Glen Mehrings has worked with hundreds of high school players over his three decades as head coach of the Rochelle Hub boys golf team. In what is his 31st and final season coaching at Rochelle, Mehrings’ 2025 squad may be the best he’s ever had.

The Hubs are off to a blazing start, posting a 6-0 record in match play and finishing first in the Rocket Invitational at Deer Valley, where Rochelle took home the title behind a division-best 75 from senior Ian Metzger. Two years after failing to win a conference match, the Hubs are a serious threat to claim the Interstate 8 crown this year, which would mark the first boys golf conference title in program history.

“We have five players shooting in the 70s and that doesn’t happen often here‚” said Mehrings, whose team scored 303 during the L-P Invitational at Senica’s Oak Ridge on Aug. 28. “It’s great that we’re hitting our stride early on and we have to keep our goals lofty because we can only get better as the year goes on... Any good team needs to have four, five or six guys who love golf. Our top guys have been the core of our varsity group over the last few years and they love golf. What stands out about our six varsity guys is that they all have talent and they’re all willing to face the honesty of their shortcomings.”

Rochelle made significant strides last season, going 11-3 and landing two golfers on the All-Interstate 8 team. One of those was Metzger, a four-year varsity starter and former Interstate 8 champion who has qualified for IHSA sectionals over each of the last three seasons. The two-time defending club champion at Fairways Golf Course in Rochelle, Metzger has made even par or better in every head-to-head match so far.

“We have five guys who can show up and if one of those guys doesn’t play well, then someone else can step up and help out,” Metzger said. “We were pretty solid last year, but if guys didn’t show up and play well, then we were going to struggle. This year, everyone has improved and we’re really starting to see it... Everyone looks forward to coming out and playing.”

Rochelle’s No. 1 player over each of the last three years, Metzger has been the team’s leader on the links. But the Hubs feature five more upperclassmen in their varsity lineup, three of which earned honors during the Rockford Junior Series over the summer. Junior Alex Dyer, an All-Interstate 8 honoree last year and a two-time IHSA sectional qualifier, is one of those players giving the Hubs a boost this season.

“We have a lot of players who’ve made improvements over the summer,” Dyer said. “Coach Mehrings is very laid back and he’s been able to help us get out of some holes and keep the team together. With it being coach Mehrings’ last year, we want to give him a really good year to go out on... All of us are at the top of our game right now and I think this is the year we can make it to a sectional. Our team is good enough to make a run.”

Metzger and Dyer have consistently fired low scores for the Hubs, but a major key to the team’s early success this season has been the rise of returning juniors like Connor Lewis and Johnny Chadwick, who each played on the Rockford Junior Series during the summer. Chadwick, who nearly advanced to sectionals as an individual last season but lost in a playoff, shot an even-par 36 in Rochelle’s Interstate 8 victory over Morris before scratching a 1-under-par 35 during the team’s nonconference win against Mendota.

“It’s amazing how all of our top guys can bounce back from big numbers,” Mehrings said. “Some of our guys are playing 36 holes a day and that’s how you get better... Ian knows he can birdie every hole, but he doesn’t try to birdie every hole and his mental maturity is one of the best of any player I’ve coached in 31 years, maybe even the best. He knows what exactly what he can bite off and what exactly he should go for. That’s hard for an 18-year-old to do. Ian may make a physical mistake, but he won’t make mental mistakes.”

Lewis, who won the A Flight of this year’s club championship, has made huge improvements as well, carding back-to-back 38s against Morris and Mendota. Currently 2-0 in the Interstate 8 with three conference matches remaining, Rochelle opened its Interstate 8 slate with a narrow 151-154 victory over Sycamore on Aug. 20, when three players shot in the 30s including Metzger, who turned in a team-best 34.

“Coach [Dave] Cartwright and I talked last year about how we needed athletic kids who could make the commitment,” Mehrings said. “We saw that from Johnny and Connor right away. They needed time and they needed to hit some bumps in the road so they could become stronger mentally. Both of them are so smart in the classroom and they have so much support from their families that we knew they could overcome those bumps. They’ve both done that through hard work and they’re both such athletic players.”

Juniors including Owen Carmichael, a third-year varsity starter, and Trenton Cunningham round out the talented lineup for the Hubs, who are seeking their first IHSA regional title in program history in addition to their first conference championship.

Rochelle’s first true test came at the L-P Invitational on Aug. 28, when Interstate 8 rival Ottawa finished first with a 299, outpacing the Hubs by four strokes. The Pirates handed Rochelle its only conference loss in match play last season, beating the Hubs by 19 strokes.

“Ottawa beat us by 30 at the LaSalle-Peru tournament last year,” Mehrings said. “We closed that gap to four shots... Our top five players are right there. I’m super convinced that we’ll have a chance at the regional and hopefully at the sectional. We’ve closed the gap and the next 4-to-6 weeks will be tough, but I believe our guys will be ready and they aren’t afraid.”

Rochelle last qualified as a team for sectionals in 2009, but the Hubs have never advanced all the way to the state championship meet. For Mehrings, who’s also retiring from teaching after 33 years, capping off his coaching career at the state meet would be the ultimate send-off.

“It’d be great to win the conference and a regional,” Mehrings said. “Those are both within our distance... It’ll be tough, but it would be special for our guys because they’ve put the time in and it’d be hard for us to find five or six guys who’ve played more golf over the summer than our top six players.”