Boys golf

IHSA Class 1A State Finals: The lone local golfer to make state on the boys’ side, Beecher senior Peyton Serafin, finished ninth overall in his third state appearance.

Serafin bounced back from a 7-over par 79 in Friday’s first round with a 1-under 71 in the second round at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington, giving him a 6-over 150 for his two-day score.

There were some technical aspects that Serafin said he was better at on Saturday, such as his putting and control on the green, but most of all, he got some swagger back.

“Moreso I trusted myself and my swing,” he said, “and I was able to play some good golf.”

It was the third trip to state in as many years for Serafin, who went as a member of the Bobcats’ state qualifying teams in 2023 and 2024. As a sophomore in 2023, he helped the Bobcats to an eighth-place team finish. Last fall, he earned individual bronze before rounding out his prep golf career with another top 10.

“It’s pretty unreal right now. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, I guess,” Serafin said, “I’m sad to go and I’ll miss the fun times I had with teammates and stuff, but I’m also happy to go to the next level. … I think it was great. I played some pretty good golf I’d say over the last three, four years. I’m just happy I was able to experience this and go to state."

Through his golf journey, both with Beecher and otherwise, Serafin has had his biggest fan right next to him. His father, David Serafin, has coached the Beecher boys golf team for the last 15 seasons, with this year his last both as golf coach and as a speech therapist.

During his tenure, which included coaching both Peyton and his older son, 2021 graduate Brady Serafin, at state, David Serafin has plenty to be thankful for.

“To get to experience that, to walk the course with him, those moments are just a blessing,” David Serafin said. “Time well spent over the years working with not just Peyton, but my son Brady and all the players I’ve been grateful to coach in the past.”

Whether his own sons or any of the other golfers he coached, David Serafin has always wanted to be able to use the sport as a vessel for life lessons, and there aren’t many more evident examples of that than the way Peyton hunkered down to fire off a 1-under round on Saturday after some Friday struggles.

“I hope he does the same in life,” David Serafin said. “Golf is just a small microcosm of life, and no matter how down on yourself you get in the moment, you still have to fight through. That was his weekend in a nutshell. It couldn’t have gone worse on the first day, so for him to pull through with his might and moxy was great to see.”

And for Peyton, who is still weighing his college options, he knows that he’s quite lucky that his tight bond with his coach will continue long after the end of his prep golf career Saturday.

“I think it’s pretty amazing to be able to share these great moments with him,” Peyton Serafin said. “Hopefully I’ll be able to share more good moments with him.”

Girls golf

IHSA Class 1A State Finals: At Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur, Iroquois West’s Kaia Kimmel was the lone local girl to make the second round. The junior Iroquois County champion finished with a two-day score of a 30-over 174, tied for 45th overall. She shot a 13-over 85 in the first round and a 17-over 89 in the second.

Bishop McNamara senior Cassidy Novak missed the cut to the second round after shooting a 25-over 97 on Friday.

Boys soccer

River Valley Conference Tournament championship

Beecher 4, Momence 0: Wences Baumgartner scored a pair of goals while Stanley Detjan had a seven-save shutout to lead Beecher (17-5-1) to the RVC Tournament title. Tyler Olsen and Trevor Panozzo each scored and Sebastian Juarez and Pablo Avila each had an assist.

No individual stats were available for Momence (10-9).