High school golf: Crystal Lake Central takes fifth at Class 2A state

Crystal Lake Central saved some of its best golf for the last weekend of the high school season.

The Tigers shot their best round of the season on Friday, then came back with another similar round on Saturday to finish in fifth place at the Class 2A Boys Golf State Tournament Saturday at Weibring Golf Club in Normal.

Senior Eric Klutke led the Tigers, tying for 13th place with five other golfers at 147.

Central shot 309 on Saturday after a 305 on Friday, finishing at 614. St. Ignatius won the team title with 585, followed by Benton (594), Wheaton Academy (603) and Lemont (612).

“I’m super proud of this group,” Tigers coach Matt LePage said. “We shot our best round on Friday and followed up with a 309, which is well below our season average. I almost feel like we played even better than our potential and to do that in the state finals is something special.

“Our fourth player, Ethan Bass, a senior who averages 89, shot an 81 and an 80 and he is the only reason we’re playing today (making the team cut).”

Klutke and Burlington Central’s Tyson Malak were among the players tied for 13th.

Crystal Lake Central’s other golfers were Bayden Hubacher (152), Christian Wakeford (154), Bass (161), Jack Bice (179) and Charlie Polash (181).

Klutke felt like he could have finished higher individually.

“I struggled both days to be honest,” Klutke said. “I just couldn’t seem to get any putts on line and my iron shots weren’t as good as I would have liked.

“Overall, I’m not mad with how I played, I just would have like to have played a little better. It was nice to be able to end my career down here at state and having the team advance here as well was a plus for sure.”

In the Class 3A boys tournament, Cary-Grove’s Maddux Tarasievich improved his spot from the first round by 15 spots with a 77 at The Den on Fox Creek.

Tarasievich was tied for 78th with an 80 and finished tied for 63rd with a 157.

In the Class 2A girls tournament at Hickory Point in Decatur, Burlington Central senior Maya Gusciora tied for 56th with a 165.

Gusciora, who was the only local girls golfer to advance to state, shot an 84 in the first round and ended her high school golf career with an 81 on Saturday.

• Brian Hoxsey contributed to this report.