Low Leads Wildkit Golfers To Sectional Berth

Lester Low did it again.

The Evanston sophomore became the first golfer in school history to capture back-to-back regional tournament championships at the Class 3A Loyola Academy Regional Wednesday, firing a 3-under-par 67 and leading the Wildkits to a second place finish in the team standings.

Low and the entire Wildkit team punched a ticket to next week’s Illinois High School Association sectional tourney, which will be hosted by Payton Prep on Monday at Highland Woods Golf Course in Hoffman Estates.

On a day when the rest of the squad had to scramble down the stretch to post a team score of 290 --- New Trier won the team title at 283 --- Low was a model of consistency as the only player in the elite field who was under par for the 18-hole test.

Back-to-back medalist performances at one of the state’s toughest regionals? No big deal, according to Low, who shrugged off an effort that featured birdies on No. 1, No. 2, No. 17 and No. 18 for the talented sophomore.

“Every time I tee it up, I expect to win, but of course obviously that doesn’t happen all the time,” Low said. “I really wasn’t too worried about today. What happens here doesn’t really matter, it’s just a step forward to State.

“We all qualified for the next (sectional) round and that’s what matters. And State is what matters. I’m just looking forward to State.”

Low’s performance Wednesday kept it all in the family. His older brother, senior Kieran Low, won a regional championship of his own as a freshman and placed third as a sophomore. And Kieran might have challenged his younger brother for the individual crown Wednesday except for one “blowup” on hole No. 11. He was under par before and after carding a 9 on that hole.

The Wildkits got a boost from junior Henry Schmidt, who tied for fifth place with a 72, and also counted a 74 from Kieran Low and a 77 from sophomore Henry Way.

Also competing for ETHS were Miles Gomberg, at 80, and Luciano Giangrossi at 82.

“It’s hard to play well for three tournaments in a row,” acknowledged Evanston head coach Jed Curtis, whose 2024 squad did just that with team regional and sectional titles before placing second in State. “There are a lot of expectations now and I think we had a few butterflies today. But I’m really excited about how we finished. There were definitely a lot of positives for us today.

“New Trier is an excellent team and that was a well-deserved win for them. It shows you just how tough the competition is here every year.”

Low’s laser focus is likely to make him a legend on the North Shore links by the time he graduates, particularly because he has the ability to combine that with shot-making that few can match.

He was all business Wednesday on a breezy day when other challengers stayed above par.

“I made a couple of putts on the first couple of holes, and then I had a stretch of 14 holes without a birdie. I just kept making pars,” said the ETHS sophomore. “I was pretty consistent all day. I just put my head down, kept grinding and kept making shot after shot.

“My intensity is back up now since the middle of the season and I’m much more focused on what I want to do out there. I stayed positive the whole day and it was a lot of forward, positive thinking that got me through today.”

Low beat a pair of New Trier contenders, Ezra Primosch and Liam Kelly, who both finished with even par 70s.

“Lester Low is a special kid,” Curtis said. “His focus is just off the charts. He processes on every shot and he never gets too high or too low out there. I’m really proud of him. As the pressure goes up (in the postseason), I think he gets better, because he wants to be in that position.

“Kieran (Low) got caught in a real bad spot when he hit over the green (at the 11th hole) and he really had nowhere to go after that. But I’m really impressed with the mentality he had after that. He just put it behind him. He plays with such an even keel and he showed great leadership today.

“Henry Schmidt had some really nice rounds for us early in the season (including a 68), but he’s struggled the last few times out. He’s very capable of that kind of score and he’s a guy who when he plays well, then we play well as a team. I’m really impressed with his ability to lock in and perform the way he did.”

Schmidt was steady with 36s on both the front and back nines.

“I was a lot more focused than I have been the last few rounds,” the ETHS junior explained. “In our meeting Monday coach talked to me about how he thought my energy has been a little off. I know that when I play well, I can play as well as anyone, and I like the team dynamic here so much this year because we have great team energy. We always pick each other up.

“My irons were pretty solid today. I think that was the difference. When I got out of position, I was able to get back to where I wanted to be. I had three birdies (No. 5, No. 6 and No. 17) and I had no 3-putts today. I’ll take that any time.”

Loyola Academy joined New Trier and Evanston as a team sectional qualifier by posting a third place score of 303.