Patriots win Section 6-2A girls title
Pequot Lakes will return to the Class 2A state tournament after winning the Section 6-2A title, Monday, June 7, with a two-day 726 at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club.
Maddie Pederson led the Patriots with matching rounds of 86s for a two-day 172 which placed her third. Morgan Krieger placed fourth with a 177. Annie Neva shot a 183 for eighth place and Genevieve Birkeland placed 14th with a 194 as the Patriots won by 19 strokes to advance to state for the first time since 2015.
“Going into the first day there were a little bit of nerves,” Pequot head coach Savannah Smith said. “I have such a young team so for a lot of them, it was the first time going to an event like that. I think coming into the second day, we were a little calmer and we were sitting in a good spot. We knew we had to perform, obviously, but we just played our game.”
Pederson’s second round featured an eagle on the 405-yard par 5 12th hole as the senior fired a back nine 40.
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“For her, she started peaking at the right time this year,” Smith said. “Just in the last couple of weeks she figured out the game a little bit more and her swing started feeling a lot better for her. It all came together, which was really important for a captain and a senior to have this experience to end her high school career.”
The top team and the top five individuals not on that team advanced to the Class 2A State Tournament June 15-16 at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.
“Just coming into this whole season after a year of COVID-19, we didn’t really have a lot of expectations,” Smith said. “I think that was a good thing because we were just out there playing golf and seeing what happens. Just going to the state tournament this year is going to be a great experience. Most of these girls will be coming back so we’ll have a few years to bring that experience back.”
Team scores: 1-Pequot Lakes 367-359 -- 726, 2-Albany 378-367 -- 745, 3-Staples-Motley 386-377 -- 763, 4-St. Cloud Cathedral 400-409 -- 809
Section champion: Abby Thelen (Albany) 169
Pequot Lakes results: 3-Maddie Pederson 86-86 -- 172, 4-Morgan Krieger 88-89 -- 177, 8-Annie Neva 92-91 -- 183, 14-Genevieve Birkeland 101-93 -- 194, 25-Charlee Sullivan 104-104 -- 208
Next: Class 2A State Tournament at Ridges at Sand Creek, Jordan, June 15-16.
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PR-B competes in Perham
Hannah Barchus finds herself in 12th place after the opening round of the Section 5-1A tournament Monday, June 7, at Perham Lakeside Golf Club.
The Pine River-Backus sophomore is just four strokes off the cutline to advance to the Class 1A state tournament next week. Barchus fired a 107 Monday. Teammate Cate Travis is two shots behind her with a 109 that has her in 14th place.
The Tigers were scheduled to play in the final round of the section tournament Tuesday, June 8.
Team scores: 1-Park Christian 360, 2-Ottertail Central 425, 3-West Central 558
First-round leader: Emily Strueland (Park Christian) 78
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Pine River-Backus results: 12-Hannah Barchus 107, 14-Cate Travis 109, 21-Kassidy Bristow 124
Next: Final round of the Section 5-1A Tournament at Perham Lakeside Golf Club Tuesday.
