First three-peat for Team Peoria in Junior River Cup competition?
By Steve Stein
History will be on the line this weekend in the 27th annual Junior River Cup match play golf tournament at Coyote Creek Golf Course in Bartonville.
Team Peoria will be shooting for its third straight victory, something it has never done. On the other side of the coin, Team Tazwood wants to avoid a third consecutive loss.
Lick Creek Golf Course in Pekin was the site of last year's Junior River Cup competition, which features the area's top young golfers playing in High School and Junior High divisions. Junior High Division golfers have not started high school yet.
Team Peoria, the "visiting team," eked out a 10-8 victory over Team Tazwood at Lick Creek and earned the coveted Steve Maxheimer Memorial Trophy in a tournament that featured multiple nail-biting matches.
Veteran team captains Daniel Young of Team Peoria and Gregg Guenther of Team Tazwood, who are back this year, were amazed at the competitiveness of the 2025 tournament.
"I can't remember a year where so many matches ended on the 18th green," Young said. "That's not always the case in match play."
"You almost expected every match to end on 18," Guenther said.
Team Tazwood leads the series 17-9.
Team Peoria won two in a row in 2003-04 and 2007-08. That was a long time ago. It's the two straight wins in 2024 and 2025 that bug the golfers from the east side of the Illinois River.
"Multiple guys on my team have told me they want to streak to be over. They're tired of losing," Guenther said. "This tournament really means something to the golfers."
The High School Division roster of each team is loaded with River Cup veterans. Seven of the eight golfers on each roster have played in the Junior High Division or High School Division, or both.
None of the four Junior High Division golfers on Team Peoria this year has played in the River Cup.
Two of the four Junior High Division golfers on Team Tazwood -- Paxton Heinold and Jonathan Sombeck -- have River Cup experience.
"If we have an advantage, it's in the younger group," Guenther said.
"Our younger guys don't have a track record in the River Cup. They're a bit of an unknown," Young said.
What is known is the competition in each division will be fierce.
"There will be some good matches," Young said. "Maybe some rematches from last year in the High School Division."
"It'll come down to who gets hot at the right time," Guenther said.
Both captains were happy when they learned Coyote Creek will host the Junior River Cup four straight years starting this year.
"The course is a fabulous test," Young said. "There are holes where you better pay attention, and holes where you can make hay."
Guenther said Coyote Creek is a great match play course.
"There are long holes, short holes, good par 3's," he said.
An addition to the Junior River Cup weekend has made it "more official," in Guenther's words.
The tournament pairings party that hadn't been held since 2019 returned Friday night. The party was called off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained dormant until this year.
Two-golfer best ball matches will be played Saturday and individual matches will be held Sunday. The teams split their individual matches 6-6 last year.
Here are the Team Peoria and Team Tazwood rosters:
TEAM PEORIA
(Captain Daniel Young, 11th season)
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
-- Nolan Eccles (Dunlap)
-- Shane Cunningham (Peoria Richwoods)
-- Drew Gama (Peoria Christian)
-- Crew Fortin (Illini Bluffs)
-- Sean Graham (Peoria Notre Dame)
-- Jacob Shelby (Dunlap)
-- Jack Coulter (Peoria Notre Dame)
-- Nick Herget (Dunlap)
JUNIOR HIGH DIVISION
(School attending this year)
-- Colin Cunningham (Peoria Richwoods)
-- Finn Snyder (Dunlap)
-- Logan Phegley (Peoria Concordia Lutheran School)
-- Bennett Egel (Dunlap)
TEAM TAZWOOD
(Captain Gregg Guenther, 8th season)
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
-- Gavin Schreurs (Washington)
-- Court Bohanan (Washington)
-- Grady Burrell (Delavan)
-- Nick Unes (East Peoria)
-- Dominic Yocum (Washington)
-- Aidan Foster (Washington)
-- Isaiah Farraher (Metamora)
-- Lee Bolliger (Morton)
JUNIOR HIGH DIVISION
(School attending this year)
-- Paxton Heinold (Washington)
-- Jonathan Sombeck (Pekin)
-- Blake Pearson (Washington)
-- Brooks Birkey (Morton)
By Steve Stein
History will be on the line this weekend in the 27th annual Junior River Cup match play golf tournament at Coyote Creek Golf Course in Bartonville.
Team Peoria will be shooting for its third straight victory, something it has never done. On the other side of the coin, Team Tazwood wants to avoid a third consecutive loss.
Lick Creek Golf Course in Pekin was the site of last year's Junior River Cup competition, which features the area's top young golfers playing in High School and Junior High divisions. Junior High Division golfers have not started high school yet.
Team Peoria, the "visiting team," eked out a 10-8 victory over Team Tazwood at Lick Creek and earned the coveted Steve Maxheimer Memorial Trophy in a tournament that featured multiple nail-biting matches.
Veteran team captains Daniel Young of Team Peoria and Gregg Guenther of Team Tazwood, who are back this year, were amazed at the competitiveness of the 2025 tournament.
"I can't remember a year where so many matches ended on the 18th green," Young said. "That's not always the case in match play."
"You almost expected every match to end on 18," Guenther said.
Team Tazwood leads the series 17-9.
Team Peoria won two in a row in 2003-04 and 2007-08. That was a long time ago. It's the two straight wins in 2024 and 2025 that bug the golfers from the east side of the Illinois River.
"Multiple guys on my team have told me they want to streak to be over. They're tired of losing," Guenther said. "This tournament really means something to the golfers."
The High School Division roster of each team is loaded with River Cup veterans. Seven of the eight golfers on each roster have played in the Junior High Division or High School Division, or both.
None of the four Junior High Division golfers on Team Peoria this year has played in the River Cup.
Two of the four Junior High Division golfers on Team Tazwood -- Paxton Heinold and Jonathan Sombeck -- have River Cup experience.
"If we have an advantage, it's in the younger group," Guenther said.
"Our younger guys don't have a track record in the River Cup. They're a bit of an unknown," Young said.
What is known is the competition in each division will be fierce.
"There will be some good matches," Young said. "Maybe some rematches from last year in the High School Division."
"It'll come down to who gets hot at the right time," Guenther said.
Both captains were happy when they learned Coyote Creek will host the Junior River Cup four straight years starting this year.
"The course is a fabulous test," Young said. "There are holes where you better pay attention, and holes where you can make hay."
Guenther said Coyote Creek is a great match play course.
"There are long holes, short holes, good par 3's," he said.
An addition to the Junior River Cup weekend has made it "more official," in Guenther's words.
The tournament pairings party that hadn't been held since 2019 returned Friday night. The party was called off in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and remained dormant until this year.
Two-golfer best ball matches will be played Saturday and individual matches will be held Sunday. The teams split their individual matches 6-6 last year.
Here are the Team Peoria and Team Tazwood rosters:
TEAM PEORIA
(Captain Daniel Young, 11th season)
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
-- Nolan Eccles (Dunlap)
-- Shane Cunningham (Peoria Richwoods)
-- Drew Gama (Peoria Christian)
-- Crew Fortin (Illini Bluffs)
-- Sean Graham (Peoria Notre Dame)
-- Jacob Shelby (Dunlap)
-- Jack Coulter (Peoria Notre Dame)
-- Nick Herget (Dunlap)
JUNIOR HIGH DIVISION
(School attending this year)
-- Colin Cunningham (Peoria Richwoods)
-- Finn Snyder (Dunlap)
-- Logan Phegley (Peoria Concordia Lutheran School)
-- Bennett Egel (Dunlap)
TEAM TAZWOOD
(Captain Gregg Guenther, 8th season)
HIGH SCHOOL DIVISION
-- Gavin Schreurs (Washington)
-- Court Bohanan (Washington)
-- Grady Burrell (Delavan)
-- Nick Unes (East Peoria)
-- Dominic Yocum (Washington)
-- Aidan Foster (Washington)
-- Isaiah Farraher (Metamora)
-- Lee Bolliger (Morton)
JUNIOR HIGH DIVISION
(School attending this year)
-- Paxton Heinold (Washington)
-- Jonathan Sombeck (Pekin)
-- Blake Pearson (Washington)
-- Brooks Birkey (Morton)