Illinois area golf outlook | High School Golf – QCVarsity.com

Fulton: In their first year in the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference, the Steamers captured the league title, eventually advancing to the sectional round with a third-place finish at the IHSA Class 1A Riverdale Regional.

Mercer County: Coming off a runner-up finish to United at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet and with a new head coach in Chris Leng, the Golden Eagles also were edged out by the Red Storm (by 13 strokes) for third place at the 1A Galva Regional and are looking to rectify that in 2022.

Riverdale: With an ongoing run of eight straight Three Rivers Conference team titles and eight consecutive IHSA Class 1A regional championships, the Rams are also looking to add to an ongoing string of four straight trips to the state tournament in Bloomington, having finished sixth last fall.

Rockridge: A fifth-place finisher at the Three Rivers meet, the Rockets hit their stride in the postseason to finish as runners-up at the regional and sectional meets, narrowly being edged by Sherrard at the 1A Petersburg PORTA Sectional on the basis of best fifth- player score.

Sherrard: Runners-up to Riverdale at conference, the Tigers followed up by winning their first regional team title at the 1A Galva Regional, then earning a second consecutive sectional crown. With a new head coach in Jason Timerman, Sherrard looks to maintain that level of success in 2022.

Carson Boelens, so., Mercer County: Made an immediate impact as a freshman, taking third at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet and advancing out of the 1A Galva Regional, tying for 18th and prevailing in a playoff.

Andrew Boland, Jr., Sherrard: Finished one stroke short of a top 10 medal at the Three Rivers Conference meet and helped the Tigers to their first regional team title and second consecutive sectional championship.

Emmitt Brokaw, sr., Kewanee: Was a sectional qualifier in Class 2A, advancing out of the Kewanee Regional.

Ethan Kiddoo, Sr., Riverdale: Finished just two strokes shy of a top 10 finish at the Three Rivers Conference meet and was a key contributor to the Rams’ state-qualifying squad in 2021.

Landon Meyers, Sr., Fulton: Earned second-team All-NUIC honors as he helped the Steamers to the conference team title and a sectional team berth. He will be one of this year’s team leaders.

Reed Owen, Sr., Fulton: Finished 10th at the Northwest Upstate Illini Conference meet and was an honorable mention all-conference honoree and will also be one of the key performers for this year’s Steamer squad.

Cameron Rascher, sr., Orion: Looking to build off a solid postseason that saw him finish fifth at the 1A Galva Regional and earn a trip to the sectional round.

Jaxson Willer, Sr., Galva: Placed fifth at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet and advanced to the sectional round after placing fourth at the 1A Galva Regional.

Hunter Weeks, Sr., Mercer County: Finished just one stroke shy of a top 10 finish at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet and will be one of the team leaders for the Golden Eagles this fall.

Caden West, jr., Sherrard: Capped his season with a strong round at the 1A Petersburg PORTA Sectional and will be looked upon to fill a key role for a Tiger squad that graduated several senior standouts.

Kewanee: If it has enough players to field a full squad this fall, the Boilermakers could continue to make their presence felt in the Three Rivers Conference, having finished third last year and missing out on runner-up status by one stroke.

Rockridge: The reigning Three Rivers Conference champions missed a sectional team berth by eight strokes after finishing fourth at the 1A Alleman Regional. With the bulk of their lineup back, the Rockets look to get over that hump in 2022.

Sherrard: Coming off a runner-up finish at the 1A Sherrard Regional and with several key players back, the Tigers look to be in the hunt for a Three Rivers Conference title and another deep postseason advancement this fall.

Darby Balmer, Jr., Mercer County: Was a top 10 finisher at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet, placing ninth. She then qualified for the 1A Geneseo Sectional by placing 14th at the Sherrard Regional meet.

Elliana Danielsen, so., Sherrard: Followed up a 10th place finish at the Three Rivers Conference by taking third at the 1A Sherrard Regional, helping the Tigers to finish second and qualify for the Geneseo Sectional as a team; she took 53rd at the sectional meet.

Sofia Fernandez, Sr., Orion: Finished third at the Three Rivers meet to earn first team all-conference honors and carried that into the postseason, placing 18th and advancing out of the regional round to the Geneseo Sectional, where she finished with a 52nd-place finish.

Hannah Graves, Jr., Rockridge: Took 13th and earned second team all-conference honors at the Three Rivers meet, then followed up by tying for 30th place at the 1A Alleman Regional.

Neva Graves, so., Rockridge: Also a second team All-Three Rivers player, finishing 17th at the conference meet, she finished in 22nd place at the Alleman Regional and lost in a playoff for the final individual sectional berth.

Marissa Kunzman, Jr., Sherrard: One of the key contributors for the Tigers’ 1A regional runner-up squad by finishing in 17th place at the Sherrard Regional meet.

Mya Mirocha, sr., Kewanee: Won her first individual Three Rivers Conference title last fall and finished second at the 1A Alleman Regional to qualify for the sectional round, missing out on a regional title by just three strokes; she finished 42nd at the Geneseo Sectional.

Emily Olson, Jr., Orion: Was a second team All-Three Rivers player last fall with a 12th place finish and took 27th at the 1A Alleman Regional, falling just three strokes shy of a shot at sectionals.

Amelia Rursch, sr., Rockridge: The lone returning sectional qualifier for the Rockets, Rursch was a second team All-Three Rivers performer, placing 11th at the conference meet, then following that up with placing 20th at the 1A Alleman Regional and 59th at the Geneseo Sectional.

Gracie Russell, so., Ridgewood: Enjoyed a stellar debut season by finishing second at the Lincoln Trail Conference meet, missing a title by just two strokes. She then took 13th at the 1A Alleman Regional to advance to the Geneseo Sectional round, where she finished in 26th place.