Lemont Boys' Golf Ties for Ninth at IHSA State Finals

Making its first state finals appearance since 2011, Lemont High School’s boys’ golf team tied for ninth of 12 teams at the 2014 IHSA Class 2A Boys’ Golf State Finals, which were contested at Weibring Golf Club on the campus of Illinois State University on October 17-18. Head coach Mark Hollatz’s squad posted its sixth top-ten state finals finish since 2007, while making its seventh state finals appearance since 2005.

Senior Matt Groebe was Lemont’s top finisher in state finals competition, posting a +19 161 (79-82) over 36 holes to tie for 34th. Seniors Dan Orednick (87-79) and Jeremy Pellegrine (85-81) tied for 64th with matching scores of +24 166. The rounds of 79 by Groebe and Orednick were the Indians’ best of the event.

Senior Joe Pavlovic (87-81) tied for 71st with his +26 168, while freshman Raymond Sullivan (87-85) tied for 83rd at +30 172, and junior Matt Retzke (88-92) was 102nd at +38 180.

Lemont tied Vernon Hills for ninth place with a +93 661 (338-323) over 36 holes. The Indians’ 323 over the final 18 holes matched its best round of the postseason. Morton won the 2014 IHSA Class 2A State Championship by finishing with a +47 615 over two rounds. Morton’s Tommy Kuhl shot an even-par 142 over 36 holes to win the individual state title.

Lemont advanced to the state finals by finishing third at the IHSA Nazareth Academy Sectional on October 13. Its top three golfers finished within three strokes of each other in sectional play, which was contested at the par-72 Broken Arrow Golf Club in Lockport. Groebe shot a +6 78 to pace the Indians and tie for eighth in the individual standings, while Pavlovic (t-13th, +8 80) and Sullivan (t-16th, 81) also finished among the top 20.

Glenbard South (309) won the IHSA Sectional title, while Chicago Latin (315) and Lemont (323) followed in second and third, respectively. The top three teams from each of the IHSA’s four Class 2A Sectionals advanced to state finals competition, along with the top 10 individuals from schools that did not qualify for state finals team competition.

Lemont - which also captured the South Suburban Conference-Blue Division title for the ninth straight year this fall - won its own IHSA Class 2A Regional on October 7 at Wedgewood Golf Course in Plainfield. The Indians finished with a team score of 328 that day to outlast Joliet Catholic (336) and Lincoln-Way West (356). Groebe was the only golfer to post a sub-80 round, firing a 77 to take home medalist honors. Sullivan (t-2nd, 81), Pavlovic (t-5th, 83), Retzke (9th, 87), Orednick (t-10th, 88) and Pellegrine (t-10th, 88) all finished among the top ten in the individual standings.

The IHSA moved to a three-class system for boys’ golf in 2007. In each season that Lemont has been classified as a 2A squad, it has advanced to state finals competition. The only seasons since 2007 that Lemont missed advancing to the state finals were 2012 and 2013, when the Indians were classified as a 3A team. The Indians finished among the top ten teams in IHSA Class 2A each season from 2007-11, capped by a program-best third-place finish in 2011. Shane Purtle ‘12 finished third in the individual standings that season, marking the best finish by a Lemont golfer in state finals play.