MN State Golf Tournament Preview

Five of six championship teams return to defend their respective titles at this year’s state tournament. In the girls’ tournaments, Legacy Christian Academy of Andover in Class A, Detroit Lakes in Class AA, and Wayzata in Class AAA are back. Legacy Christian Academy is in the hunt for its third consecutive title and Detroit Lakes is seeking its fourth consecutive crown. In the boys’ tournaments, Dawson-Boyd returns in Class A, and Edina is back in Class AAA.

Junior Kate Smith of Detroit Lakes and senior Maggie Heggerston of Pequot Lakes, return as the respective co-champions in Class AA. If Smith wins, it would be her fourth consecutive title.
Three of last year’s boys’ champions are looking for more hardware. Ninth-grader Brock Bliese of Mounds Park Academy of St. Paul returns in Class A, and juniors Carter Haley of Mankato East and Andrew Israelson of Staples-Motley in Class AA. 

The 2015 State Golf Tournament is scheduled for June 9-10. The Class A tournament will be played at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker. The Class AA tournament will take place at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan. The Class AAA golfers will compete at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids.

Class A Girls Highlights
Legacy Christian Academy (Section 4) returns as the two-time defending champion, and all six of the Lions’ golfers have previous tournament experience. Four other teams also return from last year’s field: BOLD of Olivia (Section 5), runner-up; Fillmore Central of Harmony (Section 1), third; Ottertail Central (Section 6), a co-op between Battle Lake and Henning, seventh; and Barnum (Section 7), eighth. Rounding out the Class A field are: Springfield (Section 2); Minneota (Section 3); and Fosston (Section 8).

Five Top 10 finishers are returning: junior Abby Herding of Westbrook-Walnut Grove, runner-up; senior Kailey Carlin of Fosston, tied for third; sophomore Kiera Smith of Heritage Christian Academy of Maple Grove, tied for third; senior Breann Mertens of BOLD, tied for seventh; and senior Lauren Laffen of Sleepy Eye, tied for seventh.

Class A Boys Highlights
Four of the eight qualified teams competed in the 2014 tournament, including the defending champions from Dawson-Boyd (Section 5). The Blackjacks have five golfers with previous tournament experience.

The other returning teams are: United South Central of Wells (Section 2), runner-up; Mille Lacs (Section 7), which includes students from Isle and Onamia, fourth; and Murray County Central of Slayton (Section 3), seventh. Fillmore Central of Harmony (Section 1), Mounds Park Academy of St. Paul (Section 4), Mahnomen/Waubun (Section 6), and Fosston (Section 8), round out the Class A field.

Ninth-grader Brock Bliese of Mounds Park Academy returns to defend his individual title. He will be challenged by, among others, six other Top 10 finishers from 2014: senior Adam Christensen of Murray County Central, third; junior Blake Kahlbaugh of Mahnomen/Waubun, tied for fourth; junior Christian Thoen of Dawson-Boyd, sixth; junior Dain Schultz of Mille Lacs, tied for seventh; junior Ryan Pederson of United South Central, tied for seventh; and senior Easton Popma of Dawson-Boyd, 10th.

Class AA Girls Highlights
The three-time defending champions from Detroit Lakes (Section 8) return in search of more hardware. Only two of the Lakers’ team members have previous tournament experience.
Four additional teams return from the 2014 field: Pequot Lakes (Section 7), runner-up; Red Wing (Section 1), third; Minnewaska Area of Glenwood (Section 3), fourth; and Breck School of Golden Valley (Section 5), eighth. Rounding out the field are: Albert Lea (Section 2); The Blake School of Minneapolis (Section 4); and St. Cloud Cathedral (Section 6).

Co-champions, junior Kate Smith of Detroit Lakes and senior Maggie Heggerston of Pequot Lakes, both return to defend their titles. If Smith wins, it would be her fourth consecutive title.
The other Top 10 finishers who are returning are: sophomore Anni Heck of Visitation of Mendota Heights, fourth; senior Sydney Busker of Detroit Lakes, sixth; senior Marja Sorenson of Rocori of Cold Spring, tied for seventh; and sophomore Stephanie Herzog of Red Wing, tied for ninth.

Class AA Boys Highlights
The Blake School of Minneapolis (Section 4) is the highest returning qualifier. The Bears placed third in 2014 and return three golfers from last year’s team. Mankato East (Section 2), which placed fourth last year, is the only other returning team. Rounding out this year’s field are: Triton of Dodge Center (Section 1); Worthington (Section 3); Holy Family Catholic of Victoria (Section 5); St. Cloud Cathedral (Section 6); Greenway/Nashwauk-Keewatin (Section 7); and Crookston (Section 8).

Two of last year’s three co-champions return in search of more gold: junior Andrew Israelson of Staples-Motley and junior Carter Haley of Mankato East. Four additional Top 10 finishers are back: Triton junior Jaden Thiemann, fourth; Fergus Falls senior Chris Swenson, tied for fifth; Triton senior Zach Otto, tied for seventh; and Albany junior David Schneider, tied for 10th.

Class AAA Girls Highlights
Two teams return from the 2014 field, including the defending champions from Wayzata (Section 6). The Trojans return with four of six players with previous tournament experience. Third-place finisher Edina (Section 2) is also back. The remainder of the field is: Winona (Section 1); Woodbury (Section 3); Stillwater Area (Section 4); Spring Lake Park (Section 5); Forest Lake (Section 7); and Buffalo (Section 8).

Only two Top 10 medal-winners return from last year: New Prague junior Taylor Ledwein, tied for sixth; and Edina junior Hannah Hankinson, tied for 10th.

Class AAA Boys Highlights
The defending champions from Edina (Section 2) return in search of more gold. The Hornets have five golfers with previous tournament experience. Four other teams return from last year’s field: Wayzata (Section 6), runner-up; White Bear Lake Area (Section 4), fourth; St. Thomas Academy of Mendota Heights (Section 3), seventh; and Buffalo (Section 8), eighth. The remaining qualified teams are: Lakeville South (Section 1); St. Michael-Albertville (Section 5); and Grand Rapids (Section 7).
Edina senior Sam Foust is the highest returning medalist in the individual competition. He tied for runner-up honors in 2014. Four other Top 10 medal-winners also return: senior Grant Rahja of Wayzata, fifth; senior Peter Jones of Owatonna, tied for seventh; senior Kobi Boe of Edina, tied for ninth; and senior Bobby Terwilliger of Edina, tied for ninth.

The Schedule
The boys in all three classes will tee off on Tuesday, June 9, at 7:30 a.m. The girls will begin their first round on the identical layouts at noon. The final rounds on Wednesday, June 10, will follow the same starting schedule, with a tee-time format that will pair players from competing teams with one another and individual qualifiers in comparable foursomes. The first five tee times on the No. 1 and No. 10 tees will include individual qualifiers. The 8:06 a.m. (boys) and the 12:36 p.m. (girls) tee times on the No. 1 and No. 10 tees will feature the best individual qualifiers as determined by their first-day scores. The individuals will be followed at 8:15 a.m. (boys) and 12:45 p.m. (girls) by players on the eight teams. The teams ranked in places 5-8 according to the first-day scores would begin on the back nine and the teams in places 1-4, as determined by their play on day one of the tournament, will begin play on the front nine. The final six tee times will group team players by their first-day score, with No. 6 players going out first and the No. 1 players playing in the last boys’ foursome out at 9:00 a.m. The same format will be followed for the girls’ tournament with team players with the best first-day scores from the lowest-scoring four teams teeing off at 1:30 p.m.

The Class A course at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker plays to par 72 for both girls and boys. The Class AA course at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan also plays to par 72 for both genders. The Class AAA course at Bunker Hills in Coon Rapids plays to par 73 for the girls and par 72 for the boys.
First-day tee times are posted on the League’s Web site — www.MSHSL.org.