Evanston placed three golfers in the top 10 in the individual standings at Wednesday’s Central Suburban League South division tournament, their best showing in program history at the conference event.
But Evanston’s best wasn’t quite good enough.
Two-time defending Class 3A state champion New Trier shot a blistering 281 --- just 1 over par as a team --- to claim the team title in the state’s toughest boys golf conference at Heritage Oaks Golf Course in Northbrook.
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Evanston had to settle for winning a battle for second place, with a team score of 289 to beat out Glenbrook South (290) and Glenbrook North (291). Deerfield (302) and Maine South (312) rounded out the standings.
“That score would have won a lot of years in the past,” said Evanston head coach Jed Curtis. “But New Trier is really solid and they’re the two-time defending state champs for a reason.
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“This is not the ultimate outcome we wanted. We wanted to win it --- that was our goal. But hats off to New Trier, because they played really well. We’re a young team and this is an opportunity for learning, and for growth, for us. We’ll get another shot at them. I’ve been telling our guys lately that we still haven’t played our best golf (as a team). We’ve had some guys with low rounds at different times this season. But if we can get two, or three, or four guys at par or below at the same time, we could be really special.”
ETHS freshman Lester Low tied for second place with a 1-under-par score of 69, same as Glenbrook North’s Alex Lee. New Trier’s Liam Kelly claimed medalist honors with a 68.
Evanston also counted a 72 from another freshman, Luciano Giangrossi, who tied for 7th place; a 73 from junior Kieran Low, tied for 10th; and a 75 from junior Nick Bonaguro. Also competing for the Wildkits were Harrison Stracks (78), Miles Gomberg (81) and Henry Schmidt (81).
Lester Low’s strong showing pulled him even with older brother Kieran in the battle for family bragging rights, as Kieran also made an immediate splash with a 2nd place finish at the CSL tourney as a first-year competitor. Wednesday, Lester’s round included one bogey, two birdies and 15 pars.
“I felt Lester really could have been three or four under today,” Curtis said. “He told me he hit the ball really well, but he made a few mistakes, and when you’re that close to par or under par, two or three swings can make a difference.
“He was a little frustrated because he has high expectations for himself and he knows what he’s capable of doing. Lester’s just so incredibly focused out there. I saw that intensity in him, it was very apparent right from the start of the season. You see that look in his eye that he doesn’t just want to win, he wants to win big.
“Luciano (Giangrossi) had some good up and downs early on. His first tee ball went into a hazard, so he started with a bogey, but he got it back to 2-over-par. He grinds and he just plays tough.”
Evanston will compete October 2nd at the Class 3A Loyola Academy Regional tournament at the Glencoe Golf Club. The 9-team field includes the Wildkits, New Trier, Loyola, Niles North, Niles West, Lincoln Park, Lane Tech, Amundsen and Oak Park-River Forest. The top three teams will advance to the Glenbrook North Sectional at Heritage Oaks.
