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Knoll rolls for Naperville North
| Corey R. Minkanic~For Sun-Times Media
Updated: October 4, 2011 8:54PM
During a high school golf tournament, excitement builds in a different way than one would experience at a sporting event in the stands.
There is chatter among players, fans and observers on the course. Whispers here and there about somebody shooting a great round start to be heard, but until the score is finally confirmed, people are often in the dark.
At Tuesday’s Class 3A Naperville Central Regional at the Links of Carillon, Naperville North junior Raymond Knoll made the suspense all worth it.
Knoll fired a sparkling 64, earning medalist honors by a whopping eight strokes, as he led the Huskies to the regional crown with a 287.
It was a bogey-free round for Knoll, who didn’t even realize himself what kind of round he was putting together until Naperville Central’s Peter Mandich, who was in Knoll’s playing group, clued him in.
“To be completely honest, I didn’t know where I was until I made a birdie on 15, the par three, and Pete was like, ‘Dude, you’re six under par,’” Knoll said. “I didn’t even know that. I shot a 63 with my dad one time. That doesn’t compare to this. Doing it in a tournament is just awesome.”
Most importantly to Knoll, however, was knowing that his teammates would be with him at Monday’s sectional at Bartlett Hills. Michael Doherty and Braden Klaisle each posted 74s from the bottom of the lineup with Sean McDonnell adding a 75 for the Huskies.
“I think it’s nice looking forward to Monday at a course where we’ve won conference three years in a row,” North coach Ryan Hantak said. “The kids like it. They feel comfortable there. It’s all good vibes. We just have to keep it going.”
Hinsdale South played in an earlier group, forcing the Hornets to sit and wait for over an hour to see if its 301 was good enough advance. The wait was worth it, as they move on to sectionals behind a 72 from Chris Kopp and a 74 from David Basa.
Naperville Central found its way into the sectional mix, as well. The Redhawks shot a 303, good for third place. Mandich shot a 73, including a birdie on No. 18 that kept Waubonsie Valley (304) on the outside looking in. Tim Lieser shot a 74.
Adam Kreiner of Metea Valley and Conor Ryan of Benet each shot 73s to lead the group of 10 advancing individuals.
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