High school golf: Manteno edges Streator for ICE boys tourney title

PONTIAC – The Streator golf team came close to being the “top dog” in the Illinois Central Eight Conference on Monday, but Manteno slipped by again on its way to being “top cat.”

The Bulldogs and the Panthers played leap frog atop the ICE Conference Tournament standings throughout the day. But in the end, Manteno’s 6-0 regular-season champions prevailed by 10 strokes, 351 to Streator’s 361, to double up on the league titles.

Coal City claimed third place at 373, followed by Peotone at 379, Lisle 424, Wilmington 432 and Reed-Custer 488.

“It was fun watching the back-and-forth all day, first place, then second place, and I thought it might even come down to the fifth score [tiebreaker],” said Streator coach Dusty Masley, whose team was second in the regular season at 5-1. “But Manteno pulled away at the end, so give them credit … Cole [Park] gave us a great score today. The greens here were a lot faster than what we’re used to and were very challenging. A lot of our guys said they struggled with three and four putts, but Cole obviously handled them well.”

Peotone’s Joe Hasse and his score of 82 – with nine-hole rounds of 42 and 40 – captured the tourney’s individual title, with Streator’s Park and Manteno’s Brody Shepard each shooting 84 to tie for second place behind the conference champ.

Park and the rest of the Bulldogs had trouble with the fast greens the entire day. For the Streator junior, however, that was his only major problem on his way to nine-hole scores of 38 and 46.

“My drives, my approach shots, all of them went smooth until I got to the greens,” Park said. “I got to the back, where all the sudden I couldn’t putt. I had a lot of three putts, and that messed up my round … The greens were really slick, a huge change from other courses … I’m fine with an 84, and I feel good about second, but first would have been better.”

Also for the Bulldogs, Jaydon Nambo fired a 91, Drew Donahue a 92 and Nolan Ketcham a 94 to complete the scoring. Kylen Krasnican and Cooper Spears were just one stroke behind, each with a 95.

“Some of the guys who usually turn in good scores didn’t play so hot today, but some of our guys who are usually a little higher played better today,” Masley said. “If we can get that balanced out by the end of next week or regionals, we’ll be all right.”

Coal City’s Ryland Megyeri, who shot rounds of 43 and 47 to place fifth in the tourney with a 90, was nonetheless named the top scorer with 99 points piled up during the conference’s regular season, edging Streator’s Nambo with 96 points.

“I think throughout the season, I played great,” Megyeri said. “There was a stretch of matches when my short game was going well, and I shot under 40. That surprised me a little bit. … I think today I could have played better, but I guess I still got the job done.”

Also for the third-place Coalers, Ryne Phelan and Jack Varnak each carded a 92, while Dylan Brown and Luke Crater each added a 97. Will McArdie shot a 100.

Hasse was not the only one to shoot well for Peotone, as Miles Heflin turned in a fourth-place score of 90. Following them were Michael O’Connor at 103 and Michael Bettenhausen at 104. Rounding out the team were Mason Early with a 112 and Jake Earhart with a 113.

Wilmington received a team-best score of 91 from Shawn James, with Aaron Burkey not far behind him at 97. Joey Lewsaber and Caius Drown each contributed a 122.

For the Comets of Reed-Custer, Eli Nagel led his team with a 98. Next were Kyle Highland at 112, Chandler Lowe a 138 and Hunter Baxter a 140.

In the all-conference standings, tied for third were Streator’s Park, Peotone’s Heflin and Manteno’s Jayson Singleton, each with 95. Also named to the all-conference team in order were Manteno’s Jace Nikonchuk (94), Peotone’s Hasse (92), Wilmington’s James (89), Manteno’s Brody Shepard (88), Coal City’s Phelan (81), Streator’s Krasnican (75) and Coal City’s Varnek (72).

The girls side of Monday’s event saw Reed-Custer’s Makayla Wilkins post the best individual score with a 90, bettering the 97 by Manteno’s Katherine Gaffney and a 99 by Coal City’s Emma Varnak.

“Last year, I shot an 87 and tied [for first], but I felt I shot much better this year,” said Wilkins, whose sister Dakota Wilkins shot a 129 as the only other Comets girls participating. “I fixed my driver a little bit today, which is good. I got to use it a little bit, but a lot of the shots I hit today were eaten up on the fairways and then sped off on the greens. The greens were pretty fast … but I’m pleased with my round.”

The Coalers following Varnak were Kylee Kennell with a fourth-place score of 100 and Dakota Clubb at 101, good for sixth place. Also, Darcy Ness shot a 135, Cassidy Jenke 163 and Calleigh Vandewerker a 166.

For the Wilmington girls, Claire Lenart shot a 141, Ava Cupples a 144 and Channing Sexton and Emily Geiss each a 145. Peotone’s only girls golfer was Katie Spivak, who carded a 149.