Boys golf: Scaletta, Barrington capture regional crowns

Dominic Scaletta and his Barrington golf teammates gave a going-away gift to retiring head coach Mike Kallenbach in the Class 3A Barrington regional at Makray Memorial Golf Course in Barrington on Tuesday.

Scaletta shot a 71 to earn medalist honors. He combined with three other Broncos who each shot 79 to score a 308, as the Broncos won the title.

Stevenson was second with a 312, and Deerfield was third with a 318. The top three teams qualified for the Palatine sectional at Palatine Hills Golf Course next Monday.

"It was very wet out there," Scaletta said. "But it was pretty scoreable. I did a lot of things right today. I was very patient."

Scaletta credited his familiarity with Makray and the fact that he played there in a tournament this past summer.

"I knew where the pins were going to be," Scaletta said. "The pins that are set here were in the last day of the Illinois Junior Amateur. I kind of knew where they were going to be so I could set my shots up."

Scaletta got help from Sean Markham, Bobby Beabien and Matt Lee, each of whom carded a 79. Brandon Dorans (83) and Ian Bouchard (88) also competed for the Broncos.

Dorans, who is a senior and was a member of last year's team that did not qualify for sectionals, said it was great to win a regional title in Kallenbach's final season.

"It was very exciting to be able to do that for him," Dorans said. "This team looks very solid right now."

It was the first regional title for Barrington since 2014. In his 14 years as head coach, Kallenbach's teams have finished third in the state twice. The Broncos have won 2 sectional and 7 regional titles and have qualified as an at-large team to state three other times.

"It feels so good," said Kallenbach, whose Broncos have won 6 consecutive tournaments this year. "I am so happy for the guys. They have been on a roll. I did not want the season to end today."

Defending state champ Jackson Bussell of Stevenson was second with a 71.

"It went pretty well," Bussell said. "It started off a little rough with the irons, but I found it midway through the round."

Bussell was backed by Mark Noonan (77), Alexander Kim (80) and Billy Fishbein (82). Conan Pan (86) and Andrew Babbo (94) also contributed for Stevenson.

"Anytime you advance, you feel pretty good," said coach John Rueth, whose Patriots were third in the state last year. "The main goal here is to advance, and I am pleased with that."

Fremd finished fifth with a 320 and was just 2 strokes away from qualifying for the sectional. The Vikings did get solace when three of their golfers were among the 10 at-large competitors to qualify for the sectional.

Fremd's Colin Robison and Nathan Schmidt tied for third with 75s. They will be joined in the sectional by teammate Bill Gao, who shot an 84.

Buffalo Grove qualified Michael Speer, who shot an 84, and Dori lee, who had an 85. Palatine's Joey Guess also advanced with an 85.