By Randy Whalen

Mitchell Fulayter felt like he had no other choice.

The Joliet Township senior was going to state in boys' golf. 

That's exactly what Fulayter did, reaching the goal he set for himself at the start of the season and accomplishing something he had been waiting for since moving up to the varsity full-time as a sophomore. 

"That was my goal," Fulayter said. "It felt like a relief to get there. I put so much pressure on myself and I didn't want to finish the season without it."

He didn't as he advanced to the Class 3A Illinois High School Association State Finals, which were held on Friday, October 18, and Saturday, October 19 at the Den at Fox Creek in Bloomington.

"Last year I thought I could do it but this year I knew I could make it," Fulayter said. "I feel as the season went on I put higher expectations on myself. I did it. I accomplished it and it felt good."

At state, Fulayter did what everyone wanted to do, advance to Day No. 2. He had a 78 on the par 72 course on the first day. The cutoff to make it to the second day was 82, so he easily made it and kept himself in contention. Day No. 2 brought an 80 score. So his total was 158, which put him in a 7-way tie for 47th place. Based on the criteria, he officially ended up in 52nd place.

Still, he was the first Joliet Township boys golfer to make it to state since Lincoln Chizmark in 2021.

Although his second-day score at state wasn't as good, it brought a highlight. In the two days, Fulayter had six birdies and on his first hole on Day No. 2, he had an eagle. That actually came on Hole No. 10, as he started on the back-9 and scored a 3 on the par-5.

"That was fun," Fulayter said of his eagle. "It was out of the bunker, next to the green, and I chipped it in. It was my third eagle of the season. The other ones were at Whitetail Ridge (in Yorkville) and The Odyssey (in Tinley Park)."

There were other accolades along the way too. Fulayter averaged a 35.4 in 9-hole competition. In regular 18-hole tournaments, he averaged 77. In the Southwest Prairie Conference, he was in second place for the season-long competition. He made All-Conference and in the SPC Tournament, he placed third. He was fourth at the Providence Invite, and he took eighth place at the Lemont Invite.

At the Class 3A Lockport Regional which was held on Wednesday at the the Nettle Creek Country Club in Morris, Fulayter was the lone Joliet Township golfer to make it out as he placed second. It was the third straight season that Fulayter advanced to the sectional. 

"I feel like I had no other choice," Fulayter said at that time of moving on to the sectional. "It's senior year and I knew that I could do it. I had four birdies, three bogies, and the rest par. The 70 ties my best score of the season, which I got last week at the SPC Tournament. I just have to do it at the right time."

The 10 individual sectional qualifiers were Fulayter (70, Lockport junior Zachary Skrzypiec (71), Lincoln-Way Central sophomore Brody Wall (72), Sandburg juniors Michael Boll (75), and Quinn McElligott (77), Andrew senior Aidan Penoyer (80), Lockport junior Hayden Gusias (80), Lincoln-Way Central sophomore Connor Kelch (80), Lockport senior Alex Hareza, and Lincoln-Way Central senior AJ Ackerson (81). 

In the overall individual standings, Minooka senior TJ Quinn shot a 2-under par 69 to edge out Fulayter by a stroke. Skrzypiec shot an even-par 71 to place third. Minooka (301) won its first team title since 2002. Lincoln-Way East (310) was second and Lincoln-Way West (313) edged Lockport (314) and Lincoln-Way Central (315) for the final team qualifying spot.

Joliet was seventh with a 326 score. The rest of the Joliet Township golfers at the regional were junior Leo Smith (83), along with seniors Colin Morgan (86), Julien Hagger (87), Brody Walsh (92), and junior Henry Young (111). 

At the Decatur (MacArthur) Sectional on Monday, October 9 at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur, Fulayter tied for seventh overall with a 74. A 76 score was the cutoff to advance to state and Skrzypiec got the last spot by winning a playoff.  

"Mitchell has been a mainstay on the varsity for three years," Joliet Township coach Britt Charley said. "Last season, as a junior, he helped contribute to our team that qualified for the sectional. He had a goal to make it to state this year and he accomplished that goal."

His high school career is over, but Fulayter still plans to compete for a school down the road.

"I'm going to golf in college," he said. "I haven't committed yet but I'm going to golf somewhere. We'll see.

"The only disappointment is that the season is so short. It was fun."