NL_092718

46 | September 27, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot SPORTS
newlenoxpatriot.com
Boys Golf
Warriors post best round of season on Senior Night
Team has high
aspirations heading
into regionals
James Sanchez, Editor
A back injury kept senior
Collin Phelps from playing
golf for 10 days.
Lincoln-Way West’s Senior
Night on Sept. 18 was
his first time swinging a
club since suffering that injury.
Against Plainfield East
at The Sanctuary, he didn’t
know what to expect.
“My mentality for today
was just to enjoy it and not
care what I shoot because no
one was expecting me to do
good having been out a week
and a half,” Phelps said.
As some golfers may take
a round or two to work back
to normalcy on the golf
course, it only took Phelps
a few shots. The four-year
varsity member carded a
38, which is under his scoring
average of 38.5, to contribute
to a winning score of
151-193 over the Bengals.
“I kept my swing and
didn’t really over swing because
my back still hurts
a little bit,” he said. “I just
kept calm.”
The team’s only other senior,
Dylan Adair, fittingly
was the medalist on Senior
Night with a 36 (even par).
Phelps’ younger brother,
Zack, was second on the
team with a 37, and a 40 was
the fourth posted score by
both Jason Lange and Ethan
Healy.
The 151 total was the
team’s lowest of the year
for the Warriors (7-1-1).
The previous low was a 152
against Lockport earlier this
month.
Collin said this is the best
team in his four years in the
program. A lot has changed
since he was a freshman,
serving as the No. 1 player
averaging around 45 and the
other posted scores ranging
from the high 40’s and
the low 50’s. On top of his
own improvement, cutting
seven strokes from his ninehole
average since then, another
boost to the team has
been his brother, Zack. The
sophomore is the team’s No.
1 golfer with a scoring average
of 37. He’s posted two
even-par rounds in duals this
season. Last year, he was the
lone sectional qualifier for
the Warriors, posting a 78
a regionals. There’s no sibling
rivalry between the two,
Collin said. It’s more about
helping his younger brother
become the best he can be.
“I realize I get to take the
pressure off him as a player
and that’s something I didn’t
really have when I was a
freshman,” Collin said. “He
is evidently so much better
than I was when I was his
age, and I’m excited to see
how he turns out when he
gets older. He’s going to be
a great player when he’s my
age.”
Zack isn’t the only Warrior
with postseason experience.
Collin played in a 2A
sectional as a freshman and
a 3A sectional two years ago
when the Warriors qualified
as a team by one stroke at
the Joliet Central Regional.
Adair was also part of that
sectional lineup in 2016.
Adair is among the top
scorers with a 38.5 average.
Lange and Healy both average
40, and No. 6 player,
Nick Hamilton, averages 42.
Coach Donna Thompson,
who is retiring at the end
of the year, said this is the
deepest team she’s had in her
golf coaching career.
“They’re so much fun and
they all love golf,” she said.
“I never have to get them to
the course. “If they keep up
these scores, we’ll see. I’ll
Warriors No. 1 golfer Zack Phelps sinks a birdie putt on the final hole to card a 37 at Lincoln-Way West’s Senior Night on
Sept. 18 against Plainfield East. Photos by James Sanchez/22nd Century Media
be happy if we go to sectionals
as a team. The bus ride
will be much more fun and
easy.”
West will join a star-studded
cast at the Joliet Central
Regional Tuesday, Oct. 2 at
Inwood Golf Course in Joliet.
SWSC leader Lockport,
Lincoln-Way Central, Lincoln-Way
East, Providence
and Homewood-Flossmoor
are some of the teams in the
nine-school field vying for
the Top 3 spots to advance
to sectionals in Edwardsville.
“I think we can make a
run at it, actually,” Collin
said about the postseason.
“We could make it out of
regionals if we all show up
and play our game. I’m excited
to see what we come
up with in regionals and
sectionals.”
Jason Lange eyes his putt on the ninth hole at The Sanctuary.