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Aurora Christian
Coach: Andy Zorger
Last season: Seneca Regional champion, 12th place in McNamara Sectional
Top returners: Jacob Baumann, jr.; Niko Kaplanis, jr.
Worth noting: Coming off a regional championship at Seneca, the Eagles will have an uphill battle to earn another regional title this season. Wil McCracken, their lone state qualifier, graduated. Jameson Rapinchuk, who was their No. 4 golfer last year, transferred. While the Eagles look a little thin team-wise, Zorger has a lot of faith in Baumann and Kaplanis. “Jacob and Niko will both have a great chance to advance to sectional and potentially state as individuals,” Zorger said. “We will be trying to figure out who can be our consistent No. 3 and 4, which could fluctuate from day to day with a few sophomores that are learning yet inexperienced.”
Aurora Central Catholic
Coach: Thomas Goulding
Last season: Seventh at Lemont Regional
Top players: Jackson Michels, sr., Liam Schwartz, sr., Luke Torrance, fr.
Worth noting: First-year head coach Goulding will have the tough task of rebuilding the program with just seven players, four of whom are underclassmen. Aurora Central Catholic graduated five of its seven starters from a season ago. Michels and Schwartz are expected to be the leaders. “We have seven total players in our program and we are looking forward to improving our game throughout the season,” Goulding said. “We have a close-knit team that cares for each other and looks to get better each time on the course.”
Batavia
Coach: Timothy DeBruckyer
Last season: Tied for sixth in Plainfield North Sectional
Top returners: Ryan Augustine, jr.; Noah Marshall, so.; Mason Whitt, so.; Johnny Banahan, so.
Worth noting: The Bulldogs will be a young team compared with last season after graduating nine seniors including their lone state qualifier in Andrew Freedlund, who finished tied for 68th. Augustine is the only player who was part of the team that finished three strokes behind Geneva for the final qualifying spot for state. Augustine, who earned all-conference honors, had the best regional round of the Bulldogs with a 78, but shot an 86 in the sectional round. Debruckyer said he’ll be looking for Augustine to bring along the underclassmen as the season goes on.
Burlington Central
Coach: Thomas Davies
Last season: Ninth place in Class 2A state tournament
Top returners: Tyler Samaan, jr.; Matthew Kowalik, sr.; Cam Sarallo, sr.; Luke Semyck, sr.; Ben Chesney, sr.; Tommy Wyse, so.
Worth noting: The Rockets return an experienced roster in their quest to return to the state tournament. Central earned its third state appearance in program history, taking ninth in Class 2A. Samaan tied for 39th, Kowalik tied for 43rd, Sarallo tied for 52nd, Wyse tied for 74th, Chesney tied for 84th and Semyck tied for 87th at state. With all of last year’s starters coming back, Davies knows the team has a lot of potential this season. “We return the entire state qualifying team from last year so expectations are obviously high,” Davies said. “Best chance to compete for the Fox Valley Conference crown and make another postseason run, but we have to manage those expectations at the same time.”
Geneva
Coach: Eric Hatczel
Last season: Seventh place at Class 3A state tournament
Top returners: Brandon Burggraf, sr.; Ryan O’Rourke, sr.; Timmy Adkins, sr.; Logan Novay, jr.; Matt Trimble, jr.; Blake Makowski, so.
Worth noting: The Vikings were the only local team to qualify for the Class 3A state tournament, where they finished in seventh place. O’Rourke tied for 25th, Novay tied for 49th, Trimble tied for 66th, Burggraf tied for 68th, Adkins tied for 79th and Makowski was 89th at state. With all six starters from last year returning, as well as newcomers adding depth to the roster, Hatczel knows having success in conference play will help ensure a better result in the state tournament. “Our conference will be very competitive, helping to challenge our players throughout the season and preparing us for the state series,” Hatczel said.
Kaneland
Coach: Mark DaVoust
Last season: Sixth in Freeport Sectional
Top players: Brayden Seaton, sr.; Jacob Yost, jr.; Jack Frey jr.; Nick Dziewals jr.; Carson Iwanski so.; Bryce Flowers so.; Dylan Pjesky, fr.; Ty Nied fr.
Worth noting: The Knights graduated seven players from last season, including their lone state qualifier in Wesley Hollis. Seaton and Frey are the only players to return with varsity experience, putting the pressure on some of the underclassmen to fill the holes that have been left behind on a team that was only four shots away from qualifying for state. “2024 will be a bit of a rebuilding year for Kaneland having graduated seven seniors,” DaVoust said. “But the upcoming juniors, sophomores and even freshmen will give us a balanced attack and prevent us from having such a massive talent drain. We are building a new Knights team.”
Marmion
Coach: Lou Solarte
Last season: Tied for 7th in Lemont Sectional
Top returners: Regan Konen, sr.; Evan Paganelis, sr.; Matthew Murray, sr.
Worth noting: The Cadets head into the 2024 season with a heavily experienced roster, which should bode well for a return to state as a team. Konen shocked the Class 2A field last season after dropping 20 shots from his sophomore score to earn the Class 2A individual title with a 141. With St. Francis’ Beckett Jones being the only other returner from the top five of last year’s final rankings, Konen will be looking to go back-to-back. “Regan Konen has improved and with good fortunes he will be in contention for another individual state title,” Solarte said. “We are looking forward to a fun season.”
St. Charles East
Coach: William Farquhar
Last season: Fifth place in Bartlett Regional
Top returners: Anthony Solare, jr; Aarnav Patel, so.; Will Sanchez, sr.; Jack Brandstedt, sr.
Worth noting: The Saints are expected to have a young roster. They graduated only two players from their top seven last year. Patel is coming off an impressive freshman season. He qualified for sectionals with an 86 and came one stroke away from qualifying for state with a 74. Solare also had an impressive campaign, shooting an 81 and 82 in regionals and sectionals, respectively. With the young duo leading the way and Sanchez and Brandstedt providing senior leadership, Farquhar is excited to see how far his team can go this season. “The players have worked hard in the offseason to compete at a high level this year,” Farquhar said.
West Aurora
Coach: John Proczko
Last season: Seventh in Bartlett Sectional
Top returners: Jake Anderson, jr.; Jake Niedzwiedz, sr.; Chase Yusi, sr.; Ethan Kolich, sr.
Worth noting: With West Aurora making a return to the Upstate 8 this season, it will look to make a splash in its new conference. Anderson missed out on making his first trip downstate after losing a 3-for-2 playoff to Glenbard West’s Grant Roscich and Yorkville’s Justin Goebel, so he’ll look to get in without the drama this season. Proczko will look to Miedzwiedz, Yusi and Kolich to provide strong leadership to the team and newcomers in junior Logan Bacarella and senior Cameron Smith.
Editor’s note: St. Charles North and St. Francis did not provide information for the preview.