Seniors Aiden Beck and Tate Niebrugge will represent Effingham in the sectional golf tournament.

They achieved that by their performance Monday in the Mattoon Class 2A Regional.

Overall, Effingham finished fourth as a team, with the top three teams advancing to the sectional. But Beck shot 83 and Niebrugge finished with an 85 to qualify for the sectional. The top 10 golfers, not on one of the advancing teams, also earn a berth in the sectional.

Charleston and Mattoon tied for the team championship, finishing with 334 points, and Paris was third at 345. The Hearts had 357 points.

In addition for the Hearts, Austin Waldhoff shot 94 and Ryker Schneider 95 to complete the team scoring. Ben Donsbach (99) and Nick Burgess (102) also played.

“Today was disappointing,” said EHS coach Jeff Schafer. “This group pulled two major upsets the past two years, but we just didn’t get it done today. We were in position after the first nine holes, but only Aiden had a good back nine.

“I’m very happy for Aiden and Tate,” Schafer added. “They have both been very consistent, and with their best efforts, could advance to state. It has also been a pleasure to coach Ben and Austin. They are two young men whose best golf is still ahead.”

Beck and Niebrugge will play in the Charleston Sectional, which will be played Monday, Oct. 14, at the Charleston Country Club.

Tate Niebrugge and Austin Waldhoff both shot 38 Tuesday afternoon, helping the Effingham Hearts post a 162-176 boys golf victory over Flora.

Aiden Beck shot 40 and Ryker Schneider 46 to complete the team scoring at the Flora Country Club. Also playing was Ben Donsbach (46), Ethan Ritz (46), Colby Haynes (49), Nick Burgess (50) and David Splechter (51).

“We finished our dual season with a nice win tonight,” said EHS coach Jeff Schafer. “Austin had his career low round with a 38, Tate also played very good and Austin was really close. It was a good way to finish our regular season.”

The Hearts will play Saturday in the Taylorville Invitational.

The Effingham girls golf team participated Saturday in the John Macek Invitational and finished 7th in the 15-team field.

Ava Boehm shot 80 and Kennedy Collier added an 81, helping the Lady Hearts to a 338 total in the event, hosted by Champaign Centennial and played at the U of I Blue Course. Anna Sigg finished with an 88 and Morgan Krouse shot 89 to complete the team scoring. Also playing was Jaelyn Boone (104) and Anna Hirtzel (109).

The Lady Hearts will return to action Thursday, competing in the St. Anthony Class 1A Regional at Effingham Country Club.

The Effingham Lady Hearts had four players place in the top nine Monday, en route to capturing the championship in the Apollo Conference Golf Tournament.

Effingham finished with a team total of 339, which was 73 strokes better than runner-up Charleston’s 412. Mattoon was third at 419, followed by Mt. Zion 425, Mahomet-Seymour 447 and Taylorville 550. Lincoln did not have enough players to qualify for a team score.

The tournament was played at the Lincoln Elks Golf Course.

Ava Boehm, Morgan Krouse and Kennedy Collier finished second, third and fourth respectively. Boehm shot 78, Krouse 80 and Collier 81. Completing the team score was Anna Sigg, who shot 100 and finished ninth overall. Also playing for EHS was Jaelyn Boone (110) and Anna Hirtzel (118).

Mattoon’s Kira Wolf was the medalist with a 75.

Boehm, Krouse and Collier were named all-conference after finishing in the top eight.

The Lady Hearts will play Thursday in the St. Anthony Invitational.