Boys golf: Lincoln-Way Central seek elusive state trip

NEW LENOX – After having a couple of close calls in recent years where it fell a bit shy of qualifying for the state finals, Lincoln-Way Central’s boys golf team is hoping that its long drought finally comes to an end this season.

It’s been 20 years since the Knights last got to state as a team, when Lincoln-Way still only was one campus. Their best sectional efforts since then were in 2011, when they fell five strokes shy of advancing, and in 2014, when they just missed qualifying by three strokes.

After claiming three titles and a pair of third-place finishes in their first five invitationals this year, coach Ryan Pohlmann’s squad is excited about what lies ahead for them this fall.

On Saturday, Central took third in the 25-team Providence Catholic Invite at The Sanctuary in New Lenox, finishing just five strokes behind champion Loyola Academy.

It also has won two titles at Homewood-Flossmoor and another at Oswego, while placing third at Addison Trail.

Pohlmann, who took teams to state in both 2007 and 2013 during his successful stint as Lincoln-Way East’s coach, likes the makeup of his current squad.

“Third place and up is kind of our expectation as we go ahead toward the regional and sectional, since any time you finish in the top-three, it’s a good thing,” Pohlmann said. “Any time you play on your home golf course in a tournament situation, it’s a little tougher since your expectations are high, but I thought we managed that fairly well.

“A lot of teams have one really good golfer and a couple of guys who can finish, but we have EJ Charles, Sean Curran and Brian Sterling battling each other in the top three, and Ryan Nolan is a senior who kind of anchors that fourth score. We have our tournament next weekend; and then it comes down to business, and hopefully, we’re playing well at the end.”

The Knights were led on Saturday by junior Sterling, who shot a 75 to tie for sixth place, three strokes behind the leaders.

“I’ve been working really hard this season trying to improve my game to keep the scores low,” Sterling said. “It’s always good to keep the pressure on to get each other to stay low, so we’re always pushing each other. It’s exciting. We’re all working hard and sticking together to try to help each other, so it’s been a lot of fun. We’re all laughing and having a good time.”

The newest addition to the Knights shows great promise: freshman Curran. The brother of the girls state champion, Grace, and son of Central’s boys basketball coach, Bob, shot a 76.

“This is a fun team, and obviously we’re doing good right now, so we just have to continue this into the postseason,” Curran said. “We’re good as a team and are able to compete with other teams.

“I’m hoping that we get down to the state tournament so that we can compete as a team and individually. We’re friends on the course and off, and they’re fun to be around.”

Senior Nolan has been on the past two sectional-qualifying teams, while senior Charles joined him on last year’s postseason squad. Other contributors this season for the Knights include juniors Dan Bolek, Noah DeVries and Jon Soldan.

“It’s been awesome to have the aspect of trying to win every invitational that we’ve been in,” Nolan said. “It’s high expectations, and we’re put up to the test every time that we play, but it’s fun being challenged.

“We went against some of the best teams in the state, and this shows that we’re able to compete with them. As a senior, it’s exciting having my best golf year as my last year in high school. We have a great group, and we all enjoy being together.”

Although the Knights are looking for their first state visit in many years, Providence Catholic senior Tyler Roat has been fortunate to have gone to state the past two years with his team.

The Celtics graduated the other five starters from last year’s sectional champions, but others have stepped up.

That was seen on Saturday when coach John Platt’s squad shot a 319 to finish sixth. Roat led with a 72, which earned him a spot in a three-way tie for first place with Lemont’s Raymond Sullivan and Sandburg’s Max Farley, with Roat winning the title on a tiebreaker.

“We don’t have as much depth as we had last year, but we definitely have some players who can shoot low scores and come through for us,” Roat said. “If we practice enough and put our hearts to it, we definitely have a chance. And I’ve been feeling really good about my game, and the past three months have been really solid. I’ve been getting a lot of work in. My swing feels great, and I couldn’t be happier with my game now. It’s been a really fun year.”