Lake Forest’s Willis leads heading into final round

Updated: October 14, 2011 9:51PM

Lake Forest senior Joe Willis eagled hole No. 10 Friday at the Den at Fox Creek Golf Course in Bloomington en route to a 1-under 71 and a two-stroke lead heading into Saturday’s final round of the Class 3A state championship.

“On [hole] 10, I hit my layup and had 30 yards from the fairway and one-hopped it in from the there,’’ Willis said. ‘‘It was pretty exciting and definitley gave me a boost.’’

Barrington senior J.P. Talbot is currently in second with a 1-over 73, and Willis’ junior teammate Ian Mankoff is in third after firing a 3-over 75.

Defending champion Lake Forest (303) also got a 77 from senior Nick Steffens and an 80 from senior Matt Garrity to take a seven-stroke lead into today’s final round.

Lyons (310) is currently in second and Naperville North (313) is in third.

“I think it would definitely be a huge deal for us to win a second title,’’ Willis said. ‘‘It would validate us and assert that we’re one of the best teams in the state and would be really fun.’’

In Class 2A, Lemont senior Shane Purtle shot a 1-over 72 at Weibring Golf Club in Normal and is tied atop the leaderboard with Marian Central senior Luke Waggoner and Althoff junior Austin VonAlst.

Lemont (313) trails Althoff (306) by seven strokes heading into the final round.

In Class 1A, North Shore shot a team-best 316 at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington behind junior Nick McCall’s 4-over 76.

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