Area Well Represented At State Boys, Girls Golf Tournaments

In the Class 1A State Boys Tournament, Effingham St. Anthony and Teutopolis will be competing as teams at Weibring Gofl Club in Normal.

In the Class 2A State Boys Tournament, Effingham wil represent the area with a team.

In the Class 1A Girls State Tournament, Effingham St. Anthony will have a team competing while Teutopolis will have two individuals and Effingham, North Clay (Louisville), Newton and Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg will have a player each at the State Tourney which will be held at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur Friday and Saturday.

BOYS

CLASS 1A

St. Anthony golfers are, left to right, Coach Phil Zaccari, Manaye Mossman, Ethan Karolewicz, Maddux Clark, Jack Swingler, Dakota Flaig, Ryan Schmidt, Alec Hakman, Joey Trupiano, Drake Brown, Assistant Coach Jacob Schmidt.

Effingham St. Anthony

The Bulldogs have been the 1A State champions the last two years and have won six state titles in 22 years.

"Our three senior leaders have been playing golf together for the past seven-plus years," said St. Anthony Coach Phil Zaccari. "They are on a mission and are focused on making history for our program."

Members of the Bulldogs include seniors Joey B. Trupiano, Dakota Flaig, Ryan Schmidt, Ethan Karolcwicz and Manaye Mossman and juniors Jack Swingler, Maddux Clark, Alec Hakman and Drake Brown. Coach Zaccari talked about his players.

"Joey is a past individuial state champoin his ophomroe year, a two-time team stata champoin and this wil be his fourth trip to the State finals. Joey has had an up and down year. His best round was a casual school record of 65 (-7) at the Belleville Althoff Crusader Classic. His overall scoring average is 75.0. He is a strong quiet leader and when he says something, everyone listens. His biggest strength is his work ethic and his even-keel mentality. When you watch him play, you don’t know if it is a good day, average day, or bad day. He is very good at staying “in the moment”, putting the good and the bad behind him and focusing on the next shot

"Dakota Flaig is a two-time team State champion. This will be his fourth trip to the State finals. Dakota’s best tournament was a pair of 71’s (-1) 142(-2) at the two day Mattoon Dick Gerber Invitational. His overall scoring average is 75.6. He is our more vocall eader keeping the team focused on the challenge at hand and always supporting his teammates. His game has evolved over the past four years and he always figures out away to score, even when his game may be a little off. A masterful “grinder”, always finds a way to make par. An extremely hard worker and expects his teammates to do thes ame

"Ryan Schmidt is a two-time team State champion. This will be his fourth trip to the State finals. His first two years he was an alternate and last year was a member of the starting six. Ryan has had an up and down year for him. His best round was a 70 (-2) at the Jon Macek Invitational (Champaign Centennial). His overall scoring average is 78.4.Ryan has matured tremendously throughout his career and has become much better at staying in the moment. He too leads by example and is vocal only when needed. Ryan is extremely athletic and is the longest hitter on the team. Through hard work and dedication, he has improved his short game dramatically, which makes him dangerous.

"Jack Swingler served as an alternate on last year’s State championship team. Jack’s best tournament was at the IHSA Sectional in Franklin where he shot 70(-1) to claim Individual Medalist honors. He also shot a 71 (-1) at the Olney Invite to claim Medalist honors. His overall scoring average is 74.7. Jack plays his best when he is having fun and his personality tells it all. He bounces back very well and always finds a way to make par. He is very good at and even getting better at staying in the moment.

"Maddux Clark served as an alternate on last year’s State championship team. Maddux’s best tournaments were at the Raider Invite and the Jon Macek Invitational (Champaign Centennial) where he shot 73 (+1). His overall scoring average is 75.6. Maddux’s work ethic has made him our most consistent scorer, always in the mid 70’s. He has learned that to score well he must keep the ball in play and he very rarely makes mistakes.

"Alec Hakman served as an alternate on last year’s State championship team. Alec has come on strong at the end of the season with his best score of 76 (+4) at the Belleville Althoff Crusader Classic. His overall scoring average is79.4 but is averaging 76.3 over his last four events. Alec is meticulous in his preparation, making sure he has a game plan and follows it. He is able to adjust as needed He too has a strong work ethic doing whatever it takes to consistently improve

"Drake Brown, Ethan Karolewicz, Manaye Mossman will serve as our alternates at the State finals. Drake and Ethan have seen some varsity tournaments, averaging 82 & 81 respectively. Manaye is new to golf and has averaged 83 with a low round of 73(+1) at the Paris Invite."

"Overall, this is one of the strongest, most consistent teams I have ever coached," said Coach Zaccari. "Our overall team tournament average is 298.5. We finished no worse than fourth in all our tournaments winning six events along the way competing against all classes of competition.

"The strength of this team is that a couple guys always manage to step up when needed. This team takes care of the team. At some point during the year,everyone has been our low man at a tournament. We have very good depth with nine guys who can all shoot better than 77 on any given day. This overall depth is what makes us a very good team."

Coach Zaccari commented on heading to State and what could happen at the State finals.

"The competition is amazing. We hope to play our best, have some fun and then let the chips fall where they may. After all, that is all we can control. The strongest teams are Port Byron Riverdale who won their regional and sectional and is also the reigning State runner-up returning everyone from that squad. Breese Mater Dei is also very strong and have beaten us once this year by just a couple strokes. They finished second to us at Sectional. Teutopolis also made a strong showing at our sectional putting up one of the better scores in the state to qualify and could be in the mix. Other sectional winners Beecher, and Quincy Notre Dame will also be strong competition.Right now, the weather appears to be very favorable. Weather is always a factor at Bloomington. It is Central Illinois in October so we need to prepare for anything."

The Teutopolis High School golf team is headed to the Class 1A State Tournament.

Teutopolis

Teutopolis sends a whole team to the boys State tournament with Coach Mike Wilson

"Our team has competed really well this season," said Coach Wilson. "Monday's win of the St. Anthony Match Play is the first varsity tourney win for us in school history. We led the Litchfield Tournament after 16 holes and got stormed out  Also, we set a school record with a 309 at the Craig Dixon Tournament at Meadowview.

"We have been waiting for everyone to click at the same time, so I'm hoping that happens this weekend.  We expect to make the cut as top eight teams advance to Saturday's final round."

Coach Wilson talked about his players. 

 

"Max Seachrist, a senior is the ultimate worker," said EHS Coach Jeff Schafer. "Max is always at the golf course, rain or shine. He was out hitting punch shots in the pouring rain one day. He has developed into a great player who made it to State as an individual last year and is helping lead us there this year. He shot 70 in the Regional to help us win

 

"Jude Traub, a sophomore, has had a great second season for us. He has been part of that solid 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup. He has won a couple tournaments, and has played some outstanding golf for us. Jude has made two hole-in-ones this season, which is just crazy. He also shot 70 in the regional to help us win the title.

 

"Rayden Schneider is  a senior. Rayden has been in the lineup all year long, battling to stay in the rotation. He has a lot of experience and will give everything he has to help us.

 

"Cannon Bockhorn, a junior, had his career round with a 70 at the Charleston Country Club. He helped us win the Charleston Tournament. He provides us with that third or fourth score a lot of times, and has played very consistent golf this year

 

"Brody Boehm, a junior, has just hit his stride, finishing tied for third in the sectional with a 75, his best high school round. He worked hard to get here this year, and has played great golf this past month, and just continues to improve.

 

"Leo Wyckoff, a junior, has been our three man all year. Leo played his best round at Charleston also, shooting 71, finishing second to Cannon. Leo has counted in almost every match this year, and will be a big part of our success this weekend"

 

The Hearts finished 8-2 this season and tied one match and lost on the fifth score. 

 

"The other match we shot a 153 and lost, so we played really well all year," said Coach Schaefer. "We finished second at the St. Anthony Tournament, Top 10 finish at the Mattoon Invitational, first at Charleston Tournament, shooting a school record 293, first at the Mattoon Regional and third at the Anna Sectional.

 

"The only bad tournament was at conference where we finished fifth,. Three of our five conference teams are going to State.

 

"What do I expect at state?  I expect us to enjoy every moment. It's quite an accomplishment to do what we have done this season. I just want them to play like they are capable and stay the course and battle on every shot and play for each other. It's going to be fun and it is going to be hard. We get to spend three more days together, so I am looking forward to it and just want to thank them for this opportunity. We can only control us, thats what I want us to do. I think if we do that, we can bring home a trophy."

 

GIRLS

 

CLASS 1A

 

Effingham St. Anthony is headed to the Class 1A State Golf Tournament. Member sof the team are, left to right, Tesa Ludwig, Gianna Frisbie, Addie Krouse, Mia Schwing, Brooklyn Phillips, and Adria Moberly. 

 

ST. ANTHONY

 

The Bulldogs will be sending a team to the State Tournament at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur and those include Addie Krouse, Gianna Frisbie, Brokolyn hililps, ADria Moberly, Mia Schwing and Tesa Ludwig.

 

"Each of our girls have a variety of strengths," said St. Anthony Coach Morgan Briggerman. "Addie Krouse is our steadiest player. We can always count on her to play well. She is very headstrong. She has been a medalist at many events throughout the season.

 

"Brooklyn Phillips is also a steady scorer. She is a great teammate and a great player to have. She has also been a medalist a couple of events.

 

"Tesa Ludwig is a freshman this year. We were excited to have her and she has really gotten into the groove the last few weeks. She will do anything for the team! She played very well in the last few meets, and we are looking forward to seeing how she does at State this year.

 

"Adria Moberly is also a freshman, and we are so glad to have her. Adria came into this year shooting well into the hundreds. Last week, she shot a 96. She has improved tremendously this year. She is our most determined player and has so much grit. I know I can count on her to fight in any battle she is in. She is a great teammate and loves everyone.

 

"Mia Schwing is a senior, and she has been great to have the last few years. She is always uplifting and wants to do her best for the team. She is also incredibly determined.

 

"Gianna Frisbie is a sophomore for us. She loves her team and also wants to do her best for others. When Gianna is in the right headspace, she plays incredibly well

 

"I am so proud of how much each of these girls have worked this season. They are a great team who supports one another! 

 

"As a team overall, we won the Williamsville Invite with a 349 and three girls in the top five, won the Charleston Scramble with two of our girls finishing second, won the Teutopolis Invite, finished second at the Olney Invite, won regionals at Effingham Country Club with a 358, and finished second at sectionals at ECC with a 348.

 

"Our girls are very uplifting and depend on each other. They have a great bond. For the older girls, it has been great to have a strong team bond this year. In the last two years, we struggled to pull a team together, so it has been encouraging to know you have girls that have your back. 

 

"This is the first year in three years that we will be back at State as a team. The last time we were there, we placed third. We are excited to return this year! There will be a lot of competition at State this year. Mt. Carmel is a team we see every year, and they have won State for the last several years. All of their girls are steady players who do not fail. Our girls love playing with them.

 

"There are also a few other teams we are expecting to see play very well. We can only control our game and keep our heads down to work. We are looking forward to the experience and competition this weekend."

 

TEUTOPOLIS

 

There will be two girls representing Teutopolis and those include Brileigh Bloemer and Molly Habing.

 

"We have two girls headed to state," said Coach Shannon Hinkle. "Brileigh Bloemer and Molly Habing.

 

"Brileigh will be making her second appearance at State. She is a steady golfer and keeps a level head on the course. She is a great goal-setter and works hard to attain those goals.

 

"Molly is a first-year golfer making her debut at State.She has made great strides and is an excellent addition to our team. She is a quick learner and strives to excel."

 

Effingham High School's Ella Tuman.

 

EFFINGHAM

 

The Hearts are represented at the Class 2A State Tournament by Ella Tuman.

 

"Ella had her best round of the year with an 82 in the Regional," said EHS Coach Jerry Trigg. "She was our scoring leader in almost every match. Her strength is her length off the tee.

 

"When she drives the ball well, she tends to score welll. She has become a pretty good scrambler when the driver is not working so well.

 

"Her love of the game and desire to get better will always be her best attribute."

 

OTHER AREA COMPETITORS

 

Representing North Clay (Louisville) will be Kennedy Jones, a junior.

 

Newton will be sending Haley Ochs, a sophomore.

 

Windsor/Stewardson-Strasburg's Bailey Owens, a junior, will also be competing.