The Lincoln-Way school district ran away with the top prizes at Wednesday’s Class 3A Lincoln-Way Central Boys Golf Regional at Green Garden.

Lincoln-Way East won the team championship with an 18-hole score of 296, Lincoln-Way Central (308) was second and Lincoln-Way West (311) took third. The top three teams, plus the top 10 individuals not on those teams, all advance to next week’s Lockport Sectional, which will be held at Wedgewood.

Lincoln-Way East’s Tyler Rea finished his 18 holes on his home course with a score of 73, which was tied with Sandburg’s Quinn McElligott. Rea won a playoff to claim the individual title. Other scorers for the Griffins were Nico Mancini (74), Colin Bettenhausen (74) and Carmine Moccio (75). James Hull (80) and Seamus Moran (84) will also compete for the Griffins at the sectional.

“I was pretty nervous in the playoff,” Rea admitted. “My adrenaline was really up, so I had to calm down. I think the best part of my game today was my approach shots and my putting. My approaches got me pretty close to the hole, and I was able to get quite a few putts down.

“We have a lot of guys who are pretty equal in ability. We have a friendly competition out there, and we might make a bet or two. It’s nice to know that if someone is not having a great day that someone else is going to step up and pick them up.”

East coach Jim Nair had a similar feeling.

“Our depth has really helped us this year,” he said. “That’s a testament to a lot of guys working on their game and making improvements. We have played a lot of matches on this course, so we are pretty familiar with it, and that was to our benefit today.

“I am happy for the guys. Our senior captains - Tyler Rea, Carmine Moccio and Nico Mancini - have done a great job of leading the younger guys and showing them what it means to be a varsity athlete.”

Lincoln-Way Central also utilized its depth to its advantage. Entering the tournament, the Knights’ Aidan Blum was seeded as the sixth Central golfer, but he carded a season-best round of 75 to help his team finish second and advance to the sectional.

“Playing as the sixth guy kind of puts a chip on my shoulder,” Blum said. “It makes me go out there with something to prove. I had an up and down day. I had six birdies and a ton of bogeys, too., but I kept my cool and finished strong.

“Our team is like that. Any one can go low on any given day. It takes a lot of pressure off of one or two guys feeling like they have to go low every time out. We know if we have an off day that someone else will pick us up, so we can be more relaxed.”

Brody Wall also shot 75 for the Knights, who got rounds of 79 from Connor Kelch and Matthew Preski, 82 from Ethan Ridings and 83 from Aidan Barker.

“Depth is a strength for us,” Central coach Ryan Pohlmann said. “Aidan held tight. He had it going early, and then got a birdie on 15 and double-bogied 16. But, he went birdie-par on the last two holes, like you would hope a senior would do. He has gotten better every year for us.

“Brody Wall hurt his wrist on a shot on the sixth hole, but he battled his way through and ended up with a nice round. I am proud of all of our guys. They are golf junkies and play a lot together even in the offseason.”

Lincoln-Way West was led by Colin Ladd with a round of 76, while Drake Been and Jack Djulabic each shot 78 and Judd Portwood delivered a 79 out of the No. 6 spot. Also golfing for the Warriors were Logan Kelly (80) and Liam Wills (88).

Lockport finished fifth with a team score of 320, but advanced four golfers to next week’s sectional. Zach Skrzypiec (79), Joseph Eaton (80), Kaden Downer (80) and Jack Frampton (81) all advanced to next week’s sectional.

Joliet Township finished in a tie for ninth with a score of 377. The Steelmen were led by Ryan Cooling with a round of 89, followed by Henry Young (94), Marcos Montes (95) and Cory Jackson and Andrew Markun with 99 each.