Rockford Lutheran sits today the same place it finished last year — in fourth place at the state Class 1A boys golf tournament, one spot out of winning its first state trophy.
But this year, the Crusaders still have one round to play after shooting 318 Friday at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. Lutheran is six strokes out of a top-three state trophy, but only eight out of first place on a tightly-bunched leaderboard heading into Saturday’s final round.
Lutheran is the only Rockford-area team in contention for a top-three state trophy in any of the state’s five golf classes (three for boys, two for girls).
“We definitely feel like we’re still in it,” Lutheran coach Kevin Flack said. “We didn’t play our best today. But if we play a little better day tomorrow, we can definitely make it interesting.”
More: Jake Guse’s 3rd sectional golf title has Rockford Lutheran looking for even more at state
Lutheran lost half of that six-stroke margin on the final hole. The four Crusaders who counted in their scoring played No. 18 in 4-over par. The other three teams all played it in 1-over.
“If we play that hole a little better (Saturday), other teams may struggle like we did today on that hole,” Flack said.
Fulton leads the 1A boys field with a 310, followed by two-time defending state champ Effingham St. Anthony and Port Byron Riverdale, which are tied for second at 312. PBR, Lutheran and Fulton finished 1-2-3 at the Lutheran Sectional last week.
Fulton Effingham St. Anthony has won six state titles since 2001, plus three more top-three trophies. Fulton has never won a state golf trophy; this is only the third year the Steamers have ever qualified for state and the second time in 42 years. Lutheran’s only state trophy was a third in 2009, but the Crusaders finished fourth last year, have reached state three of the last four years, have a lineup loaded with four-year starters and is making their ninth trip to state since 1998.
More: Boylan regains NIC-10 boys golf team with a young team that will get even better
Fulton sophomore Owen Vanzuiden birdied two of the last three holes and leads the individual race with a 70. Forreston junior Kaden Brown made three birdies and is tied for third at 73. Lutheran senior Jake Guse, a two-time top-10 state medalist, is tied for eighth with a 76. Joey Luna (77), Gabe Harezlak (81) and either Luke Carlson or Nathan Ling (both shot 84) rounded out Lutheran’s scoring.
Class 2A boys
NIC-10 champion Boylan shot 339 Friday at Weibring Golf Club and is a distant 12th place in Class 2A. Two-time NIC-10 champion Cole Beto (79) and Hudson Dahm (82) led the Titans.
Class 1A girls
Rockford Lutheran is in eighth place among Class 1A girls teams, more than 40 strokes out of a top-three state trophy, after one round at Red Tail Run in Decatur. Ella Pieschel led Lutheran with an 85 and Reese Landin shot 89. Lutheran’s top four players are all underclassmen.
Two-time Big Northern champ Amelia Dunseth is the top local individual. The Stillman Valley senior is tied for ninth after an opening 77. She had three birdies, including one on 18.
Class 2A girls
Boylan junior Demi Hampilos is the top Rockford-area girl after one round in the large-school girls state tournament. She shot 74 at Red Tail Run in Decatur. Belvidere’s Emma Pierson shot 79 and Boylan senior Ava Kalt shot 83.
Matt Trowbridge is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at mtrowbridge@rrstar.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @MattTrowbridge.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Lutheran has chance to win state golf trophy after 1st day
