Hot putter spurs St. Charles East to title

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WEST CHICAGO - It may have been a chilly day, but Jenny Niemiec was wielding a hot putter.

The St. Charles East senior used it to finish her round in the Upstate Eight Conference Meet Wednesday with an exclamation point and claim medalist honors by two strokes over Streamwood senior Carly Schneider.

"I sank like a 60-footer on the last hole," said Niemiec, who helped the Saints cruise to the team tourney and overall league titles with a par 71. "It's my lowest round ever."

Niemiec, who had just 30 putts on the day, highlighted her day by sinking a 20-foot eagle put at 14, a 440-yard par 5.

St. Charles East placed five scores among the top eight individuals but had to count only four for its 316 team total. The Saints had entered with a 7-0 dual record.

St. Charles North, led by third place Marin Beagley's 76, was runnerup at 339. The Bartlett/South Elgin/Streamwood coop shot 356 for third.

Waubonsie Valley (369), Neuqua Valley (372) and Metea Valley (390) finished 4-5-6 with Lake Park (423) taking seventh.

It was a disappointing finish for coach John Farnan's Warriors, who came into the meet tied for second with St. Charles North (both went 5-2 in duals) and a two-point lead over the B/SE/S coop. The coop edged the Warriors for third, overall, by one point.

Junior Cherise Mangal shot 86, good for ninth individually, to lead Waubonsie Valley. It also counted a 93 from Debbie Bornok, 94 from Maggie Miklasz and 96 from Courntey Williams. Jessica Buys and Meghan McRoberts each shot 97s.

"It's the first time we've played in the cold and wind," said Farnan. "But by the back nine, it wasn't that bad (conditions).

"There's room for improvement."

It will have to come in next week's regional, which will be hosted by Neuqua Valley at Naperbrook Golf Course.

Senior Chloe Nettleton shot an 88, good for 10th individually, to lead the Wildcats.

Therese Long, coming back from a shoulder injury to make her first appearance of the season, shot a 90 and Neuqua also counted 97s from Alysha Patel and Nina Bulat. Chelsea Sumida (100) and Savannah Baily (102) also competed.

"Therese has had a rotator cuff injury," said Neuqua Valley coach John Keller. "She's been hitting on the range but I held her out until today. It's certainly not a great score, but for us, a solid score.

"She's capable of being a really good player. Hopefully, she's knocked the rust off and we'll shoot our best rounds of the season from here on out."

Metea Valley coach Mark Jager fielded a lineup of five sophomores and two freshmen in the school's first year.

"I think the girls were real focused throughout the season," he said. "I wanted them to gain more experience going into next season so I had them get these tougher matches under their belts."

Sophomore Amy Lundstrom shot a 97 to lead Metea and freshman Anna Peterson had a 97. The team also counted a 100 from Alyna Vaughan and 102 from Natalya Schleebs. Latria Braun had a 110.