Bulldogs Head To State, Hearts End Season

St. Anthony qualified for the IHSA State Finals by placing third at the Trenton Wesclin Sectional. Members of the St. Anthony squad are, left to right, Luke Ludwig, Dylan Ferguson, Zac Wortman, Nathan Schultz Jayden Rios, Ben Strullmyer and Ethan Rozene.

CARLYLE -- Effingham St. Anthony High School's men's golf team qualified for the Class 1A State Golf Finals by placing third at the Trenton Wesclin Sectional Monday.

Mount Carmel claimed the title at Governor's Run with 310 followed by Hillsboro 320, St. Anthony 326, Waterloo Gibault 343, McLeansboro 349, Eldorado 351, Red Bud 352, Campbell Hill Trico 353, Nashville 357, Anna-Jonesboro 358, Litchfield 371 and Raymond Lincolnwood 380. Mount Carmel's Blake Golden was medalist on the day with a 72.

This is the 15th State Finals appearance for the Bulldogs in the past 19 years. St. Anthony was led by Luke Ludwig whose 36-41 -- 77 tied him for fourth place individually.

Also scoring for the Bulldogs were Nathan Schultz 38-42 -- 80, Ben Strullmyer 39-45 -- 84 and Zach Wortman 46-39 -- 85. Other scores were Dylan Ferguson 41-44 -- 85 and Ethan Rozene 54-50 -- 104.

The Bulldogs will head to Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington this Friday and Saturday for Class 1A State competition.

At Salem

Effingham High School's season came to an end in the Class 2A Salem Sectional.

Charleston won the title with 307 followed by Belleville Althoff Catholic 309, Quincy Notre Dame 312, Carbondale 314, Alton Marquette 318, Benton 320, Mattoon 326, Centralia 326, Highland 332, Breese Mater Dei 334, Metropolis Massac County 337 and Effingham 354. Medalist was Mount Vernon's Zach Williams with a 70.

Scoring for the Hearts were Jacob Sigg 44-40 -- 84, Aiden Beck 45-39 -- 84, Tate Niebrugge 40-47 -- 87 and Brett Koester 48-51 -- 99. Non-counters were Ryan Sandifer 58-47 -- 105 and Colby Heaton 56-62 -- 113.

"Our season ended today at the sectionals," said EHS Coach Jeff Schafer. "We started on the back nine and played pretty well, but could not sustain it on the front side.

"We had a heckuva year based on where we started the season.  I am as proud of this team as about any I have had the pleasure of coaching, because of that progress that we made. We surpassed our expectations for sure.

"Jacob Sigg really stepped up his play. I had to remind Ryan several times today that his play in the regional is why we made it to the sectional. He struggled today, but has had a really good career for us and played through his injury at the end of the year. Brett Koester was an absolute pleasure to have around this season playing for the first time, he made huge strides as did junior Colby Heaton.

"Our two sophomores, Aiden and Tate, showed some real flashes today, both playing very well at times, and they both knocked off 10 shots per round from last year, so I am very pleased with the progress this team made all year long. Today was actually our third lowest 18 hole score of the year to put it in a little better perspective."