Cooke warms up to cold weather, reaches sectional

With cold rain coming down at Inwood Golf Course in Joliet on Tuesday, and with winds the gusting to 20 mph, the Bolingbrook boys golf team shot a 361 at the Joliet Township Regional.

That score was good enough for eighth place. The top three teams in the 10-team regional advanced to sectional play, and the Raiders were 26 strokes away from third-place Lincoln-Way Central (335).

"I knew our scores were going to be a little higher because of the weather, but I didn't expect them to be this high," Raiders coach Chuck Marik said. "We had shot in the 330s earlier in the year and that would have put us right there. All of the kids kept on fighting during the round and didn't give up, and that was something I was proud of. Nobody likes to play in the rain, but it is something that you have to work through and gut it out."

The Raiders will still be represented at the Pekin Sectional as David Cooke advanced as an individual by shooting a 7-over-par 78. He was fifth overall in the regional and qualified as one of the top eight golfers not on an advancing team.

"I'm happy with my score today and I really feel like I was playing good until the last four holes, and then I blew up a bit where I just played average," Cooke said.

John Thomas of Providence Catholic was the meet medalist with a 73.

"David can play with anybody, and this year we really worked a lot on convincing him that he belongs in the top group of golfers and that he can make just as many birdies as the best player," Marik said. "The expectation for David now is to win every tournament that he plays in.

"We don't want him to just place in the top five, we want him to win it, and I think he's slowly getting that as he is the first all-conference player we have had at Bolingbrook and now he will be going to sectionals."

Finishing in second for the Raiders was senior Alex Honegger, who recorded an 89 and was just four shots away from advancing to the sectional. Three of the five Raiders at the meet, played for the last time as high-schoolers.

"My last four holes I was 1 under, so that makes everything in a way easier to bear," he said. "The conditions were very difficult and I feel like I was lucky to shoot what I did out there."

Marik said his team has made other strides this season, finishing fifth in the SWSC Division meet.

"We are trying to make a name for Bolingbrook in boys golf," he said. "We want people to recognize us right away and not have to ask where we are from. We will be young next year, but I hope to expand our program and get at least 20 kids on the team. I told the seniors on the bus that they helped build this program and made it better than what it was when they entered it. I want to continue to move forward without any setbacks."

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