Photo courtesy of Eric Viccaro/Pipestone County Star
The Marshall boys golf team poses with the Section 3AA championship trophy after claiming its first section title since 2014 at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake on Wednesday. The team includes (left to right) Deacon Wing, Brayden Louwagie, Drew Parsons, Luke Ehlers, Nate Panka and Jayden Manthei.
BUFFALO LAKE — Jayden Manthei, Luke Ehlers and Nate Panka each put together top-5 individual finishes at the Section 3AA boys golf tournament, leading the Marshall Tigers to their first team section title since 2014. The win also marks the Tigers’ 10th state tournament appearance.
“It’s really an amazing feeling. It showcases a lot of hard work over the summers,” Marshall head coach Kari Ehlers said, adding that many of the team’s members played in summer tournaments to stay competitive in the offseason. “This was as good as we played all year, we’re just peaking at the right time… I was telling one of the parents that to win this section in golf, you’re going to have to have two days of good golf and our boys were ready for the challenge.”
The Tigers finished the second day of the tournament well ahead of the rest of the field. The Tigers’ two-day score of 600 put them 24 strokes ahead of runner-up New London-Spicer. As a point of comparison, 26 strokes separated NLS and the last team to qualify for the second day of sections, fifth-place Morris Area-Chokio-Alberta.
As a team, Marshall had a sizeable lead going into day 2. They finished the tournament’s first day of play last week with a team score of 296, giving them a 15-stroke advantage over the Wildcats heading into Wednesday. The Tigers didn’t let up; their round 2 score of 304 was still eight strokes lower than Luverne’s 312, the second-lowest score of the day.
“Going into today, we had a couple of conversations about how to control our emotions and how to keep the lead,” coach Ehlers said. “We don’t need to be impatient. We don’t need to press our luck if there’s some trouble. We just needed to play smart golf.”
In terms of individuals, Jayden Manthei finished the day with the low round for the Tigers. The senior finished in a tie for eighth in last year’s tournament, his 154 strokes leaving him just two strokes back of an individual state qualification.
Manthei didn’t let the opportunity pass him by in his last chance, however. He shot a 4-over 76 on Wednesday, building on a 1-under first round to finish third overall at 147. After being on the team for four seasons, Manthei said getting to state in his last year with such a tight-knit group made his final season all the more special.
“Just getting some putts to go in and keeping my momentum going throughout the round, that really helped me out,” Manthei said.
MACA’s Charlie Hanson defended his title with a two-day score of 142 for his second consecutive individual title while New London-Spicer’s Gabe Truscinski finished as the runner-up at 146.
For the Tigers, Luke Ehlers continued to compete at the highest level when it mattered most. He shot a 149 in last year’s tournament to qualify for state with a tie for third in his sophomore season and he finished with a two-day total of 148 in this year’s tournament to place fourth. He shot a 1-over on Wednesday, including an even-par front nine and three total birdies on the day, to improve on his 3-over score from Thursday.
“It was a great experience for me last year because of the chance to go individually, but with the team we’ve got this year, it’s going to be so much fun,” Ehlers said. “Even before the year started, I knew that we were going to have something with this team. We get along very well, team chemistry is really good. It’ll be a fun time but we’re not done yet. We’re going for some hardware at state.”
Nate Panka also shot a 149 for the Tigers, tying him with Minnewaska Area’s Thatcher Sherlin for fifth place. The senior had not competed in last year’s section tournament but locked in this time around to put together a round low enough to qualify him as an individual.
“Just seeing each other do well really helps motivate us,” Panka said of his performance, adding that being 1-under through his first 9 holes on day 1 helped boost his confidence and allow him to keep rolling into form. ”
Panka shot a 1-over 73 on Thursday but appeared due for a regression after going 5-over-par on his first four holes on Wednesday. Still, he remained unphased and rattled off three consecutive pars and a birdie to close out his first nine holes and added an additional birdie on the front 9.
Senior Brayden Louwagie rounded out the Marshall scorers in 14th place out of 90 golfers in the tournament and 45 that made it to day 2. He shot a 79 on the first day to head into Wednesday’s tournament in 12th place and he followed that performance up with yet another 79 to help Marshall maintain its lead.
“We’re feeling really, really confident. We put together some nice scores at the section tournament so I think we’re pretty confident going into [the state meet],” Panka said. “We all just feed off each other, we all get along and just kind of get going off of each other.”
Like Panka, Louwagie also has only been golfing with a passion for about two years and came into the season injured after sustaining a leg injury, coach Ehlers said. Still, he didn’t let that stop him from fighting to come back and contribute.
“We were worried about how [the injury] was going to turn out… Unfortunately for him, he let some of the other guys from his team take his spot. But unbeknownst to us, he started golfing well again and picked that spot right back up again,” coach Ehlers said. “That shows you how hard he’s worked to overcome not being on the varsity all year.”
Panka had just started focusing on golfing competitively two years ago, coach Ehlers said, adding that it was great to watch him golf his best golf at the end of his senior season.
Heading into the tournament, the team viewed having four scorers shoot in the 70s as an essential component of winning the section, coach Ehlers said, and the team continued to do just that.
Other than Manthei and Ehlers, the only Marshall participant in last year’s tournament who returned to the Tigers’ top 6 this year was Drew Parsons. Last season was his first year with the team after switching over from baseball and he continued to step up his game in his second year with the program.
After shooting a 5-over 77 on Thursday to enter day 2 in 10th place, Parsons struggled with a 13-over 85. Still, despite his struggles he still placed 18th overall in the field.
“Drew didn’t have a great day today… It was one of those days where you’re just not hitting great, you’re missing some putts, and something is just a little bit off. But the thing I love about Drew is that he stays with it,” coach Ehlers said. “He’s okay having his teammates pick up the slack and that’s what we did.”
While not contributing to the team score, freshman Deacon Wing placed 31st overall for the Tigers with a 169.
The Tigers have some time off now to rest and recuperate before state. After Wednesday’s section finale, Marshall won’t compete again until June 11 for the Class AA state tournament.
“I think we’re all pretty confident right now,” Luke Ehlers said. “Obviously there are things that every single one of us can clean up, but from a confidence standpoint, I think we’re all pretty confident that we can all shoot good scores up in Jordan.”
Round 1 of play for the Class AA state tournament at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan will begin on Tuesday, June 11. Tee times for individuals begin at 7:30 a.m. with team tee times kicking off at 8:02. The tournament will finish on June 12.
“The state tournament is a whole new ball of wax,” coach Ehlers said. “There are some really, really good golfers that are going to be there and what I want our kids to know is that I want them to play their individual best. If we each play for our potential, or close to our potential for both days, we’re going to have a great tournament.”