Oct. 21—BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The history books were re-written over the weekend and the St. Anthony boys’ golf team was a part of the text.
Dating back to 1975, when the class system was installed in Illinois, only five teams had won three straight state championships: Carmi, Monmouth, Normal (University), Arlington Heights (St. Viator) and Hinsdale (Central).
The Bulldogs became the sixth team on Saturday afternoon when they won the program’s seventh state championship after edging Fulton and Port Byron (Riverdale) in the Class 1A State Final Tournament at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. St. Anthony finished with a team score of 612. Fulton was second at 619 and Riverdale was third at 621.
“Since the celebration last year, these seniors and juniors have been on a mission,” head coach Phil Zaccari said. “They’ve been working toward this.
“Kudos to them because it made my life easier.”
Zaccari has been the orchestrator behind all seven state championship teams.
Even he said the three-peat may not sit in right away, though.
“Three-peats won’t sit in for them, and maybe not sit in for me, until after we’re done and you look back and go, ‘Oh wow, we did something cool,'” Zaccari said.
Zaccari won two state championships in a row in 2001 and 2002. St. Anthony advanced in 2003 but finished in eighth place.
The Bulldogs trailed by two strokes at the end of the first round, tying with Riverdale for second. Fulton was in the lead with a team score of 310.
“We had a little discussion (Friday) and I said, ‘Look guys, you have a chance to make history,'” Zaccari said. “I said, ‘You guys are good enough; the only team that can beat us is us and you know that, so you have to take care of business.'”
Message answered.
St. Anthony was 12 shots better on the second day, firing a team score of 300.
Five players finished with rounds in the 70s.
Senior Joey Trupiano carded a five-over-par 77. He was four-over on the front nine with a birdie on the par-5 fourth and one-over on the back with birdies on the par-3 12th and par-4 17th.
“It was a shaky day all around,” Trupiano said. “The putter was not working today, so I had to earn every par I made and the lucky birdies I had.”
Trupiano finished 10th individually. He was one-over after the first round on Friday when he signed for a one-over-par 73.
“He likes Prairie Vista,” Zaccari said. “When he was a freshman on Day 1, he was our No. 1 out of the gate, so he was playing with all the big boys. The course sets up for him. He hits it very far, but he’s got such good hands and the greens, generally, roll very true; he’s a good putter and has very good touch.”
Trupiano said he could have putted better on the second day but didn’t really mind once everything was completed.
“I don’t care how I did individually,” Trupiano said.
The plan went just as he had hoped. Trupiano is ending his career with a third state championship.
He enjoyed his last one the most, too.
“I personally think this one means the most because in the past, our coach has had teams win twice in a row, but never three times,” Trupiano said. “I think that’s a special feat; our team deserved it.”
Junior Jack Swingler finished 16th with a two-day total of 152.
He shot a six-over-par 78 on the first day and a two-over-par 74 on the second. Swingler was even-par on the front nine on Saturday, parring every hole. He then found a birdie on the par-4 11th and the par-4 14th.
“The first day could have been a lot better, but I came out with a completely different mindset the second day,” Swingler said.
Last year, Swingler was on the state championship team, just as an alternate.
He made sure he was a part of the scoring this time around.
“It’s pretty crazy; getting a win feels good,” Swingler said.
Zaccari noted Swingler’s demeanor on the course.
“He’s got the right temperament to the point where nothing seems to faze him,” he said. “He’ll get a double bogey and then, he’ll get a birdie.”
Senior Ryan Schmidt was 20th individually with a two-day total of 155.
Schmidt shot a six-over-par 78 on the first day and a five-over-par 77 on the second. He shot two-over-par on the front nine on Saturday with birdies on the par-5 fourth and par-5 seventh.
The putter got hot for Schmidt on the back nine as he birdied four holes, including three in a row on his last three holes.
“I’ve known Ryan forever,” Zaccari said. “He is one heck of an athlete and that shows, as he was all-state in basketball, and finished top 20 in golf. His length on the course helps him to the point where he’s hitting pitching wedges into par-5s. Who does that?”
Schmidt was able to share this state title with his brother, Jacob, along for the ride, as well, just as they did one year ago. Jacob is the team’s assistant coach. Ryan was an alternate when they won the first of three. He earned a spot in the top six as a sophomore, making it much more special.
“It means everything. He puts in all of the work,” said Jacob of Ryan. “I give him a hard time all of the time and it means a lot to be able to go out there and watch him have this success throughout his high school career.”
Like Trupiano, Ryan wanted this state title more than anything.
“The last four years we’ve been up there, we’ve done the same thing; we’ve hit wedge shots, checked putting and where pin placements are,” Ryan said. “We just play our game and do what we do.
“We wanted the three-peat.”
Senior Dakota Flaig contributed the fourth-lowest two-day score for the Bulldogs with a 158.
Flaig shot eight-over-par on the first day and six-over-par on the second.
“Yesterday’s round was not too bad, but the putter was a little cold,” Flaig said.
Zaccari said Flaig will always “move forward,” no matter the scenario.
He’s the prototypical “grinder” on the golf course.
“Dakota is like a bulldog,” Zaccari said. “He’s going to move forward. Things get a bit off, but he will try and push through it, which helps. He was probably expecting some other things, but he has been such a force for us these past four years and has grown and become that vocal leader.”
This is the third time in his four years that Flaig has played Prairie Vista. The team finished fourth when he was a freshman. Flaig missed out on the top six as a sophomore before returning to the mix as a junior and senior.
“Winning three means a lot,” Flaig said. “It’s school history and something that will forever belong to me and belong to the school.
“Nobody can take it away from us.”
What no one can also never take from him is the gold he will have.
“It’s fancy and shows you’re a winner,” Flaig said.
Junior Maddux Clark finished in a tie for 30th individually at 159 over his two days, while fellow junior Alec Hakman was in a tie for 50th at 166 over two rounds.
“It was nice being a part of it and counting the second day,” Clark said.
Clark shot 11-over-par on the first day.
He rebounded to shoot four-over on the second. Clark was two-over on the front nine and the back nine.
Hakman shot seven-over-par on the first day and 15-over-par on the second.
The rough second day aside, Zaccari knows the future is bright for Hakman and the rest of his junior class.
“All those juniors: Jack, Alec, Maddux, Drake (Brown), they’re range rats,” Zaccari said. “They love the game and love to play. They’re always trying to get better and competing with each other, which showed in their performance.”
The expectations for the golf team every year are always high.
The way each player works is a reason for those lofty goals.
“These boys work endlessly on golf,” Jacob said. “Every time they get together, they golf and talk about golf.”
How Zaccari puts his teams in a position to be successful starts with the challenging schedule.
“There are a lot of schools that play a heavy schedule regarding invitationals and stuff like that, but I don’t know how many of them try to play as many two-day ones,” Zaccari said. “We know how to get ready for the next day.”
Zaccari said the schedule has only helped his team, with this past weekend showing that, despite the slow start on Friday.
But it’s never about how you start. It’s about how you finish.
And, for the third-straight year, St. Anthony finished as any dynasty would finish — with a state championship trophy.
Alex Wallner can be reached at 618-510-9231 or alex.wallner@effinghamdailynews.com.
