Senior Leahy leads the way for Knights.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
While the IC Catholic Prep golf team lost a lot of strong players from last year’s team, coach Don Sujack’s roster is far from bereft of talent.
The Knights, who kicked off the season late last week at the Leyden Eagle invitational hosted at Arlington Lakes in Arlington Heights, return a number of players with experience.
That group is led by senior Connon Leahy who Sujack said is poised to make some noise this fall.
“Connon is an animal,” the coach said. “With his physique, he looks like he could wrestle down a bear. He’s killing the ball. He is extremely motivated because of what happened from a team and personal standpoint. It absolutely crushed him that he and the team did not go downstate. He’s really playing well. He will contend for medalist in every tournament including the state. He’s good enough to be a contender at state.”
Other golfers who figure to contribute for the Knights include seniors Charlie Schoonveld, Michael Hoffman, Charlie O’Brien, Jake DeWitte and Kevin Cheng, as well as Thomas Hilgart.
“Those guys will be vying for spots in the lineup,” said Sujack.
Sujack said Schoonveld and Hoffman in particular will benefit from the experience they bring back.
“They have the chance to make the big leap and put it all together and compete meet in and meet out,” he said. “Charlie and Michael have the experience. They have played in a bunch of meets. They are looking to step up and help lead the team and contend for medalist in every match.
“The rest of the guys have played a lot of junior-varsity meets. These guys have been in the program and understand what is needed. They have worked on their games in the off-season and have a great opportunity to seize a spot in the lineup. The lower part of the lineup is wide open. We’re hopeful, but in order for us to compete, guys have to get more consistent.”
Sujack said he’s fortunate to have a strong character group as well. “This is a great group of young men,” he said. “These are the type of guys who last year would be on the bus even though they weren’t playing and would cheer on their teammates.”
The Knights will play all but one of their home matches at Maple Meadows in Wood Dale. It’s the first time they have played a full slate at Maple Meadows since the clubhouse burned down several years ago. IC Catholic Prep also will host a match at River Forest Country Club this season against Ridgewood.
“We have a good opportunity to be very competitive in all our matches,” said Sujack. “These guys have taken it upon themselves to get better. Hopefully they will turn that hard work into results. We’re gearing toward the postseason. These young men have worked hard enough. If they step up and do it, it wouldn’t shock me if we were successful.”
The Knights played earlier this week in an invite at Glen Oak Country Club in Glen Ellyn. IC Catholic Prep also will play in an invitational in the middle of the season at Steeple Chase in Mundelein.
“We’ll have two tournaments early and one in the middle,” said Sujack. “Those are great opportunities for the boys to measure themselves and measure their progress.”
IC Catholic Prep will host a Class 1A regional this season as well at Maple Meadows.
