IESA Headlines

2017 IESA Golf State Tournament Tees Off Saturday in Peoria

Students from Illinois Elementary School Association (IESA) member schools will compete in the eighth annual IESA Golf State Tournament at Kellogg Golf Course in Peoria on Saturday, September 16. There will be over 150 students who will make the trip to compete in the event this weekend. A complete list of the individuals, participating schools, and tee times is located on the IESA website at the following link:

https://www.iesa.org/activities/go/times_State.asp?Year=2017

This will mark the fifth year that the Kellogg Golf Course in Peoria has hosted the State Tournament. The state site contains two different courses, the Executive 9 and the Kellogg Course, both of which will be in use Saturday. The championship 18 hole Kellogg Course features bent grass fairways and greens. The Peoria Park District assists in the administration of the tournament.

In conjunction with the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Park District sponsors a reception for the golfers on Friday from 6-8 p.m. at the Learning Center across the street from Kellogg Golf Course. Schools need to register for the event and they will need to RSVP to Ryan Thornton (rthornton@peoria.org) by 12 noon on Thursday if they want to attend the Friday reception. Pizza is available to the golfers as well as use of the driving range. Schools can access the following link to register:

http://www.iesa.org/documents/activities/IESA-GO_FridayReg.pdf

The sectional qualifying tournaments were held Tuesday, September 5 at eight different sites across the state. This is the fourth year that the boys and the third year that the girls advanced to the finals as a result of sectional tournaments. The state final will consist of a girls and boys division. All participants will compete in one 18 hole round of golf. The girls will play the Executive 9 and nine holes of the championship 18. The boys will play the championship 18.

The first tee time on Saturday is scheduled to begin at 7:00 a.m. for the girls and 9:00 a.m. for the boys.

The boys competed in their sectional qualifier on Tuesday, September 5 at five different sites. Sectional A was held at Ingersoll Golf Course in Rockford; Sectional B was held at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington; Sectional C was held at the Links in Jacksonville; Sectional D was held at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Paris; and Sectional E was held at Quail Meadows in East Peoria. The number of golfers who qualified for the state final from each sectional varied slightly. Sectional A had 18 qualifiers; Sectional B had 17 qualifiers; Sectional C had 15 qualifiers; Sectional D had 13 qualifiers; and Sectional E had 15 qualifiers.

Results from all five boys sectionals are located at this link:

https://www.iesa.org/activities/go/results_Sectional.asp?Year=2017&Gender=Boys

Four boys who finished in the top 10 last year are returning this year. Last year's individual champion, Weston Walker a 7th grader from Peoria Christian is returning. Walker, a 6th grader last year, finished in 1st place last year with a 69. Other top 10 returnees are Eddie Zhang, Dunlap MS; Brady Kaufmann, and Jack Hammerton, Peoria Washington.

Three courses served as sectional hosts on September 5 for the girls ---Sectional A was held at Inwood Course in Joliet; Sectional B was held at Metamora Fields in Metamora; and Sectional C was played at Country Hills Golf Course in Greenview. There are 22 qualifiers from Sectional A; 28 qualifiers from Sectional B; and 23 qualifiers from Sectional C.

Results from all three girls sectionals are located at this link:

https://www.iesa.org/activities/go/results_Sectional.asp?Year=2017&Gender=Girls

There are six girls who finished in the top 10 last year who will be looking to take home first place honors this year. Leading the field will be Dani Grace Schrock, an 8th grader from Pontiac JHS is returning to defend her individual championship. Schrock fired a 79 last year to capture her individual championship. Other golfers returning who placed in the top 10 last year are: Allison Pacocha, Eureka; Lexi Schulman, Vernon Hills Hawthorn North, Sophia Sulkar, Barrington Prairie, Elaine Grant, Chillicothe, and Reagan Kennedy, Normal Epiphany.

The awards ceremony will take place after the last golfers have completed their round. Individual awards will be given during the ceremony, with the top 10 finishers in each division receiving medals.

Complete tournament information will be located at www.iesa.org. Click on the Golf link at the top of the IESA Web site home page. Also, the IESA FanZone available on the IESA home page can provide additional information.

There will be no admission or parking charge at the tournament.

Should weather become a factor, the IESA website will contain up-to-date information regarding the completion of the tournament. Go to www.iesa.org for any changes to the schedule and for the final results which will be posted at the conclusion of the awards ceremony.

For more information, please contact the Golf Administrator Chris Frasco at 309-829-0114 or chris@iesa.org.