BLOOMINGTON — After playing like it all season, Easton Friedman proved this weekend that he’s one of the best golfers in the state.
A first-round score of 76 on Friday followed by a 1-over-par 73 on Saturday at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington netted the Prairie Central senior a sixth-place finish in the boys’ Class 1A state tournament, just five strokes back of the state champion.
Even more than his own individual success, Friedman was proud of the Hawks for placing eighth as a team with a two-day collective score of 662. Prairie Central was one of just one of three area schools to qualify for state as a team and the only one to make Saturday’s cut.
“It means a lot,” Friedman said. “I didn’t necessarily expect us to make it as a team, but I’m glad we did. It’s good for my teammates and the whole community. We haven’t had a team make it to state since 1999, so it just means a lot. I played way better this year than last, and all in all, it was a pretty good weekend.”
Last year as a solo competitor, Friedman barely made the cut and finished tied for 47th in the 2A state field, but this year, he was in the hunt for a 1A title from start to finish.
“It helped me a lot,” Friedman said of last year’s experience. “I wasn’t as nervous because I’d been there before and knew the environment of what I was playing in. It helped a lot knowing how hard the course was going to play.”
Joining Friedman in the Hawks’ historic state appearance were Tucker Stoller, who carded a two-day total score of 167 to finish 49th, Asher Popejoy in 60th with a 171, Lakin Bachtold in 69th with a 175, Tony Schahrer in 84th with a 188 and Landon Meiss in 87th with a 202.
“We’ll look back at the 2025 team as the first team to make it to state in almost 30 years,” Friedman said. “It made everybody back home happy for the program, and it just feels great.”
LeRoy was also represented well on Saturday at Prairie Vista after missing out on advancing as a team by just one stroke the day before. Brycen Umstattd finished 19th overall with a collective score of 156, Jordan Cox shot a 164 to place 38th and Sam Edmundson shot a 165 to finish 41st. Arcola’s Canton Wesch took 16th individually (154), Fisher’s Ethan McFarling tied for 41st (165) and Clinton’s Ryan Pine was 60th (171).
Sanders caps off stellar sophomore season
Monticello may have been the first team to miss the cut after Friday’s first round of the girls’ Class 1A state finals at Red Tail Run Golf Course in Decatur, but it still had one of the best players in the field.
Sages sophomore sensation Cate Sanders shot rounds of 78 and 81 to put her in 12th place individually, 13 shots back of the winner.
“It was so much fun,” Sanders said. “I had a lot of fun this week. It was a long week, but it’s super cool that I’m only a sophomore and I got to come out here and do this.”
This was a special season for the Sages, one of the best in program history. They smashed the team’s previous 18-hole record from the year before by 27 strokes with a championship-winning score of 330 at the Illini Prairie Conference meet, and they one-upped themselves at sectionals with a 325 to reach the state finals.
“Last year, we were on to something, and this year, we kind of finished it,” Sanders said. “Sectionals was really stressful because it literally came down to the last hole.”
Monticello is losing a couple key seniors in Rachel Ross and Isa Beery — Ross’ two-day score of 177 landed her in 54th place — but Sanders is excited about what the Sages have returning in 2026.
“Oh, I’m so excited. I’m looking forward to next season already,” Sanders said. “I definitely want to make it back to state and hopefully get top 10.”
Iroquois West’s Kaia Kimmel was the only other area golfer to qualify for the 1A second round, and she finished in 45th with a collective score of 174.
Hartman finishes high school career strong
Brooke Hartman’s first round of the girls’ Class 2A state tournament at Hickory Point Golf Course in Forsyth didn’t go as planned. An uncharacteristic seven bogeys and three double bogeys put her 13 over par and on the cusp of missing the cut, but after making a par on her final hole to finish with an 85, she secured the final individual spot in Saturday’s second round.
“It was very stressful. I went into the last hole thinking it was already over,” Hartman said. “I just tried my best to finish strong. It was a huge sigh of relief, but I was also a little down because I hadn’t played that bad all year. It was kind of discouraging playing that bad when I had been working so hard to get to this point. It was a sad moment, but I was also glad that it wasn’t my last day. I had another day to show what I could actually do.”
And the Mahomet-Seymour senior did just that, carding a 3-over-par 75 on day two to climb up the rankings into 42nd place after starting in 69th.
“It felt great,” Hartman said. “I knew that if I was given a second chance, I was just going to try my best. I was going to show what I could actually do, not just show up to state and shoot an 85. Top 70 was not my goal. I wound up in 42nd place and showed what I can actually do.”
Finishing a few spots ahead of her in 36th was sophomore teammate Makenna Peterka after shooting rounds of 81 and 78. With her impressive showing at state and her consistent improvement all year, she looks to be the one who will potentially carry the torch for the Bulldogs the next two seasons.
“She’s going to get super good,” Hartman said. “She’s been improving all season, and she’s one to look out for. She’s had her mindset all on golf, especially these last three weeks in the postseason. I think she’s going to start shooting really low rounds in the future.”
M-S senior Jackson Bohm also snuck into the second round of the boys’ 2A state finals at Weibring Golf Club in Normal. He shot an 83 on Friday and improved with a 77 on Saturday to finish 62nd overall.
