The Downers Grove South boys golf team didn’t qualify for this week’s Class 3A sectional meet, but you’d never know it looking at the regional leaderboard.
The Mustangs advanced four golfers to Monday’s sectional at Prairie Bluff Golf Course despite finishing fourth as a team in a very difficult Hinsdale South Regional on Oct. 7.
The sectional proved difficult for the four Mustangs, as no one who shot higher than a 74 advanced to state. Joe Vath and Jon Krupa each shot 76, Trent Caraher carded a 77 and Sean Burk fired an 84.
“We’re happy to get four to the next level, but this sectional is a bear,” coach Terry Tiesman said. “
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I realize that’s a cliche, but you need to be focusing on the next shot, the next shot, the next shot as opposed to the last. And don’t think about the sectional or the state series because it’s just going to make your mind wander and add pressure. A shot at a time is all you can do.”
Caraher, a state qualifier last year, has been the team’s top golfer all year, but his 78 at regionals was two strokes behind Vath’s 76. Burk turned in a 79 while Krupa was the last to qualify with an 84.
Krupa was the medalist at their first tournament of the year, the Naperville Central Invitational, and that proved an omen of success for the team. The Mustangs captured the West Suburban Gold title in late September and also added a first at the Lemont Invitational two weeks ago.
Burk, a three-year soccer player at South, decided to come out for the golf team for the first time his senior year and has been consistently shooting in the high 30s and low 40s in nine-hole meets.
Tiesman offered his team some specific advice heading into this weeks sectional.
“I want them to approach this week like every other round, but I also want them to enjoy it,” he said. “I want them to look around, have fun. I want these guys to walk out of their high school experience having loved golf, made good friends and have a few good stories. You’ve got to have fun with it.”