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Fillmore Central, Hershberger hauling home hardware from Class A state meet

jason feldman, post-bulletin, rochester, minn.
·4 min read

Jun. 14—BECKER — Fillmore Central returned home Wednesday with its best finish in the Class A girls golf state meet since 2016.

Falcons' senior Courtney Hershberger capped her career with her best finish ever at a state meet.

The Falcons played with a sense of urgency and played some of their best golf of the year on Tuesday and Wednesday at Pebble Creek Golf Course, but Lac qui Parle Valley was better by the absolute slimmest of margins.

Lac qui Parle Valley shot a second round-best score of 346 on Wednesday to finish the 36-hole Class A state meet with a total score of 696.

Fillmore Central, which led after Tuesday's first round, shot a 355 Wednesday and finished at 697, making the Falcons the state runners-up by one stroke. It's Fillmore Central's best finish at state since 2016, when they won the Class A championship.

Hershberger tied for the individual runner-up spot with BOLD's Kenna Henriksen, both at 164. Hershberger was tied for third following her first-round 81 on Tuesday. She followed that with an 83 on Wednesday, to finish at 164.

Raquelle Nelson, a junior from Legacy Christian Academy, won medalist honors with a two-day total of 161. She shot 79 Tuesday and 82 Wednesday.

Hershberger's teammate, sophomore Myleigh Scheevel, also earned a top-10 finish, shooting 81-90—171 to place ninth. Falcons senior Chloe Morem finished 14th at 180 and junior Aubrey Larson placed 17th (182). Sophomores Lily Miller (188, tie-30th) and Annika Mensink (193, tie-40th) rounded out the Falcons' scoring.

—Lac qui Parle Valley was eight shots back of Fillmore Central entering Wednesday's final round. So how did the Eagles make up that gap? Four of their six golfers (including three of the top four) improved their scores from the first round to the second. No. 1 player Isabelle Jacobs shot an 80 on Wednesday after opening with an 85. No. 2 player Molly Halvorson shot improved by three shots, shooting a final-round 83 after an 86 on Tuesday. Those two players accounted for an eight-shot improvement.

—Legacy Christian junior Raquelle Nelson led wire-to-wire. She opened with a 79, the only golfer to break 80 in either round, and closed with an 82. Her 161 was good for a three-shot win over runners-up Hershberger and Henriksen. Nelson used a strong start in Wednesday's final round to propel her to medalist honors. She birdied two of the first five holes and made par or birdie on six of the first eight.

—Hershberger shot the third-best score in each round, an 81 on Tuesday and an 83 Wednesday. Her second-round score included a birdie on the 310-yard, par-4 third hole.

—Hayfield senior Avery Towey also earned a top-25 finish, shooting 94-91—185, to place 22nd. Towey's round Wednesday included a birdie (on the 121-yard, par-3 12th hole) and five pars.

—Other Section 1 individuals who played in the meet were Hayfield freshman Carly Bronson, who made an impressive 16-shot improvement from Round 1 to Round 2 (104-88—192, 37th place); Wabasha-Kellogg senior Rachel Smith (101-94—195, 45th place); Hayfield junior Kristen Watson (96-107—203, 56th); and Lanesboro senior Chloe Schnebly (103-107—210, 64th).

CLASS A GIRLS

TEAM TOTALS

1. Lac qui Parle Valley 350-346 — 696, 2. Fillmore Central 342-355 — 697, 3. Legacy Christian Academy 356 — 347 — 703, 4. Park Christian 378-368 — 746, 5. Pine River-Backus 399-386 — 785,6. Sleepy Eye United 400-396 — 796, 7. Fertile-Beltrami 438-397 — 835, 8. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 435-406 — 841.

INDIVIDUALS

(Top 10 + Section 1 golfers)

1. Raquelle Nelson (LCA) 79-82 — 161, 2t. Courtney Hershberger (FC) 81-83 — 164, 2t. Kenna Henriksen (BOLD) 80-84 — 164, 4. Isabella Jacobs (LQPV) 85-80 — 165, 5t. Kianna Johnson (Walker-H-A) 85-84 — 169, 5t. Molly Halvorson (LQPV) 86-83 — 169, 5t. Kaitlyn Kittelson (LQPV) 82-87 — 169, 8. Lindsey Lund (Dawson-Boyd) 87-83 — 170, 9. Myleigh Scheevel (FC) 81-90 — 171, 10. Paige Beyer (Border West) 89-86 — 175.

14. Chloe Morem (FC) 88-92 — 180, 17. Aubrey Larson (FC) 92-90 — 182, 22t. Avery Towey (Hayfield) 94-91 — 185, 30t. Lily Miller (FC) 92-96 — 188, 37t. Carly Bronson (Hayfield) 104-88 — 192, 40t. Annika Mensink (FC) 99-94 — 193, 45t. Rachel Smith (Wabasha-Kellogg) 101-94 — 195, 56t. Kristen Watson (Hayfield) 96-107 — 203, 64t. Chloe Schnebly (Lanesboro) 103-107 — 210.