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54 | October 18, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot SPORTS
newlenoxpatriot.com
Knights girls golf takes third at state, Bolden earns runner-up
Bolden, Curran
make Top 10 at
state for third
straight year
Steve Millar
Freelance Reporter
“Bri and Grace have always made
the rest of the team better. When
you have such great role models
to look up to, it really elevates the
rest of the team.”
Brian Shannon - Lincoln-Way Central girls golf
coach, on the impact of seniors Bri Bolden and
Grace Curran on the young Knights’ squad
While Lincoln-Way Central
senior golfer Brianne
Bolden experienced déjà
vu Saturday, Oct. 13, at the
Class 2A state finals, Bolden
and her teammates also experienced
something brand
new: lifting a state trophy.
Bolden finished as the
state-runner up by one
stroke for the second
straight season, ending the
two-round event at 3-under
141 at Hickory Point Golf
Club in Forsyth. This time,
though, she led the Knights
to a third-place finish and the
first state trophy in program
history.
Lincoln-Way Central
(624) edged New Trier (627)
for third, finishing behind
St. Charles North (610) and
Barrington (618).
Knights senior Grace Curran
(150) tied for seventh,
and junior Carly Schiene
(164) tied for 46th. Sophomore
Caitlyn Parrish (172),
junior Maddie Pyle (178)
and sophomore Sydney
Miron (184) also contributed
for Central.
“I knew we had to go low
to bring home some hardware,”
Bolden said. “Everyone
did their job. We had a
good talk as a team [Friday]
night. It got everyone
pumped up, and we all came
out and gave it our all.”
The Knights finished playing
while New Trier still had
two golfers on the course,
then had to wait to see they
had earned the trophy.
“I’m really proud of our
whole team for stepping up,”
Central coach Brian Shannon
said. “Our younger girls
work their tails off to get better.
I wish we could’ve sent
Bri and Grace out with a
first-place trophy, but we’re
happy to get this one.”
Bolden’s wait was even
more agonizing than her
teammates. When she finished
her round, a secondplace
finish seemed like a
sure thing as she was three
shots behind Benet’s Lauren
Beaudreau.
Beaudreau, though, double
bogeyed hole 15 and arrived
at the 18th hole with
just a one-shot lead over
Bolden.
Beaudreau hit her second
shot into the greenside
bunker but hit her next shot
within three feet and sank
her par putt to win the state
title.
Bolden, a Missouri recruit,
nonetheless was pleased
with her performance, especially
considering she had
been dealing with a back injury
all week.
“It was the exact same
thing as last year,” Bolden
said. “I waited about the
same amount of time [for
Beaudreau to finish] and everything.
I gave it my all.
“I missed a short putt on
the last hole, so that kind of
hurt me, but I played a lot
better than I expected with
my back.”
Lincoln-Way Central’s Bri Bolden strikes an iron shot Friday, Oct. 12, during opening round
of postseason action at the state tournament in Forsyth. Clark Brooks/Photonews Media
Bolden said her back
was especially bothersome
Friday, when temperatures
dipped into the 30’s and
snow fell, causing many
high scores.
Bolden still managed a
2-over 74. She entered Saturday’s
round seven shots
behind Beaudreau before
putting up a 5-under 67 in
the second round to make a
strong bid for the title.
“My back gets bad when
it’s cold,” Bolden said. “So,
the back nine [Friday], playing
in the snow was ugly. I
still shot a [3-over] 39 on the
back in the worst conditions
I’ve ever played in, so I was
happy with that.
“Lauren [Beaudreau] shot
a 31 on the back. For her to
do that in those conditions,
she deserved to win the state
title. I’ve known her since I
was 7 years old, so I’m happy
for her.”
Curran, meanwhile, rebounded
from a 10-over 82
on Friday to shoot a 4-under
68 on Saturday, rising from
a tie for 39th to a tie for seventh.
“I’m very proud of myself
and the fact that I was able to
bounce back after [Friday],”
Curran said. “I knew our
team was still in it and I was
playing for the team.
“The conditions were
tough [Friday, and I was upset
I wasn’t able to handle
it better. [Saturday], I just
had to leave the fear behind,
swing the clubs and see what
happened.”
Curran, a Minnesota recruit,
made an eagle on the
par-5 11th, her second hole
of the day, to begin her climb
up the leaderboard.
“The eagle was amazing,”
she said. “I hit the green on
two and was lucky enough to
make the 30-foot putt.
“It was awesome, and it
was a great way to kick-start
my round. It gave me momentum
to keep it going.”
Curran and Bolden both
cited Shannon’s pep talk
Friday night for helping
pick the team up after finishing
Friday’s play in sixth
place.
“We talked about how we
had a good day the second
day last year,” Shannon said.
“We knew Friday wasn’t indicative
of our team. There
were much better conditions
[Saturday], and I told the
girls it’s a new day.
“All year, we always seem
to turn it around. If we a bad
round in a dual, or a bad
tournament, we come out the
next day and play well.”
Schiene improved three
strokes from Friday’s round,
firing an 81 Saturday.
“[Friday] was pretty intense,”
she said. “I had never
played in the show before. It
was pretty tough. I was content
with my two rounds and
was glad I was able to help
the team.”
Bolden and Curran each
finished in the Top 10 for the
third straight season.
Bolden took tenth as a
sophomore before her consecutive
runner-up finishes.
Curran won the state title in
2016 and tied for fifth last
season.
Though Shannon is sad to
see his two stars depart, he
knows they’ve helped the
younger girls prepare for
next season.
“Bri and Grace have always
made the rest of the
team better,” he said. “When
you have such great role
models to look up to, it really
elevates the rest of the
team.
“That’s what you want
when you’re a coach, for the
players to push each other
and work hard. This was an
amazing team and it was
great to see them finish so
well.”