Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008

Waterloo junior earns state berth; Hawn finishes 2nd at Salem Sectional

SALEM -- Waterloo junior Wils Hawn continued his late-season surge Saturday at the Class 2A Salem Sectional.

Winner of the Carbondale Regional earlier in the week, Hawn fired a 1-under-par 71 to place second and earn a trip to the state finals at Salem Country Club.

The Mississippi Valley Conference champion, Hawn held a one-stroke lead over Centralia senior Bo Cook coming to the par-5 18th hole, but made bogey while Cook made birdie to earn medalist honors.

"I played well all day and just tried to hit fairways and greens and make pars," Hawn said. "I had the one bad break on 18, but it happens. I'm not that disappointed.

"My goal at the state finals is to just put two solid rounds of golf together and see where that puts me."

Hawn is one of five local players who shot rounds of 77 or better to advance to the Class 2A State Golf Tournament, which begins Friday at Weibring Golf Course in Normal.

Althoff freshman Sam Lidisky and Triad sophomore Jimmy Konsky advanced with rounds of 75. Highland golfers Brendan Bargetzi and Nick Itiliano both shot 77.

Centralia, led by Cook's 2-under par 70, won the team title with a 294. Salem earned the second and final state tournament spot with a 311.

Althoff, which also received a round of 78 from Austin VonAlst, placed third with a 320.

Waterloo coach Nancy Neal said Hawn's play on Saturday was a continuation of the last four weeks.

"He's just raised his game in the last month. Wils has just been very consistent," Neal said. "I'm just very happy for him because I know how disappointed he was a year ago when he missed qualifying by a stroke."

Lidisky, a freshman, played with the poise of a much older player.

Tournament tested after a summer of Gateway PGA events, the Crusaders' top player played a steady 18 holes.

"I thought I hit the ball very solidly all day. I didn't want to make any major mistakes and just tried to make a lot of pars and a birdie or two when I had the chance," Lidisky said. "My goal next week is to just get the experience of playing in the state tournament. I've got a couple of more years after this one."

Konsky will be making his second straight trip to state after shooting a 75.

Like Lidisky, the Knights' top player didn't make many mistakes. Konsky made just one double-bogey, but countered it with three birdies.

"I think getting here and being able to advance last year helped me because I wasn't nervous at all today," Konsky said. "My goal is to do better at the state finals than I did last year when I finished 52nd. I'm hoping for maybe a top 25."

Led by Hawn, Waterloo placed sixth in the team standings with a 323. Highland was eighth at 331.

Contact reporter Dean Criddle at 239-2665 or dcriddle@bnd.com.