Asher Johnson and Crystal Lake Central felt comfortable at their home course during Wednesday’s Class 2A Crystal Lake South Regional at RedTail Golf Club in Lakewood.

Navigating tight fairways and slight gusts of wind, Johnson carded two birdies and led the Tigers with a 3-over-par 75 to finish second individually. Four Crystal Lake Central players posted scores in the 70s as the Tigers turned in a 307 to claim their second straight regional championship. The Tigers won the 3A regional title at Randall Oaks Golf Club in West Dundee last season.

“Today was about being able to scramble,” Johnson said. “My tee ball was all over the place, but I was able to get up and down from a few different spots. It’s our home course, so that helps a lot, but I wanted to come out and play my game since I know what to do here. I’m really proud of my boys today.”

Tommy Laird birdied twice and took third with a 76, while Max Sinha and Sam Sterzik each recorded rounds of 78 to tie for sixth place. The Tigers are one of two Fox Valley Conference teams that qualified for next week’s 2A Rockford Boylan Sectional at Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Country Club in Rockford. Prairie Ridge totaled 313 to finish second in the nine-team regional meet.

“We played well and we won last year, so it’s fun to go back to back,” Johnson said. “I’m excited for sectionals. We played this course a couple of times over the last few days, so I knew how it was going to play today. I made sure I hit the right spots and it’s nice to play how I wanted to.”

Jack Dahlem inked two birdies and fired a 77 to place fourth and lead the Wolves, who battled with Rochelle and Crystal Lake Central for the top spot on Wednesday. Four Prairie Ridge players landed in the 70s, with Andrew Daman scoring a 78 for sixth while Mason Zimmerman and Anthony Pettrone each posted rounds of 79. Pettrone made three birdies on the day.

“We’ve definitely put things together over the last couple of weeks,” Dahlem said. “It’s definitely scorable here, and if you put yourself in the right spots off the tee you can hit wedges close and make putts. It definitely played tough today with the wind, but we all did what we needed to do to move on. My irons weren’t great today, but keeping it in play off the tee helped me.”

Rochelle’s Ian Metzger earned medalist honors on Wednesday, leading all players with an even-par 72 that included four birdies, two on the front and two on the back. Behind Metzger’s first-place individual performance, the Hubs carded 317 to take third as a team and advance to sectionals. It’s the first time Rochelle has qualified for sectionals as a team since 2009.

“It’s nice to see the team finally move on,” Metzger said. “The course played pretty hard and I didn’t hit the ball very well, but it was nice that I was able to scrap together a round. There were a few tight tee shots and the wind came alive for a little bit. If you missed the wrong spot, you definitely paid the price. I didn’t make any big numbers, and I kept the ball in play all day.”

Connor Lewis (80), Alex Dyer (81) and Johnny Chadwick (84) rounded out Rochelle’s top scoring players on Wednesday.

Kaneland fell a few strokes short of reaching sectionals, taking fourth with a 320. Sophomore Dylan Pjesky led the Knights, shooting a 77 with one birdie to place fourth and qualify for sectionals as an individual. Sam Corbett (79) and Jack Frey (81) also punched their tickets and will represent Kaneland at the sectional meet.

“I felt like I was good with my putting and chipping,” Pjesky said. “I had good ups and downs and my driver felt pretty good too. There was a lot of fescue and I got a nine on the second hole, which hurt my score, but the course was pretty nice. I’m pretty excited and I hope I get a chance at state this year. I was hitting the greens and having my putter dialed really helped.”

Cary-Grove placed fifth with 326. The Trojans qualified Conner Lentz (80), Jack Matras (81), Wyatt McKinney (82) and Aleks Kulans (83) for Monday’s sectional tournament. Kulans was one of two players to advance out of a three-way playoff for the final two at-large individual qualifying spots.

“I’ve made it to sectionals twice before and this will be my third time,” Lentz said. “It was definitely nerve-racking, especially coming into the 18th hole when everyone was watching. I shot a 43 on the front, but I was able to come back and shoot 37 on the back. This course is fairly easy if you play smart and the back is a lot easier, so I had a lot of positivity there.”

Sycamore finished sixth with a 336 and advanced two players to the sectional tournament. Gavin Sedevie was the low scorer for the Spartans, taking ninth with a 79 while freshman Easton Goodeill landed three strokes behind with 82 and will join Sedevie at the sectional. Andrew Swedberg chipped in an 86.

“I was driving the ball well on the back nine and hitting greens in regulation,” Sedevie said. “It’s a pretty tight course and it was pretty windy today, but I thought I played pretty well through it. I’ve gone to sectionals each of the past three years and I went to state last year, so hopefully I can go back.”

Sandwich turned in a 345 to take seventh on Wednesday. The Indians will send Kai Kern, who carded an 83 and was the second player to clinch an at-large spot out of the three-man playoff, to the sectional. Nolan Oros finished one stroke behind with 84, while Braden Ballard and Finley Taxis each had 89s.

“It wasn’t how we drew it up, but I made a clutch chip and a win is a win at the end of the day,” Kern said. “I was thinking to just hit the fairway and hit a routine shot. I made sure everything was correct and I set myself up for another shot. I had some ups and downs in the round, but I kept grinding.”

Gavin Greenwald (85) and Zach Schuster (86) led Crystal Lake South to eighth with a 346. Plano rounded out the field in ninth, totaling a 362 with Brandon Ramos shooting an 84 and Quentin Santoria adding a 90.