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WEST DUNDEE – William Lange wasn’t sure Barrington could win a second straight sectional title heading into this season.
The Broncos lost a couple of seniors from last season’s team that finished fifth overall at the Class 3A state tournament, and Lange thought they might be too young and inexperienced to win another sectional title.
Barrington showed its growth Monday when it won the Class 3A Dundee-Crown Sectional at Randall Oaks Golf Club.
“We didn’t know how strong we were going to be compared to last year,” Lange said. “We all needed to come here and play well, and we did. It’s a good feeling.”
The Broncos finished the day with a 297 score, four shots ahead of Lake Forest and five shots ahead of Warren. Both will join Barrington at the Class 3A state tournament, which begins Friday in Bloomington.
Hersey’s Chad Tramba won the individual sectional title by shooting a 1-under-par 70, finishing ahead of Palatine’s Pablo Castro, Prospect’s Luke Kruger, Barrington’s Lange and Highland Park’s Alex Finger by one stroke.
Tramba knew he had the overall lead heading into his final three holes and didn’t change up his aggressive approach. The junior needed only one birdie on the eighth hole and won by holding par the rest of the way.
“It’s amazing,” Tramba said. “It’s what every high school golfer dreams of: to play down at state. To win the sectional and know that I have that under my belt, is huge for me and a big confidence booster.”
Tramba, Castro, Kruger, Lange, Finger, Lake Zurich’s Zach Lawler (72), Libertyville’s Leo Scopacasa (72), Zion-Benton’s Kirby Torola (73), Buffalo Grove’s Connor Woodin (73) and Tyler Imhof (74) and Prospect’s Patrick Raupp (74) all advanced to the state tournament individually.
Huntley’s Brendan Busky and Nathan Elm each missed qualifying for state by one stroke, while Dundee-Crown’s Jake Russell finished 26th overall with a 77. Huntley’s Nooa Hakala and Cary-Grove’s Maddux Tarasievich each shot a 78.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Huntley coach Collin Kalamatas said. “Came up a stroke short in an incredible sectional field like this. Not too much to be upset about, but I know a couple of our guys are bummed about missing out on by a couple strokes.”
Lange led the way for Barrington and was followed by Andrew Schauenberg, who finished 11th overall with a 73. Sam Uutala (76), Walker Grelle (77), Tate Naughten (77) and Alek Lechuga (79) rounded out the scores for the sectional champ.
Barrington coach Bryan Tucker knew the Broncos faced pressure at Monday’s sectional and was proud of the way they handled each challenge.
“I was really proud watching our kids, how they just went to the next shot, staying focused,” Tucker said. “They didn’t let a tough shot affect them.”
Jack Lamberti finished eighth overall to lead Lake Forest with a 73, while Clayton Trevino shot a 74 to finish 13th overall. Asa Thomas finished with a 76, Spencer Collis tallied a 78 and Tadgh Burke (79) and Jack Slaughter (87) scored for the Scouts.
Alex Welder finished 12th overall with a 73 and led Warren. Vaughn Harting finished a stroke behind Welder and Cameron Simmons (77), Rylan Lother (78), Nicholas Steinhilber (79) and Adam Juarez (87) all helped Warren finish third and advance to state.
Lake Forest won the 2019 Class 3A state title and have competed in the last four state final events. Scouts coach James Matheson hopes their recent state success can help this season’s team pull off another strong finish.
“We’ve been fortunate to be down there a couple of times,” Matheson said. “I think we have a good chance with how many times we’ve been down there and experienced it. We’ll see what happens.”