Hall boys place third at sectional, advance to state for first time: Monday’s BCR/NewsTribune roundup

BOYS GOLF

At Cambridge: Hall placed third as a team at the Class 1A Cambridge Sectional at Valley View Golf Course to advance to the IHSA State finals this weekend at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington.

It’s the first Hall boys golf team to qualify for state.

“It’s truly an honor for myself and the kids to make history for our school,” Hall coach Mason Kimberley said. “It may not have been our best regular season ever, but all the players kept pushing themselves to play their best golf at the right time, and it paid off.”

Riverdale won the team title with a 312, while Fulton (312) and Hall (324) also advanced.

“I feel honored to be a part of the first ever Hall golf team to make state,” Hall senior Clayton Fusinetti said. “I feel the team had a rough start, probably nerves kicking in. What really matters is that we locked in and finished strong.”

Fusinetti led the Red Devils at 80 with Noah Plym and Johnni Escatel adding 81s, Joseph Perez an 82 and Jimmie Jablonski (87) rounding out the Hall scorers with Luke Bryant adding a 97.

“There were some holes at Valley View that if you don’t play them the right way, it’s easy to make a big number, but we played those holes smart and got through them relatively unscathed, which was huge for us,” Kimberley said.

The Red Devils will be joined by Bureau Valley senior Wyatt Novotny, who punched his ticket back to state, tying for fifth place with a 3-over 75.

“As always, the goal at the start of the year is to make state, so that’s always a good thing to check that off your list,” Novotny said. “I played well all day today and hit the ball very well. Just a tough last four holes, but overall very proud of myself and how I handled the pressure.”

Henry-Senachwine senior Carson Rowe shot a 78, but did not advance out of a five-man playoff for the final three spots at state. Landon Harbison (87), Jacob Miller (89) and Ben Meachum (94) rounded out the scores for the Mallards (348), who placed ninth.

Princeton senior Jackson Mason tied for 29th with a round of 82, but did not advance.

For St. Bede, freshman Jacob Flavin tied for 63rd with an 88 while senior Caden Carls finished 95th at 96.

Fieldcrest’s Eli Gerdes (80) and Carter Senko (85), Earlville’s Aaden Browder (82), Mendota’s Brody Hartt (91) and Amboy’s Chase Montavon (95) also did not advance.

At Rockford: La Salle-Peru’s Ben Nicholson, Adan Chiu and Geno Argubright each shot an 87 as their season came to a close at the Class 2A Boylan Catholic Sectional at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Golf Course.

Ottawa, the defending state champion, won the title with a 296 to advance to state.

GIRLS GOLF

At Pontiac: St. Bede senior Anna Cyrocki led all area golfers with a round of 96 to place 37th at the 1A Pontiac Sectional at Wolf Creek Golf Course.

Also for St. Bede, Mae Haegenbuch shot a 103 to tie for 67th and freshman Aliyanna Arteaga shot a 104 for 73rd.

Princeton’s Hanna Claiborne was one of eight golfers to shoot an even 100 to tie 53rd place. Teammate Illyana Jones was one stroke behind at 101 to place 61st.

At Pekin: La Salle-Peru’s Mary Craven, Sophia Chiu and Quinn Mertes saw their seasons end at the Class 2A Pekin Sectional at Pekin Country Club.

Craven and Chiu each carded a 99, while Mertes had a 104.

VOLLEYBALL

At Serena: Bailey Miller had seven kills, five aces and four digs to lead No. 7 Earlville to a 25-8, 25-11 victory over No. 10 DePue in the first round of the Little Ten Conference Tournament.

Payton Actis added eight assists for the Red Raiders, who advance to play No. 2 Serena on Wednesday.

In Monday’s other match, No. 8 Indian Creek defeated No. 9 LaMoille 25-19, 25-17.

Fieldcrest def. Marquette 25-18, 25-16: Macy Gochanour had 16 assists, 12 digs and one block to help the Knights to a nonconference victory in Minonk.

Pru Mangan had nine kills and two aces for Fieldcrest (10-14-2).

IVC def. Princeton 25-15, 25-12: Danika Burden, Keely Lawson and Caroline Keutzer each had three kills as the Tigresses fell in nonconference play in Chillicothe.

Ava Kyle led Princeton with six digs and matched Camryn Driscoll with a team-high four points.

Brimfield def. Henry-Senachwine 25-21, 25-12: Brooklynn Thompson had 11 digs, seven points, an ace and five kills as the Mallards lost a nonconference match for their first loss of the season.

Rachel Eckert had six assists, three kills, three points and an ace for Henry (22-1).

Stark County def. Bureau Valley 25-17, 25-22: The Rebels swept the Storm in straight sets in Lincoln Trail Conference play.

Storm leaders were Libby Endress with eight digs, six assists, three kills, four points and three aces, Brynley Doty with nine digs, four kills, five points and two aces and Maddie Wetzell with five kills.