Nazareth boys golf coach Dave Reed didn’t see this coming.
A sectional championship?
That happened only twice in school history, in 2009 and 2013.
Plus, the Roadrunners had not qualified for state as a team since 2019. Heading into this season, there were no sectional expectations. During regional play, the Roadrunners grabbed the last sectional qualifying spot.
“We progressed little by little during the season,” Reed said. “And then we put it all together and played our best round in the sectional.”
Did they ever.
Nazareth shot a 299 on Oct. 7 to win the IHSA Class 2A Lemont Sectional at Wedgewood Golf Course in Joliet, and was the only Class 2A team in the state to break 300.
That capped off a spectacular day for the Roadrunners. The girls team finished second at the Class 1A Byron Sectional, shooting a 351 to finish two shots behind champion U-High.
Leading the way for the Roadrunner boys was junior Gary Musker, who fired a 69. Sam Wilda had a 76. Brendan Belden, Brian Morris and Eddie McNamara each fired 77s with two of those scores counting for the team total.
The girls were led by senior Anna Bukovac’s 84 while Caitlin Sullivan had an 88, Gabriella Giangrande had an 89 and Maryssa Zielinski added a 90.
Both teams advanced to the state tournament on Oct. 18-19. The boys play at the Weibring Golf Club in Normal while the girls play at Red Tail Run in Decatur.
This year, there is a twist to the postseason. Usually, the state meet is on the same week as sectional play but this year it was changed because of the Yom Kippur holiday.
That gives teams and individuals and extra week to prepare.
“On one hand, it lets us work on our game,” Reed said. “On the other hand, we were hot in the sectional and now we have to wait an extra week.”
The area is also sending seven individuals to state meets.
In Class 3A boys, Sandburg junior Quinn McElligott and Lyons senior Anderson Palm made the cut at their respective sectionals.
In Class 1A boys, Chicago Christian senior Joey Charleston earned the final spot to state at the Bismarck-Henning-Roseville-Alvin Sectional with an 83.
In Class 2A girls, Sandburg’s Brooke Adams and Katie Wehlus joins Lyons’ Amelia Van Vuren and Isabella Evans down state.
Nazareth’s girls golf team qualified for state on Oct. 7. Nazareth photo
Chargers, Vikings win flag regionals
The inaugural IHSA girls flag football postseason got underway with regionals last week and the area had two champions.
Stagg won the Mother McAuley Regional with a 20-12 victory over Simeon on Oct. 10 and St. Laurence won the Hinsdale Central Regional, 20-8 win over Sandburg two days later.
The two were scheduled to play in separate semifinal games on Oct. 15 at the Perspectives-Leadership Sectional with the title game being played on Oct. 16.
The sectional champ heads to the state finals at Willowbrook High School Oct. 18-19.
Volleyball seeds announced
The IHSA announced postseason seeds for girls volleyball and the Class 4A Marist Sectional has two local teams that drew top-four seeds.
Two-time defending champion Mother McAuley drew the top seed while Marist is third.
In Class 2A, St. Laurence earned the top seed at its own sectional while Evergreen Park is seeded second at the Kankakee Sectional.
Catalyst-Maria earned the top seed in Sub-Sectional A of the Manteno Sectional and Chicago Christian was seeded fourth.