By Jeff Vorva | Photos courtesy of Pam Devata
Hinsdale Central senior Dru Devata was bummed out.
He thought that for the third year in a row, he and his Hinsdale Central teammates were going to finish second in the Illinois High School Association Class 3A boys state golf tournament by two shots.
See, the Red Devils tied with Evanston with 588 scores after 36 holes Oct. 18-19 at the Den at Fox Creek course in Bloomington.
Bloomington turned into Gloomington for the Red Devils because it was Central coach Serge Penksik’s understanding that the tiebreaker to determine the state championship would be the fifth score of the second round. Thus, the team lost by two shots.
“Having been there before and having lost the past two years by such a small margin, I knew how it felt,” Devata said. “I was pretty…I don’t think angry is the right word, but I was disappointed. Why does this keep happening? We played great each of the three years. Why can’t we go out and win it? Why is this going on? Why is this not working?”
Shortly after Penksik shook hands with the Evanston coach and Hinsdale athletic officials congratulated Evanston’s athletic officials, it was announced that the tiebreaker was actually the fifth score for both rounds. Thus, the Red Devils won by two strokes.
Penksik was glad he was mistaken, and so were his players, who were jumping around, screaming, and throwing water at each other.
“At first, my reaction was that we lost on the fifth card, so I could just see the disappointment building because I’ve seen that in the last two years,” Penksik said of his players’ reaction. “Then, the IHSA posted it on the website that they won. The kids were watching it and at that point, it became official. The kids were ecstatic. It was a big, big win for them. It’s a pretty meaningful win for the seniors.”
“I was completely convinced we lost,” Devata said. “No one really knew how the tiebreaker was going to be settled. We were waiting. There were some rumors going around but no one knew what was going on. It was a little bit nerve-wracking.”
It was Hinsdale Central’s 11th state championship in boys golf and first since 2019 making the school tied with New Trier for the program with the most titles. It was also Penksik’s first as head coach, joining Jess Krueger (seven titles) and Russell Poppenhager (three) in the coaching winner’s circle at the school.
Penksik, who also teaches orchestra at the school, could not have orchestrated a more dramatic weekend.
All six members of the state team helped score for the Red Devils.
Devata, who is heading to Emory University next season, tied for third in the state with a two-round total of 141.
Freshman Michael Jorski was seventh with a 145. Senior Isaac Schloegel was 19th with 150, senior Kevin Wesolowski was 38th with a 155, sophomore Mitchell Ghaben was 59th with a 162, and sophomore Constantine Verros was 70th with a 164.
Devata’s graduation will be a big loss to the program, according to Penksik.
“He is a huge reason why we won and not just his score,” the coach said. “His leadership this year was something like I have not seen in a long time. He made it a point this year to be more team-oriented. He really took the team under his wing, and it really paid off.”
Jorski’s top-10 finish as a freshman was a boost for the Red Devils but not too surprising.
“He’s a young superstar who won the Drive, Chip, and Putt competition at Augusta National at age 12 and was on TV,” Penksik said. “He’s the future of our program.”
