Ken Ryan Doings Newspaper - After missing time on the golf course because of an illness the last two weeks, Nazareth junior Patrick Mullaney wanted to make up for lost time.

So he hit 400 balls during a rainy practice Oct. 8.

"My back was a little sore after that," Mullaney said. "It was me trying to get back to my old self. I was extremely nervous (going into the sectional) because of my back, but I was able to play through the pain and do pretty well."

Sore back and all, Mullaney earned his second straight trip to State after finishing second individually at the Class 2A Lemont Sectional Monday at Broken Arrow Golf Course.

Mullaney shot a 3-over-par 75 to earn a trip to the state tournament Friday and Saturday at Illinois State University's Weibring Golf Club in Normal. He finished with the second-best score among the top-eight individuals not on an advancing team to qualify for State.

Yorkville's Conor McCormick shot a 72 to place first.

"I wanted to win, but I'm fine with it. I'm going downstate," Mullaney said. "I can't complain. It feels great."

Mullaney will be joined by junior teammate Peter Schink, who shot an 81 to earn the final individual berth.

"It's awesome," Schink said. "Last year we went down as a team and this year, I'm going down as an individual with Patrick. Hopefully we can place well. I really wanted to make it back to State this year."

Nazareth, which earned the program's first team State berth since 1984 last year, finished fourth Monday.

The Roadrunners (333) finished behind Joliet Catholic (315), Lemont (324) and Yorkville (325).

Nazareth junior Brendan Salvino just missed his second trip to State. He shot an 83 to miss qualifying by just two strokes. Junior Mike Rodden shot 94 to round out the scoring for the Roadrunners, while junior Matt Radford (98) and senior Sean Owens also competed.

"We're young," said Mike Morris, who filled in for Nazareth coach Jim Danko this season. "It's a fine line between making it downstate and not making it. They came close. Part of it is experience. Last year they had three seniors, which makes a considerable difference. They worked hard and played well and just fell a little short."

Nazareth finished 10th at State last season.

Schink has been in the program four years and has taken great satisfaction in the progression of the program, which earned the school's first-ever sectional championship a year ago.

"It's been a lot of fun," Schink said. "Being here all four years and helping Nazareth become a powerhouse in our sectional would be great. I didn't expect to help as much as I have. I thought I would kind of be standing off to the side because I've got Patrick over there."

Mullaney tied for 47th individually with a 36-hole total of 163 at State last season, while Schink tied for 86th with a 175. Mullaney has much higher aspirations this time.

"My expectations this year were to get downstate and place in the top 10, if not win it," Mullaney said. "Those were my goals. Last year's experience helped me big time. I know what to do now. I can't be as aggressive as I was last time. I'm just going to try and play the best I can."

Morris believes the sky's the limit for Mullaney.

"He's very capable of finishing in the top 10," Morris said. "He strikes the ball as well as anybody, he has great confidence in what he's doing and I think he has a real good chance to medal."

Nazareth took first at its own regional Oct. 6 at The Links at Carillon. The Roadrunners (333) finished ahead of University High (357) and Riverside-Brookfield (362), who also moved on to the sectional tournament.

Mullaney shot a 79 to finish second by one stroke and lead the Roadrunners, who also received scoring from Salvino (84), Schink (85) and Owens (85). Radford and Rodden also competed and both shot 87