Jack Van Laningham was dead-set on getting a regional title.

After hitting back-to-back bogeys on holes 15 and 16 to put him even, the St. Charles North senior knew that his advantage over teammate Noah Bruns had gone down to just a single stroke.

So when he went over to North Stars coach Peter Gleason to talk over things, he made his intention for the final two holes very clear.

“He came up to me and said ‘Coach, this is my last tournament, I’m going to win regionals and be a medalist,’ ” Gleason said. “I just told him he was and to go finish that 18th.”

And by the time he did, those aspirations rang true.

Van Laningham ended the day with two pars to finish the day at an even-par 71 to not only earn medalist honors, but also secured a four-stroke victory over Geneva for the regional title at Bowes Creek Country Club.

“I’ve been playing here since I was eight years old, so I’m really happy I got the win at my home course,” Van Laningham said. “And I’m also really proud of the team for bringing home the win. It’s been a while since we won a tournament.”

The win was the North Stars’ first team win at a tournament since 2022, when St. Charles North won the South Elgin regional.

And as the golfers began to tee off at their home course, Gleason was very unsure of their chances to finish on top.

“We hit bunkers, got some doubles and some bogeys to start it off,” Gleason said. “But then they leveled out. I wasn’t keeping track of the scores, but nobody really looked down the entire way. And I think that’s the confidence of being on your own course, you know what to expect.

Bruns ended up taking the runner-up spot in the standings, finishing the day at a 1-over 72. Sophomore Caden Shanahan shot a 3-over 74 to tie for third and sophomore Charlie Perry rounded out the scorers with a 6-over 77.

“I was kind of surprised to see where I was at,” Bruns said. “I looked and saw that we were going to win as a team, and then I saw that me and Jack were first and second. It was definitely a good feeling.”

Geneva, who was looking for its third consecutive regional title, also managed to crack the 300-point mark as a team, finishing with 298.

The Vikings had three golfers in seniors Ben Clairmont, Matt Trimble and Nick Torrence tie for third with a 74. Right behind them were junior Robbie Keller and senior Logan Novay, who each shot 5-over 76 to tie for seventh.

“It’s hard to complain when you shoot a 298 on the day and don’t have a single score out of the 70s,” Vikings coach Eric Hactzel said. “But we’ve got a really deep squad, which is great this time of year. As guys start to fire more and get that low number on the board, it’s going to make them a very dangerous team.”

Probably the most impressive of the performances for the Vikings was Torrence, who revealed afterwards that he played the entire round with an injured chest that he suffered in a car crash Sunday.

“Coming out I didn’t know what to expect. Pretty much every swing I was hurting,” Torrence said. “I just came out trying to see what I could do, and I ended up doing pretty solid.

Batavia rounded out the teams that qualified for the Moline sectional, which will be held Monday. The Bulldogs shot a 318 on the day and were led by senior Ryan Augustine and junior Noah Marshall, who each shot a 6-over 77 to tie for ninth.

“I’m really proud that we held out there at the end,” Bulldogs coach Tim DeBruckyer said. “It was real close coming down to the final four or five holes. But we did what we needed to. We survived and advanced, and the good news is they don’t carry these results over to sectionals, so we can get a restart there.”

St. Charles East (fourth, 327) and DeKalb (fifth, 328) each had three individual qualifiers for sectionals. Barbs senior Tyler Brackemyer was the top individual qualifier, shooting a 6-over 77 to tie for ninth place.

“I mean it was just another round of golf, can’t really say anything different happened,” Brackemyer said. “I was just hitting some good shots. Now I’ve just got some more kids to beat in sectionals.”

Junior Graham Olson (9-over 80) and sophomore Noah Simonson (14-over 85) also qualified for the Barbs. The Saints had senior Anthony Solare (7-over 78), junior Aarnav Patel (8-over 79) and junior Ashton Glisson (10-over 81).