Rochester boys golf at a glance: Mayo's Ahn, Lourdes' Rich return to chase section titles

Apr. 24—Head coach: Lance Dahl. Assistants: Tim O'Neill, Josh Klingfus.

Last season: 3rd in Big Nine.

Key returners: Sr. Jake Shamblin, Sr. Shawn Erickson, Jr. Bo Bondy, Fr. Brennan Weckwerth.

Outlook: Experience is on Century's side this season with 10 golfers back with varsity experience. Erickson and Shamblin were top-25 finishers at the conference meet. Erickson placed 15th in the Section 1AAA meet, while Shamblin placed 24th and Brennan Weckwerth finished 27th as an eighth-grader, and Bondy also qualified for the final round of the section meet. Other top returners for the Panthers include Ryker Hansen, Boston Collins, Blake Kanz, Charlie Graves, Grant Rosin and Justin Sutton. With experience and depth, Century will look to challenge for a Big Nine championship and an improved finish in the section.

Coach Dahl says: "This season will be one where we need to grind out every match. We have some strong players with experience who we hope will contribute to making it to Day 2 of the Section meet as a team. We missed out by one strike on a tiebreaker last year. We have several boys who participated in Minnesota Jr. PGA events last summer and committed themselves to getting better this past offseason."

ROSTER

Seniors: Shawn Erickson, Charles Graves, Grant Rosin, Jacob Shamblin. Juniors: Bo Bondy, Christian Cleary, Drew Goetz, Maxwell Oftedahl, Mitchell Poncelet, Ethan Schrandt, Peter Schuler, Justin Sutton. Sophomores: Ryker Hansen, Ashton Schuder, Kaine Severson, Richard Wengert. Freshmen: Dominic Pickett, Brennan Weckwerth. Eighth-graders: Boston Collins, Carson Herr, Cashus Hetland, Samuel Trotter.

Head coach: Dwight Miller.

Last season: Placed 5th, just five shots out of 4th, at the Big Nine meet at Austin. Mason Decker and Ole Fevold qualified for the final day of the Section 1AAA meet.

Key returners: Sr. Mason Decker, Sr. Cody Ahlstrom, So. Ole Fevold, So. Brock Clarey, Sr. Graham Freed, So. Drew Glandon.

Outlook: The Rockets return all six golfers who were in their lineup for the Section 1AAA meet last season, including three seniors (Decker, Ahlstrom, Freed) and three sophomores (Fevold, Clarely and Glandon). Decker finished 40th (83-85—168) and Fevold 42nd (80-92—172) at the section meet. JM will have some depth, too, with 18 players on the roster. Clarey, a sophomore, was JM's top finisher at last year's All-City Invitational. He placed in a tie for eighth, with a 77.

ROSTER

Seniors: Cody Ahlstrom, Mason Decker, Graham Freed. Juniors: Andrew Billadeau, Damon Miller. Sophomores: Alex Beck, Brock Clarey, Peyton Eckhoff, Ole Fevold, Drew Glandon, Daniel Johnson, Adrian Thomas, Spencer Watkins. Freshmen: Jaiden Hirvela. Eighth-graders: Jackson Daly, Dylan Hughes, Drake Lozenski, Jacob Wiest.

Head coach: Jake Waldman. Assistants: Jeff Fritzjunker.

Last season: Lourdes tied for 3rd at Section 1AA meet and finished 3rd in the HVL.

Key returners: Soph. Colton Rich, Sr. Alex Olson.

Outlook: Rich is the defending Section 1AA medalist; he placed 26th at the Class AA state meet. Olson also qualified for state after tying for 7th place at the Section 1AA meet.

"Consistency is both of their strengths," coach Waldman said. "They never give up on a hole and they always are finding ways to make par and limit damage when they are out of position. Alex is an excellent putter from within 8 feet and Colton's ability off the tee and long game separates him from a lot of his peers." Junior Tommy Karau also has a good amount of varsity experience; he was the third underclassman in the Eagles' six-player lineup for the Section 1AA meet. Three seniors graduated off that team, leaving open lineup positions to compete for.

Coach Waldman says: "We have two team rules: 1. Be honest, 2. Have fun. My expectations for the team are to always have a positive attitude while on the course. In golf it's very easy to take yourself out of a round and we want to work on staying mentally tough throughout the round. As far as results go, I want us to compete, but in order to do so we have to do the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. ... I have a great group of kids. They come to practice ready to put in the time it takes to be good golfers. Practicing 5-foot putts can get tedious at times, to say the least, but when it comes down the stretch and you make three in a row to save pars, it's all worth it."

ROSTER

Seniors: John Fritzjunker, Alex Olson. Juniors: Tommy Karau, Jack Bowron. Sophomores: Jesse Leis, Silas Pederson, Aidan Kane, Colton Rich. Freshmen: Gavin Haugen, Sam Kleinschmidt, Jack Nelson, Robert Baudhuin, Anton Ackley, Jacob Carney. Eighth-graders: Gabriel Quinones, Ethan Nelson, William Jacob, Charlie Kor, Michael Norman, Gavin Burgess, Jorge Torres-Mendez. Seventh-graders: Maximus Truty, Evan Chestolowski, Robbie Grafft.

Head coach: Gunnar Olson.

Last season: Finished 2nd behind Northfield at Big Nine meet in Austin. Placed 5th at Section 1AAA meet.

Key returners: So. Isaac Ahn, Jr. Will Smith, Jr. Mikkel Norby, Soph. Tim Sexton.

Outlook: Ahn, Smith, Norby and Sexton were in the Spartans' lineup at the section meet. Ahn was outstanding all season. He tied for fifth in the section meet (73-73—146) to qualify for the Class AAA state meet as a freshman, after he tied for third at the Big Nine meet. He was equally strong at the Class AAA state meet. He was in third place after the first day of state and placed 10th after rounds of 71-76—147. Mayo will have to replace a pair of standout golfers who graduated, Ethan Norman and Kole Forsthoffer, who tied for 15th at the section meet (155). Smith, Norby and Sexton all finished in the top 30 at sections.

ROSTER

Seniors: Jacob Brown, Tyson Morris, Matt Siems. Juniors: Benjamin Condon, Aiden Frick, Owen Frick, Braylon Gurtner, Dylan Maday, Mikkel Norby, Will Smith, Dylan Williamson. Sophomores: Isaac Ahn, Gabriel Dozois, Jeremy Haugen, Brayden Mallan, Timothy Sexton. Freshmen: Jackson Capossela, Henry Collura, Charlie Crookman, Dawson Desjardins, Will Gyarmaty, Kellan Huie, Aiden Jones, Noah Midtovne, Jack Nienow, Aiden Theobald, Mason Ulland. Eighth-graders: Sage Markham, Isaac Sellon. Seventh-graders: Nathan Dozois, Cameron Elmer.