On bad day, Lemont good enough to take title

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BRISTOL -- The Lemont High School boys golf team knew that it was among the favorites heading into Tuesday's Class 2A Oswego Regional at Blackberry Oaks.

"We knew we had a good chance of winning it, but you still have to go out and play," Lemont coach Mark Hollatz said.

His Indians took those words to heart and battled through cold temperatures, intermittent rain and high winds to post a solid 312 and win the regional title to advance to their own sectional at Broken Arrow Monday.

Leading the way was junior Nick Szerzinski, who took medalist honors by three strokes with a 1-over-par 73. Senior teammate Kevin McMahon took second overall with his 76. Rob Smierciak added an 80 and Jake Groselak an 83.

"We've played here before, but it wasn't even close to these conditions," Szerzinski said. "I'm surprised that we played this well, actually."

Szerzinski went through some major peaks and valleys in his round, punctuated by his eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and a stretch of three straight bogeys on the back nine. He made the turn at 34 and had to scramble to get to 73 with a 39 on the back.

"I started off with a bogey, but then after that I made a couple of birdies," Szerzinski said. "On the second par-5, I stuck a three-wood to about six feet and got an eagle. After that, I was able to pull it together. I went through a bad stretch of three bogeys in a row, but I was able to come back with quite a few pars in a row."

Joliet Catholic also advanced as a team by taking second at the regional, shooting a 324. That was four strokes ahead of Yorkville, which also advanced with a 328.

The Hilltoppers had a consistent round from top to bottom, with 79s from Ian O'Connor and Nick Soserko leading the way. Alex Fried added an 82 and No. 6 golfer Mike Trinza picked the team up with a clutch 84.

Lincoln-Way West acquitted itself quite well in its first regional tournament with a junior class, finishing fifth with a 344, just one stroke behind the hosts from Oswego. The Warriors advanced a pair of golfers to sectionals as individuals. William Knights shot a 78 and Chris Jones an 83 to move on.

After surviving a long trip west of Aurora to win regionals, the Indians are looking forward to getting back closer to home in an environment much more familiar to them at Broken Arrow.

"We play there a lot," Hollatz said. "Hopefully that will be a slight advantage for us. This was the toughest of the three regionals, without a doubt. But only two get out next week, so you have to play well. We were second last year. It would be nice to win sectionals, but second will advance and get downstate. That's all that matters."