Jacks push through rainy conditions, land 2 teams in top 5 at home invite
Apr. 26—BEMIDJI — Tina Offerdahl envisioned better weather for the Lumberjacks' first home golf meet this spring.
The Bemidji High School girls golf head coach fielded two teams of six players at the Bemidji Town and Country Club on Friday morning. Despite the chilly, wet and windy conditions, the Jacks finished fourth and fifth in the 12-team field.
"Weather was a challenge today," Offerdahl said. "When it's rainy and windy, it's hard to stay warm. Probably their biggest challenge was keeping their hands warm and dry, keeping their grips dry. Mentally, it can be a challenge, too, because your scores will probably be higher. It's hard to play in conditions like this."
Offerdahl saw her girls compete for the third time in four days. BHS took third in Grand Rapids on Tuesday before finishing 14th in Alexandria on Wednesday.
After a day away from competition play on Thursday, Bemidji's top group of Margie Anderson, Aurora Frank, Brynn Meyer, Madeline Larson, Taylor Schulke and Halle Sanden paced the Lumberjacks with a team score of 371 on Friday.
Anderson and Larson tied for the group's lowest score at 92, which was good enough for 17th individually. Schulke was one shot back with a 93, while Meyer rounded out the scoring players with a 94.
Offerdahl has seen her players' scorers vary this week between the three different courses and the changing weather.
"Already this season, we've seen (Anderson) set her personal record, then come back and play the next day and add 14 strokes on to that," Offerdahl said. "Aurora is really close; she's stuck on 90. She's been really close to breaking that 90. Being able to come back out here on Monday and better their score from today, it's just going to give them more confidence."
The Jacks' second group trailed behind the first group by just eight strokes. Abby Jenkins recorded the top BHS score with a 91, followed by Anika Ohnstad (92, T-17th), Stella Schoonover (98, T-28th) and Ella Willford (98, T-28th).
"After today, there's a couple of underclassmen that are playing really well," Offerdahl said. "Considering the conditions they played in and how well they played, I wouldn't have expected them to do so well. The one I'm thinking of specifically is Abby Jenkins. I knew the potential was there, but to see herself do it will help her and push her to be even better."
Depth isn't something Offerdahl has had at her disposal like she has this year.
"The last couple of years, it's been maybe eight girls competing for (the top six spots), but now it's 10-12 in the mix," she continued. "Our top two or three might be solidified, but those last three spots could have nine of them vying for it.
"Hopefully, it pushes them to come out here on their own and do a little work. That's what this game is — doing the work to see the results. If there's something pushing them, that'll be a good thing. It creates depth for me, which I like."
Bemidji's ultimate goal this season is to make it to the second day of the Section 8-3A Tournament. Other teams that can stop them in the middle of the pack are Willmar and Moorhead.
The process to get to the second day at sections began during the Lumberjacks' first meet in Monticello.
"You just want to constantly see the team score drop every meet," Offerdahl said. "We have a team goal every meet. They broke it the first two meets. On Wednesday in (Alexandria), they didn't, so we're still at that team goal of 355. That'll be the goal until we beat the goal, and then we'll have a new one."
Even though the top BHS group finished 16 strokes shy of their goal on Friday, Offerdahl is confident the Jacks will shoot under 355 in the coming meets.
Offerdahl recognized that even if the Lumberjacks shoot lower than 355, they will need to go even lower to get to the second day at sections. But if they can get there, it could bode well for the future of the program.
"I think it would push them to put even more time in during the summer," Offerdahl said. "That will push them to create even more muscle memory and good habits to carry on to next year. Knowing that they can do it and they're good enough, that's when it becomes fun. We have a lot of young players I see potential in. Even in the middle school, I've heard of a few who have a lot of potential. It's very exciting."
Team Results (Top 10)
1-Detroit Lakes 314; 2-Moorhead 352; 3-Grand Rapids 357; 4-Bemidji 1 371; 5-Bemidji 2 379; 6-Crookston 395; 7-Wadena-Deer Creek 408; 8-Crookston 2 422; 9-East Grand Forks 424; 10-Staples-Motley 426.