Oct. 18—DECATUR, Ill. — No pun intended, but the St. Anthony girls golf team played like their nickname in the first round of the Class 1A State Final Tournament on Friday at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur.
The Bulldogs fired a team score of 342 and currently sit in fourth place, six shots back from returning to Effingham with a state trophy. Chicago (University) is in third place with a team score of 335. Springfield (Sacred Heart-Griffin) is second at 326 and Mt. Carmel is first at 305.
“They kept fighting,” head coach Tim Krouse said. “We were bulldogs today. It wasn’t going our way, necessarily, but we just kept fighting.
“Our goal this year was to make it to the last day and here we are.”
Sophomore Brooklyn Phillips fired a seven-over-par round of 79. She shot nine-over-par on the front nine and two-under-par on the back.
“I was pretty consistent,” Phillips said. “I just wanted to stay even-par and eventually ended up two-under-par.”
Phillips birdied the par-5 second hole. That was the lone bright spot of her front nine.
She then birded the par-4 11th and par-4 12th holes and the par-3 17th.
“The front nine was a little tough, but the back nine, I liked it,” Phillips said. “I was pretty calm and felt good about how I was playing.”
“For her to make all those birdies today was tremendous,” Krouse added. “It’s just so much easier for the other kids to keep fighting when they see that going that way.”
Senior Addie Krouse shot an 11-over-par 83. She was three-over-par on the front nine and eight-over-par on the back.
“Didn’t adjust early enough on the speed of the greens and it was all just about hitting it on the green and not getting that two-putt,” Tim Krouse said.
Sophomore Gianna Frisbie shot an 18-over-par 90. She shot six-over-par on the front and 12-over-par on the back.
“She just has such tremendous potential,” Tim Krouse said. “She makes so many pars, so we just have to continue.”
Freshman Tesa Ludwig was the final counter for St. Anthony with an 18-over-par 90. She shot nine-over-par on the front and the back.
“A freshman and just continues to get better,” Tim Krouse said. “Hits a lot of great shots and is just building on the Ludwig legacy.”
Freshman Adria Moberly shot a 93 and senior Mia Schwing fired a 100. Both were not counters.
Schwing was battling more than just the course, though.
“Mia had a 102.7 fever 36 hours ago,” Tim Krouse said. “To just get out there and play today; she couldn’t play the practice round yesterday, so just being able to play was great.”
Individually, Teutopolis junior Brileigh Bloemer shot a final round 89 and junior Molly Habing shot a 100. Both didn’t advance to the second day of play.
Effingham junior Ella Tuman faced the same fate. She finished with a final round 90.
St. Anthony boys sit in second, Teutopolis advances to second day
The St. Anthony boys golf team had a strong first day at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington, firing a final round 312 to tie Port Byron (Riverdale) for second place.
The back-to-back state champions are two shots behind Fulton.
Senior Joey Trupiano shot a final round 77 for the Bulldogs. He shot four-over-par on the front nine with a birdie on the par-5 fourth. He was one-over-par on the back nine with a birdie on the par-3 12th and par-4 16th.
Senior Ryan Schmidt and junior Jack Swingler each shot final rounds of 78. Schmidt shot one-over-par on the front and five-over on the back. He eagled the par-5 13th and birdied the par-4 17th. Swingler shot one-over-par on the front, birding the par-4 first and eagling the par-5 fourth. He shot five-over-par on the back with a birdie on the par-4 17th.
The final counter was junior Alec Hakman, who shot a seven-over-par 79. He was two-over-par on the front nine with a birdie on the par-4 second and par-4 ninth. He was five-over on the back.
Senior Dakota Flaig and junior Maddux Clark were the two non-counters for St. Anthony. Flaig shot a final round 80 and Clark shot an 83.
Teutopolis sits in a tie for seventh with Carthage (Illini West) at 328.
Junior Coen Pennington was the low-scorer for the Wooden Shoes with a 78. He shot two-over-par on the front and four-over on the back with a birdie on the par-5 16th.
Sophomore Isaac Weber shot seven-over-par 79. He was two-over on the front and five-over on the back with a birdie on the par-5 13th. Senior Colin Habing shot an 11-over-par 83. He shot eight-over on the front and three-over-par on the back.
Senior Drew Hoene was the final counter with an 88. He shot 10-over-par on the front and bounced back, shooting six-over-par with a birdie on the par-5 16th.
Sophomore Hayden Tebbe and senior Brody Thoele were the two non-counters. Tebbe shot a 90 and Thoele shot a 91.
Effingham misses second day by one shot
Effingham’s bid for the second day ended on Friday when the Flaming Hearts shot a team score of 326, missing the cut by one shot.
Lemont advanced with a 325, edging Jacksonville, who shot the same score but lost on the fifth score.
Max Seachrist advanced to the second day, individually, with a final round 78. He shot five-over-par on the front nine at Weibring Golf Club in Normal and two-over-par on the back with a birdie on the par-4 18th.
Sophomore Leo Wyckoff was the second counter for EHS, shooting a final round 82. He was four-over-par on the front and seven-over on the back.
Junior Cannon Bockhorn and Brody Boehm were the other two counters, firing final round 83s. Bockhorn shot two-over-par on the front with a birdie on the par-4 first and 10-over-par on the back. Boehm shot nine-over-par on the front with a birdie on the par-4 third and three-over-par on the back with an eagle on the par-5 13th.
Sophomore Jude Traub and senior Rayden Schneider didn’t count toward the team total. Traub shot a final round 84 and Schneider shot a final round 88.
Alex Wallner can be reached at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
