Waubonsie Valley’s Jason Marrs relaxed, ready for state’s best

All Waubonsie Valley senior Jason Marrs has been hoping for was a chance to get to the Class 3A state meet and show what we could do against the state’s elite.

After advancing by the slimmest of margins at Monday’s Class 3A Naperville Central Sectional at Springbrook, winning a five-man playoff for the final individual qualifying slot, Marrs will get his shot.

Marrs tees off at 9:42 a.m. Friday at The Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington off the 10th tee in a group that includes Barrington junior Joey Batliner, Mundelein senior Bret Cigelnik and Huntley junior Trent Craig.

“I just want to go down there and have a good time,” Marrs said. “It’s my senior year. I want to go down there and enjoy myself, not put too much pressure on myself. But I know I can compete with these people. I know I’m just as good as anyone in this field. That gives me a lot of confidence going into this weekend.”

Marrs went into the season with high expectations, and he has continually met his goals. He won the Upstate Eight Valley individual title in a playoff with teammate Zach Mayer and now finds himself in the state field for the first time.

Marrs is the lone local player in the Class 3A field this weekend. Nearby at Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University in Normal, however, a pair of local Class 2A entrants are in the field.

Aurora Central Catholic’s Sean Harreld and Kaneland’s Matt Yonkovich are both in the field. For Harreld, it is his second trip to state and is the cap to a historic season for both him and the program.

Harreld’s 72 at regionals set a new program record, 10 minutes after his teammate Dan Miller shot a 73 to break Mike Cowen’s previous record of 74. The Chargers shot a 298 as a team that day, beating the program record for an 18-hole score by eight strokes. But the team was unable to advance as a team out of sectionals.

Harreld will have a chance to break Cowen’s career scoring average record with a solid weekend in Normal.

“We’re a little disappointed that the team didn’t make it,” ACC coach Jim Parker said. “We were close, but we didn’t quite get that done. Sean is excited. He’s a good kid. Very glad to see him make it back down.”

Yonkovich was part of last year’s Class 2A state qualifying team from Kaneland, as well.

In Class 1A, Aurora Christian freshman Brett Seward capped off a solid varsity debut campaign with a berth in the state tournament. The Class 1A meet is held at Prairie Vista in Bloomington.