FORSYTH — Here are the boys and girls golfers advancing to the IHSA state finals this Friday through Saturday.
Chatham Glenwood locked down a boys team appearance in Class 3A and will play at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington. Ditto Jacksonville in Class 2A after taking second place in the Champaign Centennial Sectional.
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Sacred Heart-Griffin, meanwhile, has the Class 1A girls team title in their crosshairs after coasting to first place in the Rochester Sectional at Lincoln Greens Golf Course.
🏌Boys state qualifiers
➤ Chatham Glenwood (team)
To experience this year’s state finals with the rest of the team in tow means everything to Chatham Glenwood senior Drew Downen.
Last season, Downen individually advanced to the Class 3A finals but the Titans collectively missed a team state berth by just one stroke in Pekin.
Downen not only tied for third place at the Class 3A Decatur MacArthur Sectional on Monday, but the team also finished in the third and final qualifying spot.
Downen shot even-par 72 at Hickory Point Golf Course, while the Titans totaled 306 strokes just behind first-place Washington (304) and runner-up Minooka (305).
“I’m happy that everything started to click today,” Downen said. “It’s kind of been a struggle this year, there’s always something going on. But it’s finally working and I’m so happy that the team played well enough to get out of here because the difference between going by yourself and with the team, it’s so much more fun with the team and that’s what I’m excited for.”
Senior teammate Derek Dulceak carded 4-over for 14th place, while fellow seniors Brayden Muller (78) and Cam Appenzeller (80) rounded out the team score. Fellow senior Jack Turnbull turned in an 85.
Downen won the individual Central State Eight Conference title even-par 71 at the Lincoln Elks Club earlier this season after Appenzeller, The State Journal-Register’s reigning Male Athlete of the Year, won last year’s CS8 title.
Mueller and Dulceak then led the Titans individually with third and fourth place, respectively, for the Collinsville Regional team title prior to descending on Forsyth.
“It is much harder in 3A,” Mueller said. “It’s really good competition. Mentally, just knowing that we’re just as good as these other teams out here. We can compete and that’s the goal.”
Downen, who also plays baseball with Appenzeller, said he especially gravitated toward golf while playing with Dulceak during the COVID-19 pandemic at Piper Glen Golf Club. Both Downen and Dulceak credited former LPGA player Audra Burks for enhancing their game.
“I’ve really dropped the amount of putts that I’ve had,” Dulceak said. “I had a couple poor putts today, but that’s all right because the greens were tough. Other than that, a 76 is solid.”
Downen, who ironed out his approach shots over the past week with Burks, converted four birdies at Hickory Point, including the par-5 No. 2.
“It kept that momentum going for the rest of the round — that’s what I tried to do at least,” Downen said.
➤ Jacksonville (team)
Junior A.J. Charpentier tied for fifth place individually at the University of Illinois Golf Course and the Crimsons missed the team 2A sectional title by just one stroke behind Normal U-High with 301.
Charpentier managed three birdies and finished 1-over 73. Senior Colton Barr also made the top 10 at 2-over. Junior Elias Martin (76) and sophomore Maddux Moore (78) rounded out the team score.
Barr earlier won the individual Canton Regional title at Wee-Ma-Tuk Hills Country Club with a 2-under 70. The Crimsons will appear at Weibring Golf Club in Normal.
➤ Sam Schwab/Tucker Maguire, Litchfield
Schwab missed the individual Class 1A Zeigler-Royalton Sectional title by one stroke. The junior forged a round of even-par 71 behind Effingham St. Anthony junior Jack Swingler’s 70. Schwab totaled 16 pars with a birdie on the par-5 No. 17 at Franklin Country Club.
Maguire tied for ninth place with a 75. They will visit Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington.
➤ Bryce Cowdrey, Raymond Lincolnwood
The sophomore also tied for ninth place at the 1A Zeigler-Royalton Sectional with a 75. Cowdrey claimed the boys’ 14-15 division title at the Drysdale Junior Golf Tournament at Bunn Golf Course this past summer.
➤ Anderson Thielen, Pleasant Plains
The senior posted an 80 for 14th place at the 1A Quincy Notre Dame Sectional at Spring Lake Country Club.
➤ Cade Ross, Beardstown
The senior followed with an 81 for 16th place at the 1A QND Sectional.
➤ Reed Fretueg, Rushville-Industry
The senior nabbed the final individual qualifying spot at the 1A QND Sectional after a round of 83.
🏌Girls state qualifiers
➤ Sacred Heart-Griffin (team)
Reigning Class 1A individual state champion Izzy Hassebrock and sophomore teammate Maddy Johnston just missed the individual Class 1A Rochester Sectional title in a playoff after ending with rounds of 2-over 74 in regulation. Carlyle’s Sarah Hyten prevailed as the medalist.
But the Cyclones easily captured the team sectional title by 37 strokes. Junior Natalie Zak (76) and senior Macie Petropoulos (77) also finished in sixth and eighth place, respectively.
Hassebrock, the SJ-R’s Large School Girls Golfer of the Year last season, not only captured the individual state title with a 3-over-par 147 total at Red Tail Run Golf Course, but the Cyclones also took second place as a team behind Mount Carmel.
➤ Alaina Ervin, Pleasant Plains
The four-time Sangamo Conference champion tied for ninth place at the 1A Rochester Sectional. She fired a 78. She returns to Red Tail Run after taking seventh place at last year’s state finals.
➤ Jersey West, North Mac
The junior tied for 12th place with a 79 at the 1A Rochester Sectional. She previously won the Drysdale Junior Golf Tournament with a match-play victory over Rochester graduate Kiley Torres in the girls’ 16-18 age division.
➤ Lilly Bandy, Staunton
The senior shot an 80 to grab one of the last remaining qualifying spots at the 1A Rochester Sectional.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Springfield IL area boys and girls golf state qualifiers for 2024
