TAYLORVILLE – Marquette Catholic senior Carson Jones was the only golfer to break par, firing in a 3-under par 69 at Wednesday’s IHSA Class 2A Taylorville Regional at Lakeshore Golf Course.
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Jones started his round on hole one with his only blemish being bogey on hole seven. He got hot on the back nine, though, birdying holes 10, 11, 13, and 15 to get to three under.
He paced the Explorers to third place at the regional, qualifying them for the Highland Sectional on Monday, October 6, at Oak Brook Golf Club in Edwardsville.
The Highland Bulldogs had four golfers in the top five with scores of 72 from freshman Eli Lucas, 74 from senior Kyler Koerkenmeier, and matching 77s from seniors Noah Cooper and Nolan Houchins, adding up to an even 300 to win the regional.
Chatham Glenwood was second at 316, and Marquette third at 318. The Explorers were miles ahead of fourth-place Taylorville, which came in at 342.
Marquette also counted scores from sophomore Sam Jun (80), junior Hubert Allen (81), and senior Henry Freihoff (88). Jun and Allen finished eighth and ninth, respectively.
Andrew Belden fired an 89, and Ethan Dempsey shot 95 to round out the six-man group for Marquette.
The Jerseyville Panthers finished in fifth place as a team, scoring 346, but three of their golfers still advanced to the sectional individually.
Senior Caden Klunk shot 83 while juniors Michael Roberts and Isaac Hackethal shot 85 and 86, respectively.
Civic Memorial was seventh as a team at 362. The Eagles will be represented by junior Logan Robinson moving forward, who shot 84 at Wednesday’s regional.