Golf roundup: Willmar escapes Alex with 3rd place
Apr. 30—ALEXANDRIA — The Willmar girls golf team found itself in third place at a Central Lakes Conference meet Tuesday at Alexandria Golf Club.
Brainerd won the meet, totaling 346. Sartell was second with 357 and Willmar took third at 358. The Sabres' Gwen Latunski and Fergus Falls' Annika Jyrkas shared medalist honors. Both scored 79s. Willmar's Fernanda Ossa Letelier finished fifth at 84. "Maybe the worst playing conditions I've ever experienced," Willmar head coach Bryan Mara said. "I'm super proud of the girls for gutting it out."
Avery Olson and Kennedy Mara were also in the top 10 for Willmar. Both tied for 10th with 89s.
Willmar next goes to Sartell for another conference meet at 3:30 p.m. Friday at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club.
New London-Spicer had a strong outing at a Wright County Conference meet hosted by the Litchfield Dragons at Litchfield Golf Club.
The Wildcats carded a team total of 312 strokes. Watertown-Mayer was second at 324 and Dassel-Cokato finished third at 329. Litchfield placed sixth at 339.
NLS had three golfers earn top-10 finishes. Gabe Truscinski and Everett Halvorson were both in the top 5, placing third with a 75 and fourth with a 76. Palmer Dalton earned a share of seventh place with a 79.
Minnewaska's girls were first and its boys earned a share of second place at a West Central Conference meet hosted by the Sauk Centre Mainstreeters at Greystone Golf Club in Sauk Centre.
The Lakers' girls totaled 173 with BOLD in second at 181 and Melrose in third at 202. West Central Area won the boys competition with a 157, followed by a tie between Morris/Chokio-Alberta and Minnewaska for second place. Each shot 163.
The girls competition featured four area golfers in the top five. BOLD's Kenna Henriksen earned medalist honors with a 40. Minnewaska's Annika and Arivia DeBoer shared second place with 41s and the Lakers' Ava Kollman was fifth with a 45.
Minnewaska also had two boys finish in the top five. Thatcher Sherlin placed third with a 38 and Zach Gugisberg finished in a three-way tie for fourth with West Central Area's Marshall Dewey and Camden Anderson. All shot 39s. Morris/CA's Charlie Hanson earned the boys' medalist honors with a 33.
Minnewaska and BOLD's girls were first and second and no area boys teams finished in the top three in a West Central Conference meet hosted by the Melrose Dutchmen at Meadowlark Country Club in Melrose.
The Lakers' girls won with a total of 164, followed by BOLD's 183 and Melrose's 188. On the boys side, Morris/Chokio-Alberta had a team-low 164, followed by West Central Area with 165 and Melrose with 169.
For the girls, there were four area golfers in the top five. Minnewaska's Arivia and Annika DeBoer were first and second, carding 37 and 38. BOLD's Kenna Henriksen and McKenna Jensen tied Melrose's Izzie Van Beck for third place with 43s.
The Lakers' Thatcher Sherlin shot his way to a third-place finish with a 39 as the Minnewaska boys placed fourth at 178.
Paynesville took second and had its top four golfers each finish in the top 10 at a Central Minnesota Conference meet hosted by Royalton at Little Falls Country Club.
Winston Carlson and Isaac Christensen shared sixth place with 42s. Joe Kotten was eighth at 44 and Abe Dickhausen earned a share of ninth place with 45 as the Bulldogs totaled 175 strokes. Osakis was first with a 157 and Royalton was third at 181. Led by Drew Imdieke's 36, the Silverstreaks had the top three golfers of the meet.
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City's Prestan Lilleberg and Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa's Jaxxon Koetter both shot their way into the top 10. Lilleberg shot a 41 to take fifth and Koetter scored a 45 to earn a share of ninth place.
