The LT boys golf team is able to celebrate its season after placing sixth in the state tournament as a team–the first state appearance since the 2018-19 season–as well as having three individuals qualify. 

Will Caronchi ‘22 saw great improvement with his team throughout the season. The players contributed to some impressive wins, including the Batavia Invite and Dundee Crown Invite, Caronchi said.

“I’ve been playing really well this year,” Caronchi said. “My scoring average from this year was five shots lower than it was last year.”

In the fall of last year, the team was unable to compete at state as their season was shortened due to COVID-19. 

“Last year was a bit of a bummer, but it was still nice to have a season and this year’s was definitely a lot of fun to get back into the full schedule,” Caronchi said.

The team has also seen growth from some other players, Caronchi said. Before competing at state, he expected his teammates to contribute well at the tournament. Jack Berry ‘23 and Kevin Larman ‘22 have shown a lot of improvement and performed well to help with the success of the team. Connor Riordan ‘22 was also able to display his improvements, as he started at the lower end of the team, but ended playing in the lineup. 

“We’re just going to go out there and play our best and hope to place well as a team,” Riordan said before the state tournament. 

With the team’s third place finish at sectionals, the boys were able to qualify for state with a team and three individual qualifications.

“We haven’t made it to state as a team in a couple years and this year I feel we have a really good chance at placing well,” Caronchi said prior to the state match. 

The team competed in the state finals on Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9 at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington and finished sixth as a team. Caronchi individually finished 22nd, shooting 75 in round one and 73 in round two. His teammate, Michael Springer ‘22, placed 47th, with a score of 73 in the first round and 82 in the second round.

“State was a blast,” Caronchi said. “We didn’t have our best performance, but we had a great time and it was really cool to make the cut as a team.”