Last year the boys golf team, led by class of 2024 seniors Johnny Creamean and Noah Zyung, took home a state championship at The Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington, Illinois. Shooting two under second place, the team was back-to-back champions after also winning in 2022.

The team enters the 2024 season looking to take home its third straight state championship and complete the first three-peat in team history. This goal is not without its challenges as four of the six state-winning golfers graduated last year with two, Zyung and Creamen, going on to play Division I golf at Lehigh University and Butler University, respectively.

Varsity head coach Pete Drevline said the roster changes are both a loss and an opportunity for this year’s team. 

“Look at it as a revolving door, it’s the next man up,” Drevline said. “It’s a new team, and it’s this team’s quest to meet the high standards set by the two previous years of state champions.”

Varsity assistant coach John Nasshan said the graduated seniors continue to affect the team.

“We still feel the leadership they had, and the work ethic they put forth is still carried down with the seniors we have on our team this year,” Nasshan said.

Even without the star seniors from the former season, the team is off to a great start, taking home three invitational championships at Glenbrook South High School, Buffalo Grove High School, and Deerfield High School. The Trevs have started 2-1 in conference play with a win against Deerfield and Glenbrook South and a close loss to Glenbrook North High School.

Despite the changes, Nasshan expressed an optimistic outlook for the beginning of the season. 

“We’ve had some learning moments, we’ve had some ups and downs, which is always good early,” Nasshan said. “It teaches our guys what to expect from the competition, and we’ve also shown the competition what we can do.”

Apart from winning the state championship, both Drevline and Nasshan share a team goal of focusing on playing the best golf they possibly can, and peaking in October. The team is working towards these goals by honing in on their mental strength during the game.

“These guys have all taken a lot of swings throughout their career, but to get them in the right frame of mind and playing with the most confidence in October. We talk about course management and really just playing the next shot,” Drevline said. 

Senior Boden Rice added, “[Our goals are] staying positive, not getting hung up on bad shots and bad holes.”

When asked about the goals for the season, Rice said, “Definitely winning state, nothing short of it.”

Nasshan said the team needs to “play the most consistent golf” to win the state championship and achieve the elusive three-peat.  

“We definitely have the firepower to do it,” Nasshan said. “We just have to make sure we are peaking at the right time.”