![Paulius Malcius]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1634228700/lhs210net/xgml2n6sfpqtzybsgaag/2021-22_LHS_BGO_Malcius_Paulius.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1634228700/lhs210net/xgml2n6sfpqtzybsgaag/2021-22_LHS_BGO_Malcius_Paulius.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1634228700/lhs210net/xgml2n6sfpqtzybsgaag/2021-22_LHS_BGO_Malcius_Paulius.jpg","width":720}])
Making its first team state finals appearance since 2017, Lemont High School’s boys’ golf squad rallied to place fourth at the 2021 IHSA Boys’ Golf Class 2A State Finals, which were contested on October 8-9 at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University in Normal. Head coach Mark Hollatz’s team posted the third best round over the final 18 holes to move up four places in the team standings on the final day of competition.
Over 36 holes, Lemont finished with a +44 612 (307-305). St. Ignatius (+17 585) won the 2021 IHSA Class 2A State Championship, while Benton (+26 594) and Wheaton Academy (+35 603) also won state trophies. Lemont was eighth after the first day of competition; only the top eight teams moved on to the final round.
Making his third IHSA State Finals appearance, senior Paulius Malcius led Lemont by finishing 19th individually with a +6 148 (74-74). Sophomore Eddie Scott (79-76) and senior Ryan Tracy (77-78) tied for 40th after each shot +13 155. Senior Daniel Stood (t-53rd; 80-77; +15 157), junior Jack Crispo (t-65th; 79-81; +18 160) and senior Austin Belsan (82nd; 77-90; +25 167) also competed for Lemont.
Lemont secured the program’s 11th team state finals berth by placing third at the IHSA Brother Rice Sectional at The Sanctuary Golf Course in New Lenox on October 4. Lemont posted a team score of 306, trailing sectional champion St. Ignatius and runner-up Wheaton Academy. The top three teams from each of the IHSA’s four Class 2A Sectionals advanced to state finals competition, as did the top 10 individuals from schools that did not qualify for state finals team competition.
Crispo and Scott led the squad, posting scores of +1 73 to tie for fifth individually. Lemont’s sectional contingent also included Belsan (+17 89), Malcius (+6 78), Stood (+11 83) and Tracy (+10 82).
Lemont outlasted Providence Catholic and Morris to win the IHSA Lemont Regional on September 29 at Wedgewood Golf Course in Plainfield. Malcius earned medalist honors by firing a -5 67, while Scott (4th, +3 75), Tracy (5th, +4 76) and Crispo (t-8th, +7 79) joined him in placing among the top 10 individuals. The regional crown was the program’s 12th.
Lemont captured its 16th consecutive South Suburban Conference title earlier this season.
Malcius became the first freshman in program history to qualify for the state finals as an individual in 2018, and earned all-state accolades by placing fifth individually at the 2019 IHSA State Finals.
Lemont’s first team state finals berth came in 2005, when the squad qualified for the IHSA Class AA State Finals. It advanced to the IHSA Class 2A State Finals each season from 2007-11, and again annually from 2014-17. Its best team state finals finish came in 2011, when it earned a third-place trophy.
Five individuals have earned medals in state finals competition, including Shane Purtle ‘12, whose third-place tie in 2011 remains the best finish in program history. Other medal winners have included Dave Lucheon ‘77 (t-7th, 1976), Tom Lynn ‘07 (t-8th, 2005), Raymond Sullivan ‘18 (t-12th, 2015), and Malcius (5th, 2019). Sullivan is the only player in school history to compete in four state finals.