How this Belvidere golf team made school history; Boylan wins third regional in a row
POPLAR GROVE — This was supposed to be Belvidere’s year in girls golf. Three freshmen who led the Belvidere Co-op to a school-record runner-up finish in the NIC-10 in 2021 were now sophomores.
The Belvidere Co-op was ready.
“We came into this year thinking this was going to be our year,” coach Michaela Binz said.
It sure looked that way when Belvidere beat Boylan and the Rockford Co-op to open its season by winning the Belvidere Invitational, the first-ever tournament victory by any Belvidere girls golf team. But things soon went south. Last week, Belvidere finished third in the five-team NIC-10 tourney.
But Belvidere players never doubted they could make history — and Thursday they did, winning the first regional golf title by either Belvidere school in history. For either boys or girls.
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“It’s been a rough last couple of weeks, so we were kind of nervous,” Binz said. “But once we watched them all tee off, whew, we were excited. They were ready from there.”
Belvidere shot 350 at Timber Pointe to beat Sycamore by 11 strokes and the Rockford Co-op, which also advanced to sectionals, by 17.
“It’s crazy,” said senior Hannah Hix, who shot 91. “It’s not something I would have thought of four years ago, to be a regional champ. We have come a long way. It’s cool that our work paid off as a team.
“I know I was nervous. I put so much practice in and it wasn’t showing up. It was frustrating.”
“We definitely struggled a lot this year,” senior Charlie Andres, who shot 88, said. “But we turned it around today and did really good. We all really showed up.”
Sophomore Emma Pierson, the only Belvidere High player on the team along with five girls from Belvidere North, led the way with a 79, finishing second individually to Guilford’s three-time regional champion Kayla Sayyalinh, who shot 74.
“It’s just so cool that we did this as a team together and made history,” Pierson said. “We had confidence coming in because it was our home course and we were all working hard in practice to get back on track with our normal scores.
“It is nice to start off good and end off good, but it would have been nice to stay good the whole year. Still, it feels good.”
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Elle Maville, the sophomore daughter of Timber Pointe general manager and part owner JJ Maville, had the two best rounds of her life in Belvidere’s two wins, an 86 in the Belvidere Invitational and a 92 Thursday at regionals.
But this was truly a team win. All six Belvidere Co-op golfers broke 100 and the team would have won even if it had to count the scores of Leah Rudesill or Megan Redig.
“We came in struggling from conference, but we really pulled it together and came through,” Maville said.
Belvidere athletic director Josh Sternquist announced that they would make a duplicate of the regional plaque so a copy could be displayed in both schools.
“I will definitely be looking at it,” Maville said. “We’re making history here.”
The team gathered for a picture even before the awards ceremony, with Andres’ mom taking the photos. She was told she would have to be taking them again in a few minutes when they could also pose with the regional plaque.
“I won’t mind at all,” Jen Andres said with a big smile. “It will be just fine.”
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NIC-10 champion Boylan won its third consecutive regional title, shooting 344 to beat Winnebago by 49 strokes. The Titans will now go for their third consecutive sectional title Monday at the Kewanee Sectional at Baker Park.
The Greenberg sisters led the way with a Eva, a junior, beating her older sister in a playoff for medalist honors. Winnebago senior Kyra Simon took third with an 81.
Eva Greenberg birdied the third playoff hole to knock off Ella, a three-time NIC-10 champion.
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"We have always gone back and forth," Ella Greenberg said. "She has beaten me in a couple of invitationals this year. And Eva is really good at playoffs, both in high school and in summer tournaments. I don't think she has ever lost a playoff."
Byron also advanced with a 398, one stroke ahead of Rockford Christian. Stillman Valley finished fifth out of 13 teams with a 410.
The rest of the top 10 individually were: Rockford Christian sophomore Megan Lynch (86), Galena senior Ayden Wells (86), Stillman Valley sophomore Amelia Dunseth (87), Oregon senior Ava Hackman (87), Winnebago senior Ella Provi (90), Byron senior Shannon McHale (91) and Rockford Christian junior Kaitlin Park (92).
Stillman Valley senior Ella Challand, who tied for 17th, had a hole-in-one on No. 17.
Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and three years covering the Hawkeyes in Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: IHSA golf: Belvidere Co-op wins town's first regional title ever
