadn’t birdied all day at Effingham Country Club — to secure her spot at state.
“She looked like she was teetering for a little bit but had a great finish,” Turner said. “I couldn’t be prouder of that group of girls for battling at a really tough course. They battled all the way through, and Macy had her best day on the right day.”
That trio of Sages highlighted a day that saw zero area teams move on to state. The Mahomet-Seymour boys got the closest, finishing one shot ahead of Monticello for sixth place but eight shots behind the last advancing team. The Bulldogs’ season average team score of 308 would have been just enough to make it, but M-S coach David Sebestik said, “we just didn’t have it.”
“That’s golf,” Sebestik said. “If we played our normal round, we felt like we had a chance to put some pressure on people. It was definitely something we feel like we could have achieved. It’s a bit of a sour end to our season, especially because we felt like we were hitting our stride the last week or so.”
M-S is, however, sending senior Reis Claybrooke to state, even if it was by the slimmest of margins. Fresh off an individual 2A Danville Regional title, the reigning News-Gazette Boys’ Golfer of the Year shot the same score of 76 to place 12th at the sectional. One shot worse, and the only way in would be by winning a playoff. Luckily, the postseason is all about surviving and advancing, which Claybrooke did.
“I’m sure it does feel a little bit like, ‘At least I made it back to state. I accomplished one of my goals, and now I can just go out there and try to execute,'” Sebestik said. “Reis has all the skills to be one of the top golfers in the state, and I feel like he is talent-wise. I’d bet on him doing extremely well. He’s an extremely talented individual, and he has the ability to win state.”
Also advancing out of the Centennial Sectional was Prairie Central’s Easton Friedman, who tied Claybrooke.
Fisher’s Ethan McFarling finished ninth at the 1A Bismarck Sectional with a 78 to move on. LeRoy’s Brycen Umstattd tied for 11th at the 1A Quincy Notre Dame Sectional with a 79. The 1A boys’ state tournament begins Oct. 18 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington.
On the girls’ side, Sullivan’s Shae Ellis and St. Thomas More’s Ashley Wells joined Printy as area state qualifiers out of the Effingham Sectional. Ellis shot an 85 for 11th place, and Wells had to win a tiebreaker with Villa Grove’s Ella Schweighart after they both shot 90. Hoopeston Area’s Taylor Page also advanced via playoff after shooting a 96 at the 1A El Paso-Gridley Sectional.
The 1A girls’ state tournament tees off Oct. 18 at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur.
