frankfortstationdaily.com sports the frankfort station | September 19, 2019 | 47 fastbreak Boys golf Griffins still perfect in duals, take 13th at Providence Invite 4 steve millar/22nd Century Media 1st-and-3 THREE LW EAST TEAMS having success this fall 1. Girls volleyball Jessica Pappas (above) has been an absolute force as an outside hitter. Cierra Gardner, Ali Sorenson and Kaleigh Ritter have provided steady play. The Griffins won eight of their first nine matches. 2. Girls golf Coach Mary McGivern has one of her best teams. The Griffins mix talented youth with experienced seniors and depth is a big strength. 3. Girls swimming Expect big things from the Griffins with sophomore diver Kate Mitchell - who recently broke the school meet record - adding to a talented swim roster. RANDY WHALEN, Freelance Reporter It’s been a strong season so far for Lincoln-Way East’s boys golf team, which is 5-0 in dual meets following a 171-190 win over T.F. South on Sept. 11. Senior Jake Nair, son of East coach Jim Nair, was the medalist for the Griffins on that day, shooting a 41 at Lansing Country Club. The Griffins were then challenged at the 28-team Providence Invitational – one of the toughest regular- season tournaments in the state – on Saturday, Sept. 14. East had its ups and downs there, finishing 13th at The Sanctuary in New Lenox. Nair and junior Matt Kelley tied for the team’s top score with 83 apiece. Junior Alex Goetsch (85), senior TJ DeVries (88) and freshman Dylan Drogemuller (92) finished out the East scores. “We struggled a bit today against a great field,” Jim Nair said. “But Jake Nair and Alex Goetsch shot lower than their average, which was a good sign for things to come. “Matt Kelley and freshman Dylan Drogemuller have led us so far this season to a record of 5-0 in dual matches. Also stepping up so far this year is senior transfer from Arizona, Martin Clancy, and TJ DeVries.” Lincoln-Way Central junior Sean Curran fired a two-under 70 to take third place, two strokes behind Loyola’s Ryan Banas. “I’ve been doing well,” Curran said. “I’ve been getting into the groove of it. Junior year has been tougher at school, but I’ve had fun playing. I like the way my game has been trending. I made just a Senior Matt Kelley has helped lead Lincoln-Way East to a 5-0 record in dual meets. 22nd Century Media file photo few mistakes and had a couple of bogies.” Last year, Curran was second in the state in Class 3A, one stroke behind Lockport’s Ben Sluzas, who finished fifth at the Providence Invite with a 72. “I’m getting ready for the postseason,” Curran said. “It’s a lot of fun playing against Ben and I know him well. Having him in the area is a good opportunity to compete against him and compare scores.” Lincoln-Way Central (316) finished fourth in the team race behind champion Waubonsie Valley (303), Lockport (310) and Sandburg (314). Providence (326) was seventh and Lincoln-Way West (328) eighth. After qualifying for state two years ago, the Knights were unable to advance out of the regional as a team last fall. They hope to make another run for state this season. Their performance at the Providence Invite was a good sign. “To take fourth in a very strong field is fine,” Central coach Ryan Pohlmann said. “We had some peaks and valleys during the season, and we want to get the valleys out of the way now. “We liked playing the tougher competition here and we are excited for things to come. Hopefully we can get through in October and a tournament like this helps prepare us for the regional and sectional.” Besides Curran, the rest of the Knights scores were sophomore Juney Bai (80), senior TJ Edmier (83), junior Nick Tingley (83) and junior Tommy Schaaf (83). Host Providence was paced by a 78 from junior Davis Billows. Sophomore Drew Brasky (79), senior Ryan Hilty (82), senior Trevor Vandenberg (87) and junior Michael Blake (98) rounded out the Celtic scores. “We shot a 326 and we will be in Class 2A this season,” Providence coach John Platt said of his team’s playing in the smaller class this year. “That [Lemont] Regional will be at Cog Hill and the [Hinsdale South} Sectional will be at Prairie Bluff. “In the meantime, I’ve got to get my third and fourth scores up. My top two have been consistent, but I find a lot of teams are having a hard time with that. The top scores are lower but the bottom ones are higher.” Platt was excited to have so much talent at the Celtics’ tournament, and a change was made to present a bigger challenge to the top golfers. “We played the back tees today and it’s the first year we’ve used them in the 19 years I’ve been here and over 20 now for the tournament,” Platt said. “But the field had last season’s No. 1 [Sluzas], No. 2 [Curran], and No. 4 [Waubonsie Valley’s Will Troy] golfers in the [Class 3A] state from last year. So that’s how good it was.” Lincoln-Way West has a new coach in Dan Szablewski. The Warriors, who won a regional title last season, did well with a Top 10 finish. Junior Zack Phelps (79) led the way. He was followed by senior Jason Lange (80), sophomore Aidan Healy (81), senior Ethan Healy (88), and junior Glenn Jackson (90). Despite the strong second-place finish, Lockport was sort of disappointed. The Porters, who finished third in Class 3A last year, have set the bar high. “A 310 score is a little high for us,” Lockport coach Matt Eber said. “We have been getting better than 310 in these tournaments. But I like how we played in these [windy] conditions. We just needed someone to have a better backnine score. But we will be there, we will be fine. I’m not worried.” Listen Up “I just think that we walk out on to any field we play on and think we are the most feared defense in the state.” Jake Kramer – LW East senior linebacker, on a Griffins defense that allowed just 24 points over its first three games tunE in Boys Soccer, 6:15 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24 LW Central at LW East • The Griffins and Knights square off in a SouthWest Suburban crossover in Frankfort. Index 43 - Press Box Picks 42 - Athlete of the Week FASTBREAK is compiled by Sports Editor Steve Millar, s.millar@22ndcm.com.
Frankfort’s Hometown Newspaper | September 19, 2019 PLAYING WITH CONFIDENCE Griffins stay hot, smack LW Central, Page 45 PICKED O<strong>FF</strong> Four interceptions lead Providence to upset at Brother Rice, Page 43 Griffins coast past Bradley-Bourbonnais; Bolingbrook and Homewood-Flossmoor challenges ahead, Page 46 Lincoln-Way East’s Jaron Hacha (97) and Jake Kramer (23) bring down Bradley- Bourbonnais running back Ethan McCarty during the Griffins’ 42-7 win over Friday, Sept. 13. JULIE MCMANN/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
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