Conant’s Nicolas Simon used an epic final nine holes to win the IHSA Class 3A Men’s Golf Individual State Championship for the first time, Saturday, Oct. 7 at The Den at Fox Creek (par 36-36 — 72).
Simon shot 35-41 – 76 in the first round on Friday after shooting 5 over par on the back nine. Undeterred, Simon returned on Saturday and even shot a par 36 on the front nine, before warming up and making birdies on holes 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18 to finish at 5 under par. 31 on the back nine to finish with an overall score of 5-under-par 67. With his rounds of 76 and 67, he finished the tournament at 1-under-par 143 on both days to win his first state title.
The University of Michigan commit became the first individual state medalist in men’s golf and the first Journal region state champion since Stevenson’s Jackson Bussell won in 2017.
Simon finished fifth at state in 2021, which was the previous best state finish in program history. He is the first MSL golfer to win a title since Buffalo Grove’s Jon Schram in 2001.
Simon defeated Moline freshman Isaac Rumbler (71-73 – 144) by one stroke for the championship.
While Simon won state, his teammates were a bit behind. Conant’s Antonio Gutierrez (82-77 — 159) came in 35th, while Ahilan Nayani (85-87 — 172) finished 79th. Conant’s Peyton Kittivat (86), Joshua Lee (87) and Daniyal Syed (89) struggled and were eliminated after the first day of the tournament.
The Prospect pair of Luke Kruger (74-75 — 149) and Patrick Raupp (73-76 — 149) are tied for sixth place with Palatine’s Pablo Castro (72-77 — 149) and two New Trier golfers .
Raupp became the first double medalist in Knights program history, while Kruger became the seventh different medalist in club history. Raupp is the first double medalist in program history. Sixth places are tied for second all-time at Prospect with Paul Moas (1976), behind only Nick Tenuta’s third place in 2016.
Five of the state’s top 11 golfers were MSL golfers. Drew Schauenberg (145) of Barrington is tied for third.
With help from college students Raupp (Northern Illinois University) and Kruger (Butler), Prospect was able to finish third as a team after shooting 310-303 — 613 over the two days for their first state trophy as a team since 1976, when they won state.
“The first day we played very, very well against the top nine,” prospects coach Jim Hamann said. “We didn’t play well the back nine. We found ourselves in a 9-shot hole. The mindset was to win the tournament. Then we came together as a team after the first round and got back to our mentality of going for first and not playing for third. Our goal was to reduce the score to five shots on the turn (after 9 holes) and we achieved that goal. We actually narrowed it down to 2, like hole 8. Then New Trier had a couple guys make a birdie and an eagle. Our five shot deficit then grew to 9, and then the wheels started to come off a little. We finished strong enough to win our first state trophy (in almost) 50 years.
Prospect finished fourth as a team after the first round, 9 shots behind New Trier and Hinsdale Central, as well as one shot behind Wheaton-Warrenville South.
Cole Bielecki (81-75-156) finished 25th for Prospect, while Colter Person (82-79-161) and Jack Krueger (84-77-161) tied for 49th. Prospect also used Ryan Murray (87) and Matthew Mundt (88) for one ride each at state.
Hamann graduated Raupp, Kruger, Person and Krueger from this year’s state team, but he will return Bielecki (Jr.), Mundt (Jr.) and Murray (Fr.).
“From our freshmen all the way up to the juniors, if they want to learn anything from Patrick and Luke, it’s commitment to the improvement process and hard work,” Hamann said. “I’ve never coached two golfers (Kruger and Raupp) who worked as hard as they did. Not just on their play, but also on their strength and conditioning. They are so dedicated to improvements. This is the most important thing our young people will learn.
New Trier won state again, something they have done 11 times since 1950, with a two-day total of 598. They scored 301 on the first day and 297 on the second day. The Trevians also won state last year.
Behind New Trier’s 598 score in Class 3A were Hinsdale Central (301-299 — 600), Prospect (613), Barrington (316-303 — 619), Glenbrook South (317-313 — 630), Wheaton-Warrenville South (309-321-630), Geneva (319-329-648) and Edwardsville (322-332-654). The four teams eliminated after Friday were Conant (329), Minooka (329), Vernon Hills (335) and Lockport (337).
Glenbrook South finished fifth as a team, giving them two straight seasons among the top five teams in the state. Kevin Schuh (72-79 — 151) finished 16th to lead the Titans, while Decker Holton (76-80 — 156) also finished tied for 25th. Rounding out the GBS card at state are Connor O’Hara (41st place; 84-76 — 160), Lucas Shin (61st place; 85-78 — 163), Jeffrey Kim (76th place; 86-83 — 169 ) and Nick Ventura (82nd place; 90-83 — 173).
GBS was looking for its first state trophy (top 3) since placing third in 2016. The Titans won state in 1968 and had previously finished fifth in 1981. GBS also finished eighth in 1982 and ninth in 2003. The Titans were tied. with Lake Forest fourth at state last year with a score of 624.
Glenbrook South coach Jeff Paek and Prospect’s Hamann were both very pleased with their team’s efforts this year.
“We started playing our best golf towards the end of the season, and that’s what we wanted,” Hamann said.
The third-place trophy is Hamann’s first on the boys’ side, but the fourth title he has won at Prospect. He guided the girls to two state championships and a runner-up trophy before moving to the boys program.
Maine South’s Adam Drabek (83-74 — 157) finished tied for 30th in the individual competition, with Fremd’s Braeden Newby (76-81 — 157) among those matching his score.
Hersey’s Danny Zolna (85-75 — 160) came home 41st as the Huskies’ lone representative at state.
Niles West’s Luke Daly (89) struggled on Friday and was unable to advance to Saturday’s final round.
Individual state champions in the log area:
2023: Nicolas Simon de Conant
2017: Jackson Bussell of Stevenson
2009: Dan Stringfellow from Saint-Viateur
2008: Joe Carlson from Saint-Viateur
2001: Jon Schram of Buffalo Grove
1996: JD Goering from Loyola Academy
1992: Mark Holton of Glenbrook South
1986: Ted Meyer of Loyola Academy
1956: Emil Esposito from Leiden
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