With eight returnees from last year, the Oak Park and River Forest High School boys golf team is optimistic about this season.
“So far, the team is looking good. This is the most experienced team we’ve ever had,” said OPRF head coach Bill Young, now in his ninth season. “They are a great bunch of young men who work hard, get along well with one another, and are committed to getting better.”
OPRF’s returnees are juniors Karsten Davis, Jackson Dodd, and Will Timchak; and seniors Adam Dominowski, Hugh Dwyer, James Kelly, Griffin Lane, and Luke Roberts. Dodd and Roberts made last year’s All-West Suburban Silver Team, with Roberts getting the nod for the second consecutive season.
“Luke is our leader. He’s been on varsity for the last four years,” Young said. “Karsten was a shot away from making it downstate last year and Hugh was a few shots behind him. Griffin was a key contributor last year and has had a great summer; his brother Trevor [a senior], who was not with us last year, won two Illinois junior golf tournaments this summer. And we also have James, who’s been on varsity for three years and has had some strong performances in tournaments this summer.”
Senior Nic Balesteri and Trevor Lane are OPRF’s top newcomers.
The Huskies won their season opener, Aug. 16, defeating Payton Prep/Jones Co-Op and Riverside-Brookfield at Indian Boundary. OPRF’s total of 140 strokes was 13 ahead of Payton/Jones and 24 under RBHS.
Dodd and Kelly tied for first with a round of 34, one under par. Dwyer and Roberts tied for third with rounds of 36. Davis, along with the Lane brothers, all shot 37 to tie for fifth as OPRF had the top seven placers. Balestri (T-10th, 38) and Timchak (T-13th, 39) completed the lineup.
Young anticipates the West Suburban Silver “will be tough competition as always.”
“Our goal is for each kid to get better every day,” he added, “so that by the end of the season our best six can compete with any team out there.”
OPRF girls
The OPRF girls return just four golfers from last season. But one of them, junior Nadia Vattana, is a returning state qualifier, finishing in a tie for 55th at the IHSA Class 2A tournament. And another returnee, senior Courtney Moore, was a sectional qualifier.
“We’re young with only one senior [Moore],” said ninth-year OPRF head coach Matt McMurray. “But we have a good core of experienced varsity players anchored by our star, Nadia Vattana. This team is hardworking and excited to improve and compete.”
OPRF’s other returnees are juniors Chaya Shah-Hempel and Lu Wojtowicz. The Huskies’ top newcomers are sophomore Maeve Gibbs and juniors Faith Sizemore and Maddie Zielinski.
OPRF opened the season with a seventh-place finish at the Midlothian Challenge, hosted by Providence Catholic. Vattana shot a 43 to tie for sixth among individuals. Gibbs’ round of 49 tied for 19th. Moore (T-34th, 52), Zielinski (T-47th, 56), and Wojtowicz (T-51st, 59) rounded out the Huskies’ lineup.
In recent years, OPRF has acquitted itself well in the West Suburban Conference. While McMurray feels Downers Grove North, Downers Grove South, and Hinsdale Central are the top teams in the league, he also believes the Huskies can compete for third or fourth place if they play their best at the end of the season.
“For a relatively inexperienced team, that would be a strong showing,” McMurray said.
McMurray would also like to see OPRF qualify for the sectional as a team and advance both Moore and Vattana to the state finals.
“I’d like to see Courtney and Nadia go downstate,” he said, “and see Nadia finish in the top 25 this year.”