Photo by Jill Miller
It has now happened twice in the ‘‘Journal Sports’’ era; one school has sent both of its golf teams to state in the same season. Repeating 2015, Fillmore Central’s golf teams are state-bound. On the girls side, the Falcon dynasty, now at nine years, was not tested. FC (348) led Hayfield (406) by 58 strokes after Day 1 and finished 108 strokes better, winning 690 to 798! Aaron Mensink’s group were 57 strokes below last year’s 1A title total (747) and 101 strokes below 2021 (791). That kind of thing happens when the top six golfers are all Falcons. Senior Courtney Hershberger topped the leaderboard with a 17-par, two-birdie, 36-hole 162 (80/82). It was Hershberger’s third straight 1A title. She won outright last year (181) and by tie-breaker (186) as a sophomore. The diminutive 5’3” athlete has battled knee injuries that have harpooned good chunks her careers in other sports, but golf has not been taken away. Three 1A titles puts her near the elite company of FC girls golf pinnacles Grace Miller and Madison Scheevel. Taking second was fellow senior Chloe Morem with a 173 (89/84). Morem (183) was also 1A runner-up to Hershberger last year. Sophomores Lily Miller (94/85) and Myleigh Scheevel (85/94), younger sisters to Grace and Madison, tied for third with 179s. Scheevel was in second place after Day 1 courtesy of her 85. Annika Mensink (95/91) shot a 186 to take fifth while Aubrey Larson shot a 187 (96/91) to take sixth. FC’s team 690 tally is notable. Last year’s state meet was won with a 716 and FC shot 778. FC’s state title tally was 692 and its three state runner-up squads went 701, 697, and 715. Also making state was Lanesboro’s Chloe Schnebly, who took eighth with a 192 (93/99). Schnebly was in fourth after Day 1. The senior made state a year ago too after shooting a 208 and taking 11th. She had a lot more wiggle room this year, grabbing the second of five individual berths versus the last. Her Burros took third (858) team-wise. Houston’s Hannah Weichert (13th > 212), Kingsland’s Emily Sargent (14th > 218), and Lanesboro’s Ariana Huntington 15th (15th > 219) were other “Journal-covered” top 15 finishers. Thirty-eight girls competed. On the guys side, Brad Holten’s Falcons did not have 100-plus strokes leeway in amassing their second 1A golf title (like the girls). FC led Lanesboro 332 to 351 after Day 1 and the Falcons ultimately comfortably topped the Burros and Southland 671 to 706 to 712. R-P (5th place, 771) and GMLO (7th place > 830) also made Day 2 while Houston did not. Leading the way for FC was senior Jake Fishbaugher, who played more like the now four-time state qualifier than he had at the TRC Meet days earlier. And for once in his state experiences, he will play alongside teammates in Becker. Shooting two-over par, Fishbaugher had 18 pars, five birdies, and one eagle to post a 151 (78/73), topping nearest foe Sam Tucker of Hayfield, who shot a 154 (79/75) with 18 pars and three birdies. They were one stroke apart with two holes to play before Tucker fell off. Fishbaugher was champion last year too (156) and tied for second as a sophomore in 2021 (157). He was coming off a TRC Meet where he shot an 84 and tied for fourth. Both of his 18-hole rounds (78/73) at the 1A meet were much better. Like the girls, FC’s guys splattered the top 10. Junior Luke Hellickson shot a 171 (84/87) to take sixth. Sophomores Anthony Kiehne (88/88) and Aiden Arnold (85/91) shot 176s to tie for seventh. Eighth grader Brody Srsen shot a 180 (85/95) to take tenth. FC’s sixth golfer Brock Sikkink (191) took 19th place. Lanesboro’s contention atop the leaderboard did not leave them walking away emptyhanded. Hayden Lawstuen and Jack Brogle each made state individually. Lawstuen (82/82 > 164) took third behind Fishbaugher (151) and Tucker (154) courtesy of 13 pars and three birdies. The senior returns to state. He finished seventh (179) in 2021 at sections when the Burros were team champions. Brogle, just an 8th grader, took fifth (85/85 > 170) with only seniors ahead of him. Lanesboro’s Kaden Stettler (13th > 183), R-P 7th grader Sam Lafleur (16th > 188), Burro Dayton Haugen (17th > 189), and Kingsland Ethan Carr (20th > 193) finished top 20. Fifty-three total guys competed. The two-day 36-hole events was held at the 18-hole par-71 Eastwood Golf Course in Rochester.
Leave a Reply