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mokenamessenger.com sports
the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 55
fastbreak
Boys Golf
Adjusting to conditions ‘Central’ to Knights’ victory
22nd Century Media File
Photo
1st-and-3
Top Central
standouts
1. Grace Curran
(ABOVE)
The sophomore
went way low at
the SWSC Red
Tournament Sept.
28, shooting a
4-under-par 68 to
win medalist honors
and help her team
to a victory.
2. EJ Charles
Charles earned
second place
individually with an
81 en route to a
team victory at the
boys golf SWSC Red
Tournament Sept. 27.
3. Brianne Bolden
With a 2-over 74,
Bolden secured
second place at
the SWSC Red
Tournament. This
second-place finish
was a strong followup
to her individual
victory at last year’s
tournament.
LWC takes
conference
championship in
Kankakee Sept. 27
Tim Carroll, Editor
They were the favorites
going in, and they were the
winners coming out.
The Lincoln-Way Central
Knights boys golf team once
again found itself victorious
in the Southwest Suburban
Conference Tournament after
18 holes at the Kankakee
Elks Country Club Tuesday,
Sept. 27.
Conditions were less than
ideal. Although the sun
shone, there was a steady
breeze and the occasional
gust to blow golf balls off
course with no warning.
“When I’m sitting there
watching approach shots
come in and they’re going
right at the flag, and they’re
getting blown at least 10
yards either to the left or to
the right, it’s hard to play
that shot,” Andrew head
coach Wally Zukowski said.
“So, the conditions were extremely
tough.”
And the difficulty of the
golf course--especially the
putting surfaces--provided a
harrowing challenge in itself.
“To have the [right] speed
when some of the greens,
it’s like they buried dead elephants
underneath them...
putting is always the one
thing that is crucial,” Central
head coach Ryan Pohlmann
said. “But I thought our guys
managed it well.”
As a team, Central was
best equipped to overcome
the conditions, as its combined
team score of 329 won
the Knights their second consecutive
conference victory.
Second place belonged to
Lincoln-Way East, with its
336. The third-place Andrew
Thunderbolts (350) were not
too far behind. Bringing up
the rear were Lincoln-Way
West (362) and the tournament’s
host, Bradley-Bourbonnais
(372).
Central’s top scorer, EJ
Charles, who took second
place individually with an
81, said he had to adjust his
game because of the wind.
“I tried to keep the ball
low,” Charles said. “I’ve
been working on that during
the school year, hitting the
ball low and not hitting such
a high shot, and I think that
helped a lot.”
Charles was not nearly
alone in his team’s winning
effort. Each of his three
teammates who combined
with Charles to post the winning
team score was also
in the Top 10. Senior Jason
White and junior Ryan Nolan
would have tied for third
place with their matching
82s, but a scorecard playoff
gave White third place and
Nolan fourth place. Dylan
Gordon, a junior who won
the junior varsity conference
championship a year
ago, placed seventh with his
EJ Charles, who finished second individually in the
tournament, lines up a putt during Lincoln-Way Central’s
conference championship victory Tuesday, Sept. 27 at
Kankakee Elks Country Club. Photos by Tim Carroll/22nd
Century Media
84. Senior Trent Sorensen,
whose score the team did not
even need to take home the
championship, took ninth
place with his round of 85.
Individually, the conference
champion was Lincoln-
Way East junior Kevin Bullington,
whose 78 was the
only score in the 70s at the
Elks Country Club.
“I played [Elks] freshman
and sophomore year, and I
didn’t play very good,” Bullington
said. “But I guess
something clicked this year.
I’ve been playing a little better
this year.”
“I’m just really happy
for Kevin to win this,” East
head coach Jim Nair said.
“This is his first overall win.
He’s just a great kid, and he’s
worked really hard for it.”
Bullington was joined in
the Top 10 by East senior TJ
Goetsch, whose 83 earned
him sixth place. Nair said
that he feels confident going
into the Illinois High School
Association regional tournament
because Bullington
and Goetsch have been his
team’s anchors.
For the Andrew team, junior
Mohan Raval and senior
Sean McKernan led the way.
The two shot matching 85s,
but Raval got the edge in the
scorecard playoff to get the
bump to eighth place, while
McKernan finished in 10th
place.
Zukowski said he was
proud of his Andrew team
because of the way they
worked through the lessthan-ideal
conditions.
“I think the boys battled as
best as they possibly could,”
he said. “The number that we
posted isn’t a great indication
of how well we have played
throughout the season. Today’s
conditions were extremely
hard, and so the boys
fought from the beginning
until the end, and I’m happy
with their output.”
Although Lincoln-Way
West would have preferred
an even better finish, its move
to fourth place was still a step
in the right direction compared
to last year, when the
Warriors came in last.
“We got three medals today,
[and] we haven’t had
a medal in three or four
years,” Warriors coach Donna
Thompson said.
Tyler Hubbs was the leader
for West, posting an 85
Senior Central golfer Alex
Schiene sends his putt to
the cup on his penultimate
hole of the round.
that earned him fifth place
individually.
“Today, I played my best
round I ever have, so I was
really proud about that,”
Hubbs said.
Central, East, Andrew and
West will all be competing
in the IHSA regional tournament
at Wedgewood Golf
Course in Plainfield Oct. 4.
Listen Up
“I have the best of both worlds. I get to set and hit, and
so I get to be a part of every different part of the play.”
Kylie Kulinski — Lincoln-Way Central girls volleyball player, on being
the team’s primary setter last year to an all-around player
TUNE IN
Football
7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7
• The Lincoln-Way Central football team will
look to resume its winning ways with a
tough road matchup against Bolingbrook.
Index
49 – Athlete of the Week
49 – This Week In
FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor Tim Carroll. Send any
questions or comments to tim@mokenamessenger.com, or
call (708) 326-9170 ext. 48.