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ALEDO - Managing the big greens at Hawthorn Ridge Golf Club proved to be the key for local golfers to realize their state dreams on Tuesday. Three local boys - Newman's Matt Hageman, Fulton's Jake Hanrahan and Eastland's Drew Carroll - shot 78 or better to advance out of the Class 1A Aledo Sectional to this weekend's state tournament at Prairie Vista Golf Course in Bloomington. All three of them emphasized putting and handling the greens as important to their rounds. Hageman was confident he would make it through for his third state appearance. "Today I was focusing on the things that will make me be competitive at state," Hageman said. "I had thought I'd shoot under par, considering the good conditions, but I just didn't putt like I wanted to." Hageman attributed his struggles near the hole as being the difference between his final score of 73 and that of medalist John Hauter of Peoria Christian, who fired a 3-under 69. "John and I shot pretty much the same round except that I two-putted more holes," Hageman said. "I reached 15 greens, I just couldn't make a putt outside of 5 feet." Hauter led Peoria Christian to the team sectional championship with 309 strokes. Monmouth-Roseville also advanced as a team with a total of 315 strokes. Hanrahan, who shot a 2-over 74, rediscovered his short game just in time to punch his second straight trip to state. "I really haven't played very consistently or well for the last few weeks since right before the conference meet," Hanrahan said. "I was glad to see that I finally started to hit some putts today. I knew I couldn't afford to lose any strokes with the kind of scores guys were posting." Hanrahan's success with the putter came despite the big, sloping greens of the course. "It seemed like you could hit a green and still be 20 yards away from the hole," Hanrahan said. "I just tried to ignore everything else and went into my own. I'd hit my drive, hit my shot on the fairway and try to make the shot in two putts. That worked really well for me today." Unlike Hageman and Hanrahan, whose scores easily put them under the cut, Carroll had to wait till the last group came in to be sure that his 78 would earn him his first trip to state. "I was pretty nervous waiting for the results," Carroll said. "I just had to tell myself to chill out because there was nothing more that I could really do." Carroll used the long Columbus Day weekend with to get a better look at the course. "I played three practice rounds here where I didn't putt very well at all," Carroll said. "That had me a little worried. But I came out and had an eagle on my second hole and that just kind of got me going on the right foot." Carroll, a senior, had not advanced out of the regional before this year. "I sort of had a rough go of it the last couple of years," Carroll said. "I definitely felt a lot more pressure here than I did at the regional." CLASS 1A ALEDO SECTIONAL Advancing teams: 1. Peoria Christian 309, 2. Monmouth-Roseville 315 Local advancing individuals: Matt Hageman, Newman, 73; Jake Hanrahan, Fulton, 74; Drew Carroll, Eastland, 78 Up next: Class 1A state tournament at Prairie Vista Golf Club in Bloomington, Friday and Saturday