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.
