Plain and simple, it's Peotone again

CAYUGA — Peotone rules.

Led by a medalist 80 by senior Steve Embree, the Blue Devils carded a 352 to claim the 2009 Interstate Eight Conference golf at the Wolf Creek Golf Club on Monday.

It was a "three-peat" for Peotone as far as conference championships go, a remarkable fact considering the school has offered the sport for only four years. Embree repeated as the individual champion after losing a one-hole playoff to Reed-Custer lefty Justin Kunz for medalist honors in 2007.

Embree edged Comets senior Tyler Ricketts by two strokes in the individual battle this year. Embree fired a 77 last year and an 80 as a sophomore.

"That's the roughest conditions I have ever played under," pointed out Embree afterward. "Usually, when there is wind like this I am not playing. I have played just one time when the conditions were this windy. I played my home course, Green Garden Country Club, and it definitely helped me today."

Junior Marc Hrpcha of Reed-Custer won a scorecard playoff with Peotone senior Justin Regas to finish third overall after both players ended with 86s. Coal City senior Jake Van Duyne was fifth with an 87 and Sandwich senior Max Henley sixth with a 90. There were three ties thereafter with places awarded on scorecards.

Jake Fuss of Peotone was seventh, Lucas Burkett of Sandwich eighth and Drake Hislop of Plano ninth with 91s. Ricky Kokoszka of Westmont was 10th, Mark Reardanz of Manteno 11th and Davis Brown of Sandwich 12th with 92s. Rounding out the All-Conference selections with 93s with Joey Gray of Manteno, Ryan Smith of Plano, Kyle Haynes and Nick Brown of Sandwich plus Seneca junior Eric Adkins. Brown actually made All-Conference although his score was the fifth best for the Indians and thus did not count.

Finishing second behind the Blue Devils was Sandwich, with a 366. Reed-Custer was third with a 377 while Manteno was fourth with a 380. Plano was fifth with a 385 and Westmont sixth with a 390. Seneca was seventh and Lisle eighth with a 391. Rounding out the top 10 were Coal City with a 403 and Dwight with a 416 Wilmington was 11th with a 441. Herscher does not offer golf.

"I had to use my imagination to the fullest," said Embree, when asked how he battled the wind. "And I tried to keep the ball down low as much as I could."

Embree had splits of 42-38, tying Ricketts and Kokoszka for low on the front nine and being the only player to break 40 on the back. Embree said both his highlights for the day occurred down the stretch after teeing off on the first hole.

"The turning point in my round was on [No.] 11," explained Embree. "I bogeyed both [No.] 9 and [No.] 10 but then I had a birdie on 11. I hit a good tee shot, a good wedge and then a good putt [on the par-4]."

Ricketts carded an 81 to finish sixth last year, when he kicked off his round 9-over through the first four holes, including a pair of double bogeys and a triple bogey [a snowman] on No. 3.

His 42 on the front was also impacted by a balky start. He had double bogeys on both No. 2 and No. 4 sandwiched around a bogey on No. 3 to be 5-over after four holes. Ricketts birded No. 6 and then added another bird on No. 17.

"What I shot today was comparable to last year, considering the conditions," pointed out Ricketts. "I thought I played well today. Even though my score might not have been as good today, it was not as bad as it looks. I feel I played leaps and bounds better today."

In what way?

"It wasn't any one thing," said Ricketts. "But trying to play the wind today was really tough. It took the ball. At times, the ball seemed to have a mind of its own."

Hrpcha moved up from 14th to third this season turning in splits of 44 and 42.

"It has been like that all year," explained Reed-Custer veteran coach Rich Vana. "Tyler and Marc ... Marc and Tyler. They have been coming through all year. But we had have trouble with our third and fourth scores and today was no different. The guys are not used to playing in these conditions. It was definitely a learning experience for everybody except Tyler. But I was happy for Tyler and Marc. They both made All-Conference but it is no surprise. They put in the extra time during the summer to reap those rewards."

Backing Ricketts and Hrpcha were a 103 by junior Charlie Faletti plus a 106 by either freshman Lance Willis or junior Brett Hess. Sophomore Ryan Johnson ended with a 112.

Seneca was led by the 46-47 for 93 by Adkins. Other Irish scores were a 97 from freshman Josh Rohder, a 99 by junior Joel McDonald and a 102 by junior Steven Beisswenger. Non-counters were 107s from senior Aaron Applebee and junior Nate Coughlin.

"Coming into my first conference meet as the head coach, I was really looking forward to it," said Seneca coach Bryan Erickson. "But the conditions today — to put it mildly — were brutal. I saw Eric on the fourth hole and he had just taken a double bogey. He started on [No.] 17, so it was his sixth hole. He was down on himself but I just told him to grind it out. Do whatever it takes to get your score down and obviously, he fought through the conditions. I told him he had a shot to get All-Conference if he did not count himself out and that ended up being the case."

"Under the conditions, I was happy with what I shot," said Adkins. "And to make All-Conference was a bonus for me. I did not think 93 would get it. But I save a par on No. 6 by hitting my third shot about 250 yards right up next to the pin. That really helped."

Van Duyne was the lone Coaler in double figures with his 87 [44-43]. Senior Logan Murray and junior Ben Aichele carded 105s while junior Alex Eungard had a 106.

"I told the kids before the meet that the conditions today were the big equalizer," said Coal City coach David Sinkular. "What they did earlier in the season wasn't really going to make a difference today. But I was happy that Jake made All-Conference. Considering the conditions, he had a good day. The guys have worked hard this year. They tried hard and that's all I could ask."

"I was pleased ... I guess," said Van Duyne, when asked his reaction to his final score. "I could have done a lot better with my putting and chipping. But everything else was working pretty well for me."

Van Duyne said his best moment of the afternoon took place on No. 14, a par-5.

"I hit my tee shot right up on the edge of the Creek and then I hit a 6-iron about 190 yards right onto the green. I had about a 6-foot putt for an eagle," he said. "I missed, but I still got a birdie."

Scores for Dwight were a 97 by sophomore Pat Gliwa, a 101 by senior Mike Halloran and a 105 from junior Tyler Cockerham. Ryan Kaiser, Matt Grimler and Cal Vigna all had 113s.

"The conditions were tough," said Trojans coach Ben Bailey. "We haven't played in conditions like this all year and we struggled with course management. Now we hope that Michael can turn it around because we are going into regionals next week."