BEA, USC hit the links for first meet
Buccaneer girls, Rebel boys come out on top in early season invite
The golf season got underway for both the Blue Earth Area Buccaneers and United South Central Rebels on Tuesday, April 11, when BEA hosted a triangular meet at Minn-Iowa Golf Course north of Elmore. The third team participating in the meet was the Martin County Mavericks.
Girls results
The Buccaneers took first place on the girls’ side of the meet with a team total of 191. The Mavericks were second with a score of 319. The Rebels did not have a complete team.
A team must have at least four players to compete and no more than six players. The lowest four scores are used for the team total. USC only had three golfers and they competed as individuals.
BEA claimed the top four spots on the leaderboard with Payten Gudahl and Katelyn Storbeck tying for medalist honors. Each golfer finished with a score of 46 on the par-37 nine-hole course.
Coming in third was Rylan Storbeck with a round of 49. Madison Ehrich topped off BEA’s winning team score with a round of 50.
USC golfer Emma Heggen carded a round of 55 to place fifth.
The Bucs’ Hailey Becker and McKinley Hanson tied for sixth place with 57.
Karly Koehler of the Rebels finished in 11th place with a round of 80 and her teammate, Paige Roberts, finished 12th with a score of 82.
“I am happy with our score for the first meet of the year,” Buccaneer coach Al Cue said. “It took almost a month to get our score below 200 last year, so to be there right away is a good sign.”
Gudahl had pars on the first, sixth and ninth holes to aid in achieving her round of 46. Katelyn Storbeck parred the third and sixth holes during her round of 46.
Rylan Storbeck finished with three pars and Ehrich notched two pars on the day.
USC’s Emma Heggen recorded one par during the meet.
“Emma finished fifth out of 15 participants in the first meet. I know Karly Koehler, a sophomore, was nervous before the meet started but she relaxed and shot a very respectable 80,” USC coach Brad Heggen commented. “Senior Paige Roberts seemed very calm while participating in her first ever high school golf meet. We are hoping to add a fourth player to our competitive roster so we can compete as both a team and as individuals.”
Boys results
Hunter Schmidt of MCW and Kadyn Neubauer of USC shared medalist honors for the boys when they each shot a round of one-over-par 37. The Rebels edged the Bucs for the team title by six strokes, 170-176. MCW finished third with a score of 202.
In earning his co-medalist honors, Neubauer collected four pars, two birdies and three bogies.
USC’s Brennan Olson had one par and two birdies to finish in a tie for third place with a round of 41. Keeping pace with Olson was BEA’s Jackson Blondin. Blondin’s score of 41 included four pars.
BEA’s Kyren Sunken had three pars and one birdie to finish with a 43, which put him in fifth place.
A number of golfers tied for seventh with rounds of 46. They were USC’s Carter Hart and Brennan Anderson and BEA’s Eli Blagg, and Ashton Lloyd.
USC coach Brad Heggen was pleased with the overall performance of his team.
“It was nice to get outside on a pleasant day. Kadyn Neubauer played well and shot just one stroke over par to tie for medalist honors,” Heggen commented. “Freshman Brennan Olson was competing in his first-ever high school meet and had an awesome round too.”
Although the temperatures were nice, the golfers did have to battle a strong wind.
“But, the wind is the same for all of the teams,” BEA coach Travis Armstrong noted. “Some players struggled with the high wind more than others. We got outside for the first time on Monday when it was calm and 80 degrees. I told the boys they might not get a nicer day than that.”
The USC golf teams returned to action on Thursday, April 13, when they traveled to New Richland for an invitational meet. BEA’s golf teams were at home against Maple River on Friday, April 14.
Look for results of those meets in next week’s edition of the Faribault County Register.