The Sleepy Eye United boys golf team consisting of AJ Arneson, Logan Netzke, Jack Nelson, Jacob Schultz, Carson Erickson and Toby Weiss placed third at the MSHSL State Golf Tournament which took place June 15 and 16 at Pebble Creek Golf Club. The squad is coached by Bryant Mages and George Schwint. Lady golfer Liz Schwint also competed in the Girls Individual Tournament.

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The Sleepy Eye United golf team traveled to North Links Golf Course in Mankato this past week for a chance to punch their ticket to the state class A golf tournament.

After shooting a score of 106 last Tuesday (6/1), Liz Schwint set herself up for what would be a tight race for one of the five coveted individual spots to go to the state tournament. The boys team raced to a 23 stroke lead over the Tigers of Springfield thanks to our season best team score of 318, including scores of 76 from Carson Erickson and Logan Netzke, 81 from Toby Weiss, and 85 from Jack Nelson.

The section tournament wrapped up on Monday, June 7^th at the same venue. Teeing off in the first group, Schwint looked to post a solid score and wait for the conclusion of the tournament to see where she ended up. Schwint went on to match her solid day one performance with another 106 which ended up landing her the 5^th and final individual ticket to the state tournament. Liz and state tournaments are beginning to become a staple in Sleepy Eye, as she also just participated in the girls state basketball tournament a few months ago.

The boys team came into Monday hoping to maintain their edge over Springfield and advance to the state tournament as the section 2A victor. They had some struggles on the opening couple of holes, but were able to turn things around quickly and expand their lead. They really turned things around on the back nine, where they pretty much set the course on fire, shooting a modern-day school record 9-hole total of 151 on the back nine. This would ultimately result in another season-best team score of 315.

Toby Weiss led the charge for us on day two with what was a tournament-low 18-hole total of 73 (+1 on the day). Carson Erickson had another great day, shooting a 75 (+3) on the day, which, coupled with his first round 76 (total 151) would earn him some additional hardware – section 2A individual champion. Logan Netzke’s round of 81 and Jack Nelson’s round of 86 rounded out the team score of 315 on day 2 of sections.

In the end, the SEU boys golf team saw their 23 stroke edge expand to 49 strokes over the Section 2A runner-up Springfield Tigers. Shooting a two-day total of 633, the Sleepy Eye United boys look to have a good performance at next week’s state tournament. There is some pretty stiff competition in the state this year – particularly from Fertile Beltrami, North Woods, and Legacy Christian Academy. However, I think that we can contend for a state title if we bring our best golf with us.

(Scores below – *denotes the five individuals who advance to the state tournament (excludes those who qualified with a team)

Team Results (Boys) – Top 3

1^st – Sleepy Eye United                                              318-315 = 633

2^nd – Springfield                                                          341-341 = 682

3^rd – United South Central                                         355-344 = 699

Individual Results (Boys) – Top 10

1^st – Carson Erickson, SEU                                         76-75=151

2^nd – *Mavrick Winkelmann, Springfield               79-74=153

3^rd – Toby Weiss, SEU                                                81-73=154

4^th – *Logan Thell, JWP                                             74-81=155

T-5^th – Logan Netzke, SEU                                         76-81=157

T-5^th – *Logan Haala, NU Cathedral                        80-77=157

7^th – *Christopher Thram, Springfield                    82-79=161

8^th – *Kadyn Neubauer, USC                                    85-78=163

9^th – Jack Nelson, SEU                                                85-86=171

10^th – Aidan Nelsen, Cedar Mt                                 89-85=174

Team Results (Girls) – Top 3

1^st – Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton                       409-422=831

2^nd – Minnesota Valley Lutheran                                           431-424=855

3^rd – Cedar Mountain                                                467-462=929

Individual Results (Girls) – Top 10

1^st – *Kayla Goblirsch, NU Cathedral                      80-89=169

2^nd – *Nadine Clobes, MVL                                       81-90=171

3^rd – Kirsten Thell, JWP                                              100-96=196

4^th – *Morgan Engholm, Cedar Mt                           103-94=197

5^th – Taylor Rinehart, JWP                                        103-98=201

6^th – *Abbie Riederer, MVL                                       107-102=209

7^th – *Liz Schwint, SEU                                               106-106=212

8^th – Danielle Gerdts, JWP                                        101-112=213

9^th – Jenna Schweiss, GFW                                       111-107=218

10^th – Olivia Christians, Mt. Lake/Comfrey            110-109=219

Coach’s Comments:

This entire season has been so much fun. Having everyone at the top of their game at the tail end of the season is just what I love to see as a coach. I was definitely a bit emotional after we finished up on Monday, because these kids are such a great group to be around – they spend so much time on the golf course working to get better, so seeing them get rewarded with a trip to the state tournament is just the cherry on top of a fantastic first season as coach. Anyone who knows me well knows that I spend pretty much every bit of my time outside of work out at the golf course, so even though this is my first year coaching, I’ve known a lot of them for years now. They’ve started to feel more like family to me, and the camaraderie we have as a team is something I’ll hold onto for years after this season.

Another fun thing about this season – I told the guys at the start of the season (knowing that they would shoot some really good team scores) that I would jump in the pond at Sleepy Eye Golf Club if they ever broke the modern-day school record 9 hole score of 154. Well, how fitting is it that they shot a 151 on the back 9 at the final day of sections? I did hold up my end of the bargain after things concluded. We all went out to the golf course for supper and the night ended with the golfers and their parents watching me plunge into the water hazard on #6.

Liz Schwint and the boys team will compete at the State Class A Golf Tournament on June 15-16 at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, MN.