Just to make sure that the Evanston boys golf team finished strong at the Class 3A Payton Prep Sectional tournament Monday, Jed Curtis dug deep into his coach’s playbook --- all the way back to his days as an assistant football coach at ETHS.
The time-honored grid tradition of raising four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter --- to underline the fact that the game is on the line now and that’s where your focus should be --- helped motivate the Wildkits down the stretch on the links at the Highland Woods Golf Course in Hoffman Estates.
Evanston earned a second place sectional finish as a team, losing by one stroke to New Trier, and qualified for the Class 3A Illinois High School Association state tournament for the second year in a row.
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Curtis flashed the four finger signal to his players over the last four holes, and they responded with an overall 10-under-par performance with a season best score of 278 to New Trier’s 277. York claimed the third team qualifying spot with a score of 280 and all three teams will advance to the state finals next weekend at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington.
ETHS sophomores Henry Way and Lester Low tied for third place with identical scores of 68 --- four under par --- and the Kits also counted a 70 from senior Kieran Low and a 72 from junior Henry Schmidt. Also competing for Evanston were Nick Bonaguro (76) and Luciano Giangrossi (79).
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Focus hasn’t exactly been an issue for Evanston this season. But Curtis wanted to make sure he covered all the bases for the Wildkits in their quest to win the school’s first IHSA state title in golf next weekend.
They lost out last year on a fifth score tiebreaker and they’re not interested in finishing second again.
“I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out a way to help them finish stronger, and that’s what I came up with,” Curtis explained. “Fortunately, the kids really embraced it and they all finished strong.
“I’m ecstatic about the way we played today. There are a lot of expectations (surrounding this year’s squad) from a lot of people and I think we’re in a good space mentally. When people are telling you how great you are, that puts a little more pressure on you. But it’s not often that you get a second chance right away when you were so close to accomplishing something big and didn’t get it, and now we have a shot at redemption.”
Giangrossi (39-40) was the only ETHS player to finish with a higher score on the back nine than on the front. And Way carded a sizzling 32 after making the turn at 36, including birdies on four of the last six holes to make the difference in the tight three-team race for the title.
“My teammates were giving me the four fingers, and Coach gave me the signal when I was walking up to the tee box on No. 16,” Way recalled. “I didn’t think it was corny, not at all. I liked the idea because nobody does that for golf. It was a nice thing to see from him at that point. It was like a little wakeup call, like ‘you’ve got to do something now.’
“At the turn (after nine holes) I knew that the back nine was a little more wide open than the front, and I thought now I can start attacking more pins and making birdies. I knew I had to keep going, that I couldn’t get complacent.
“That’s my best score in high school golf and the first time I’ve been under par (for 18 holes). I’m just glad I was finally able to contribute to the team. I’m a lot more consistent this year --- I’m hitting more fairways and greens --- and I’m playing smarter, too. And there might have been a little more pressure on us playing in the sectional this year. Last year, our goal was just to make it Downstate. But our team is better this year and this year our goal is to win it. The job isn’t finished until we win State.”
“What a step up that was for Henry Way today,” Curtis praised. “Everybody knows what’s at stake when you get to the sectional and we finished really, really well. Remember Henry had a 74 for us on the second day of the state tournament last year and he’s an immensely talented golfer. He’s gotten stronger and stronger, he’s a good putter, and he’s been knocking on the door all year to get a score like that. I knew he had that in him.”
Way’s performance Monday matched a teammate who, along with his older brother, should be considered on the short list of challengers for the individual state crown for the two-day test in Bloomington. Lester Low, a top 10 finisher at State last year, and Kieran Low (who lost the medalist battle in a playoff in 2024), should both be in the hunt for individual medals.
Lester Low exhibited the knack Monday for topping himself. The sophomore standout, who has turned into more than just an athlete --- he’s an artist on the course --- hit one great shot after another on his way to a 68 and just missing making the playoff for medalist honors that was won by Logan Keeter of New Trier (67).
Low’s stretch starting out the back nine was typical of his excellence. He hit his second shot on the No. 10 hole within one foot of the hole, then tapped in the putt. On No. 12, he whacked his second shot to within six inches of the hole. He added a 15-foot putt for a birdie on No. 17 for a birdie and had matching 34s as his nine hole scores.
“I think the hole Lester’s looking at is bigger than the hole the rest of us are looking at,” Curtis joked. “He IS an artist out there. Lester leaves nothing to chance. He’s always calculating what he should do next and the array in his tool box (of shots) is really impressive to me.
“On No. 18 he hit his tee shot into the woods and basically had to re-tee it. So next, he hit the green and just skimmed the edge of the hole with a 20-foot putt that I thought was good. He’s a great player.
“I’m also super happy with the way Kieran played today. He really navigated the course well. He gave back a few shots, or his round could have really been good, but he was able to grind it out.”
