Back on the winning track

Aurora Central Catholic sophomore Ryan Harreld tees off on the 10th hole Monday at the Aurora Christian Early Bird Tournament. Teammate Joe Gendusa stands in the background. Harreld and Gendusa combined to shoot 69, good enough for fourth place in the two-man scramble.
Heather Eidson / Staff Photographer

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AURORA -- In 1983, some of the members of this year's Aurora Central Catholic boys golf team were a good decade away from being a gleam in their parents' eyes.

That is also the year that ACC last won a tournament title of any kind.

Until Monday, that is.

The Chargers edged Burlington Central by one stroke at the Aurora Christian Early Bird Two-Man Scramble at Phillips Park. The event featured two-man teams in a best-ball format.

Led by a 69 from junior Joe Gendusa and sophomore Ryan Harreld, good for fourth place individually, the Chargers' top three scorers totaled 212, one shot better than the Rockets.

"What a great way to start the season," ACC coach Jim Parker said. "I'm very excited for the kids. A lot of them were in the First Tee program in Aurora. When the older kids were freshmen, I couldn't get them off the course after practice. They'd buy another bucket of balls and keep hitting. They love the game."

ACC's other counting scores came from sophomore Taylor Nelson and junior Rob Hartman, who shot a 71, and junior Rob Taptich and Parker, who shot a 72. Each school had a pairing that included the head coach at the tournament.

It was a tightly-bunched group of schools atop the leaderboard, with five schools within six strokes of ACC. North Shore Country Day was third with a 214 and Oswego East was fourth at 215. Burlington Central's dynamic duo of Peter Cappas and Sam Schmalz posted a 65 to earn medalist honors.

The win for the Chargers was a continuation of some marked improvement at tryouts last week. In the two rounds of tryouts, the Chargers shot a 301 and a 303, nearly 50 strokes better than any score posted last season in 18-hole events.

"Everybody brought their best for tryouts," Gendusa said. "We've all improved a lot. We just wanted to win an invitational. It's been 25 years, so we're happy."

Oswego East posted a pair of 71s to help the Wolves finish fourth in the 13-team field. Seniors Matt Brostowitz and Moises Silva notched one 71 while junior Taylor Carrasco and coach Jason Buckley carded the other 71. Sophomore Anthony Linkenheld and freshman Dominic Gryz scored a 73 for the other counting score.

The host Eagles received a 70 from junior Bryce Renninger and freshman Ryan Heun to help the team to a score of 220, good for sixth place.

Somonauk posted a 234 behind a 70 from Jeremy Schmitt and Andrew Huss and Hinckley-Big Rock carded a 249 at the season-opening tournament.

It has been quite a turnaround for ACC in Parker's four years at the helm. When he arrived on campus, there were not enough boys on the team to have separate varsity and frosh/soph teams. Now, the Chargers have a girls program and the boys are back on the winning track.

"I hope it continues," Parker said. "I'm really excited about this group."