Nov. 20, 2008
NORMAL, Ill. -
The Illinois State men's golf team added to an already talented roster Wednesday, after head coach Ray Kralis signed Parker Freiburg (Quincy, Ill.,/ Quincy Senior High School), Mathew Hageman(Dixon, Ill.,/ Newman Central Catholic High School) and Richard Hearden (Green Bay, Wis.,/ Notre Dame Academy) to National Letters of Intent (NLI) to join the Redbird men's golf team for the 2009-10 season.
Kralis is excited about the recruiting class and expects them to compete for playing spots.
"I look for this recruiting class to have an immediate impact on our golf program," said Kralis. "Even though we are only losing one student athlete to graduation (senior, Ben Murphy), Parker, Matt and Ricky (Richard Hearden) have the skills and tournament experience to challenge for playing spots immediately. The strengthened competition level within the team will push everyone to higher levels individually."
Freiburg is a native of Quincy, Ill., the same hometown of former Redbird and current Champions Tour player, D.A. Weibring. He finished second at the 2008 Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Class 3A State Championship, while tallying a fourth-place finish at the 2008 IHSA Class 3A Sectional. Freiburg finished in second place at both the 2007 and 2008 IHSA Class 3A Regional. He tied for eighth at the 2007 and 2008 American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) Medicus Preseason Junior in the Chicago Southland.
Hageman won the 2008 AJGA Medicus Preseason Junior in the Chicago Southland, with additional top-25 finishes at AJGA events, including a tie for 24th place at the 2008 Future Legends, a tie for 23rd place at the 2008 Old Second Bank Junior Championship at Aurora and a tie for 14th place at the 2006 Nike Golf Junior at Quad Cities. Hageman also placed third at the 2008 Illinois Junior Golf Association (IJGA) Medinah Shrine Invitational. He finished in 12th place at the 2008 IHSA Class A State Tournament and in seventh place at the 2007 IHSA Class A State Tournament. He is a four-time all-conference selection.
Hearden placed sixth at the 2008 Wisconsin State Junior Championship, while tallying a second-place tie and fourth-place tie, respectfully, at the 2007 and 2008 Wisconsin High School State Championship. Hearden competed at the several AJGA events with top-30 finishes in, 2008 Coca-Cola Junior Championship at Boyne Highlands (T21), 2008 Old Second Bank Junior Championship in Aurora (T23) and at the 2008 Midwest Junior Players Championship (T30).
"They have all excelled on the state level and have demonstrated they have what it takes to compete with the best nationally," said Kralis. "I believe they bring the right combination of talent, experience, potential, desire and work ethic to help carry our program to new levels during their time at Illinois State."
