Oak Lawn’s Ethan Barnes continues to impress his coach.
Barnes won the South Suburban Red individual boys golf title on Sept. 22 at Cog Hill, firing a 79. The Spartans took the team championship with 339, edging Richards (342) and Evergreen Park (344). It’s the Spartans’ second title in three years.
For Oak Lawn, sophomore Drew Rice and junior Ethan Aguinaga tied for sixth with 86 scores while sophomore Vincent Crosby took 10th with an 88.
Barnes was the only golfer in the field to break 80 under windy conditions. His ability to adapt did not surprise coach Shawn Neubauer.
“He came in as a freshman and had raw skill level,” Neubauer said of Barnes. “He came back his sophomore year and was a completely different player. I’ve coached basketball, baseball, softball and bowling and I have never seen that quick of an increase in skill level than I did with Ethan.”
Barnes credits working with his father, Brian, during the summer between his freshman and sophomore years for the transformation.
“I fell in love with the game and I probably played 40 rounds of golf in the summer,” he said. “I was grinding all summer. I never even had a lesson before, but my dad helped me at the beginning stages.”
Around the links
Among other conference golf highlights, at the West Suburban Silver boys meet, Lyons senior Grayson Lee tied Hinsdale Central’s Eli Havens for medalist honors with a 69 and finished second after a playoff.
At the boys SouthWest Suburban, Andrew junior Joshua Hirsch and Sandburg senior Carter Banyon tied for seventh with 76 scores. Hirsch also scored a program-record 72 on Sept. 25 at the U-High Invitational.
On the girls side, at the GCAC South tournament, Nazareth junior Gabriella Giangrande and Mother McAuley senior Avery Shipman tied for seventh with 86 scores.
In the South Suburban, Richards senior Maggie Snyder tied for eighth with a 106.
At the West Suburban Conference meet, Lyons junior Caroline McNaughton tied for eighth with an 83.
SXU gets first win
Blainey Dowling threw for 311 yards and four touchdown to lead St. Xavier’s football team to a its first win of the season, 38-17 over Madonna on Sept. 26 in a Mid-States Football Association crossover in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
Dowling, a Mount Carmel grad, hit freshman receiver Coen Demack nine times for 151 yards and three TDs for the Cougars (1-3). Owen Schickel, Tai Sesta and Zach Norred had interceptions.
The Cougars visit Defiance (2-2) at noon Oct. 3 in another MSFA crossover.
Fire back on track
Johan Gomez scored in the 58th minute to lead the Chicago Fire to a 1-0 MLS victory over host Charlotte on Sept. 26.
Goalie Josh Cohen picked up the clean sheet for the Fire (12-8-6) who won their first MLS game since Aug 19.
The Fire hosts Vancouver at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6 at Soldier Field.