by Andy Rogers
Thisweek Newspapers
The Lakeville North boys golf team will take its talents to state this year after winning the Section 1AAA tournament May 27 at Bellwood Oaks in Hastings.
The Panthers finished with a two-day combined score of 613, which was 14 strokes ahead of second-place Austin.
The team’s three top golfers finished in the top five.
Jake Endersbe led Lakeville North and finished second in the tournament
shooting a 148. Josh Bruder and PJ Ganske each nailed 152s, which tied
them for fifth.
“They’re all playing their best golf right now,” coach Bob Kovich said.
Other qualifying teammates include Tyler Goss who shot a 161, Keith Cornwell a 163 and Ryan Petersen a 169.
“The kids played well at the end of the year and into the section,” Kovich said.
The Lakeville North Panthers boys golf dominated the first round of the
Section 1AAA tournament May 22 with a score of 301 — 12 strokes ahead
of second place.
“Going into the second day I told them to act like we were tied or a
few strokes behind,” Kovich said. “Twelve strokes is tough to make up
in one day, so we were pretty confident.”
Ganske was leading after the first round with a 72.
Lakeville North has golfed against most of the teams at state so far
this year at various tournaments, so they know what to expect.
“I think we can finish in the upper half,” Kovich said. “We played against a lot of them and we were right there with them.
“We’ve been a top five-six team all year long.”
Last year, Bruder made a run at the state title, and he expects to do the same this year.
“I expect the top three to be in contention,” Kovich said.
This is the second time a team from Lakeville has played in the state golf tournament.
<b>South boys</b>
The Lakeville South boys golf team placed fifth in the Section 1AAA tournament scoring a 653.
The boys were three strokes ahead of Faribault and three behind Rochester Century.
The Cougars didn’t have an individual qualify for state.
The Lakeville South boys team placed third in the first round of the
Section 1AAA tournament shooting a 320, but the second round didn’t go
as well.
They had a chance to overcome second-place Austin, but the Cougars slipped to fifth out of eight teams.
“I was pleased for where we were after the first day of sections,”
coach Jon Cochrane said. “For the type of scores we’ve been putting up
this year, our 320 at Bellwood Oaks on the first day was a very good
score. It was actually our second best score of the season.”
The team’s best finisher was Zach Reimringer with a 160. He played well both days.
“It was a great way to finish his senior year,” Cochrane said. “I am very impressed with his performance this season.”
The team had its share of highlights this season.
Senior captain Andrew Ruth won the New Prague Invitational with an even
par 35 April 18. It was the first medalist honor in a varsity meet for
South.
Carter Holmquist also took third place at the Owatonna Invitational on May 3.
South’s best finish of the year came at Victory Links when it shot a
309. Five players shot between 77 and 79 on May 16 at the Moundsview
Invite.
Andy Rogers is at
andy.rogers@ecm-inc.com.
