Sophomore Charlie Hanson picked up his first medalist honors of the season as Morris Area / Chokio-Alberta boys and girls golf teams opened the season last week. The Tigers opened West Central Conference play Tuesday, April 25, at Tipsinah Mounds in Elbow Lake, and then the boys traveled to the Sauk Centre Invite Wednesday, April 26, which is where Hanson claimed top honors.
The Tigers are slated to continue conference play at Sauk Centre and Melrose Tuesday, May 2. The MACA boys will also travel to New London-Spicer for an invite at the Little Crow Golf Course Friday, May 5.
WCC meet at Tipsanah
Minnewaska claimed both boys and girls team titles at the West Central Conference opener Tuesday, April 25, at Tipsinah Mounds Golf Course in Elbow Lake.
“We played 18 holes, but only the front nine counted toward conference scoring,” Tiger coach Joey Fragodt said.
The Laker girls won with a team score of 328 followed by BOLD with a 364 and Melrose with a 441. Benson took fourth with a 454 and Sauk Centre and West Central Area tied for fifth with a 478. Morris/C-A, who never scored as a team in 2022 due to limited numbers, finished seventh.
Kenna Kenriksen of BOLD took medalist honors with a 76. She carded a 37, two over par on the front nine.
Minnewaska won the boys meet with a 313 followed by West Central Area with a 314. Melrose (342), Morris/C-A (359) and Benson (362) rounded out the top five teams.
Riley Larson of Minnewaska carded a 68, two under par, to earn medalist honors for the boys meet.
Charlie Hanson, who tied with Larson for first place with a 35 on the front nine, finished third overall with a 72. He had four birdies and nine holes for par in the 18-hole round.
“For the first meet of the year, the boys took fourth as a team in conference play and Charlie Hanson tied for first individually by conference standings,” Fragodt said. “Charlie started his year out right where he left off last year. He was crushing the ball and played well enough around the greens to card a nice score.”
Mason Erickson finished in the top 15 with an 88. The junior had six holes for par in the 18-hole round and carded a 43 front-nine score.
Carter Pew was the third finisher for the Tigers, carding an 98. Landon Wolf (101), Micah Ulrich (107), Darin VanHorn (115) and Nate Bratton (120) also competed for the MACA boys.
“The boys did a lot of good things, but I could definitely tell we have not spent any time on the putting greens. We lost a lot of strokes, putting and chipping,” Fragodt said. “We are young and we will improve. We have several newcomers to the varsity scene, and it might take a few meets to find out who’s who.”
The Tiger girls were led by sophomore Emily Jacobson, who carded a 124. Eighth-graders Katlin Gibson and Braelynn Hamling scored a 130 and 145, respectively, while seventh-grader Yavonne VanHorn carded a 137.
Boys at Sauk Centre
Charlie Hanson took home medalist honors after carding a 74 round, three strokes ahead of Brady Schwinghammer of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, at the Sauk Centre boys invitational Wednesday, April 26, at the Greystone Golf Club in Sauk Centre.
Morris/C-A took fourth out of 10 teams. Albany won the invite followed by Osakis and Barnesville. Benson rounded out the top five teams at the meet.
“It was a cold and windy day at Greystone, but the boys toughed out the round,” Tiger boys coach Joey Fragodt said.
Mason Erickson also finished in the top 10 for the Tigers. The junior carded an 83, which was good for a tie for eighth place overall.
“I was proud of how the boys battled throughout the 18-hole round and never once complained about the weather,” Fragodt said. “We are just happy to be out golfing.”
Jaxon Hilbrands carded a 101 followed by Micah Ulrich with a 105 and Lincoln Schneider with a 107. Landon Wolf rounded out the competitors for MACA with a 110.
