Less than one week after winning the IHSA 2A Boys Golf Regional at Valley View, the Ottawa Pirates added another trophy to their collection during Monday’s 2A Boys Golf Sectional at the Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Club in Rockford.

Senior Colt Bryson carded a team-best seven birdies and led the Pirates with a 1-under-par 70 as Ottawa claimed the sectional title with a final score of 296. The defending 2A state champions, Ottawa edged out runner-up Lake Forest (298) by two strokes for the sectional crown. Bryson took second overall, while teammate Bryer Harris finished in third with a 1-over-par 72.

“I hit my drives really well off the tee and from there, the course was really short, so it was easy to score,” said Bryson, who made three birdies over his last seven holes on Monday. “The wind is always a challenge, especially when its in your face or its a crosswind. The rough got a little thick and the greens sloped a ton, so they were tough to read. We have a lot of momentum and we’ve been playing well all season. We’re ready for the weekend.”

Four players posted scores in the 70s for the Pirates, who will return to Weibring Golf Club in Normal later this week seeking back-to-back state championships. Jacob Armstrong inked four birdies to place seventh with a 4-over-par 75, whle sophomore James Threadgill followed with a 79. Harris birdied three of the final five holes to help Ottawa seal its sectional win.

“The goal is to win this weekend, but it feels good to get it done today and take some momentum into the weekend,” Harris said. “I hit the ball well off the tee and I scrambled well. The greens were very tough to read and they were definitely very sloped out, but other than that, it wasn’t too bad.”

Joshua Armstrong carded 85 and Logan Cottingham fired 86 for the Pirates, who won last year’s 2A state championship by seven strokes. Morris finished 10th out of 12 teams at Monday’s sectional tournament, shooting 330 with four golfers scoring in the 80s. Wyatt Schultz led with an 81, while Braden Wickkiser (82), Connor Barth (83) and Tyler Ranallo (84) weren’t far behind.

“All of us have played the state course a bunch now and we’re feeling pretty confident,” Bryson said. “We know it well and I think we’ll be able to help each other out a bit in our practice round on Thursday. We’ll be ready to go on Friday and Saturday. We did it last year and winning again would be crazy.”

Ben Nicholson, Adan Chiu and Geno Argubright all finished with 87 as the three at-large individuals representing La Salle-Peru at Monday’s sectional meet. Senior Kai Kern concluded his season with an 86 for the Sandwich Indians, while sophomore Jaxon Duke posted a 91 representing Coal City.