The Tigers entered the second round of play with a 10-stroke lead over NLS. While the Wildcats outshot Marshall by 5 strokes on the day, Marshall still maintained its lead to top the field with a two-day score of 595. New Ulm rounded out the podium in third with a 621.

“We played in some big tournaments and I feel like they’ve gotten over that nerve factor,” Marshall head coach Scott Midtaune said of his team. “They’ve shown it. Like we shot a 290 at a tournament up here a few weeks ago, something like that, and it showed the boys that we can do this.”

Marshall’s Eli Winn, Carter Manthei and Deacon Wing each shot a 1-over 73 on Wednesday, tying for the fourth-best individual performance of the round. The effort paid off with each of the three golfers earning individual section medals.

Winn was 2-over after his first three holes, but snapped back into form quickly from there. He went 1-under for the remainder of the day, including a stretch of six consecutive holes at par or better on the back nine. The performance resulted in the freshman finishing as the individual runner-up at 142, trailing only NLS’ Max Truscinski’s 140.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Elijah Winn sinks a putt on hole 6 during the Section 3AA boys golf tournament, Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

“It feels awesome, it was fun,” Winn said of the result, adding that the players definitely felt the effects of the weather with feels-like temperatures reaching over 90 degrees. “It makes it a lot harder, clubs slipping out of your hands.”

Manthei and Wing tied for sixth place in the tournament with a two-day score of 150. Like Winn, Manthei got off to a slow 2-over start over the first two holes before going 1-under over his final 10 holes. Wing also started the front 9 on a heater, going 3-under on holes 1 through 7.

Through the top three golfers, Marshall and NLS were dead even. Winn, Manthei and Wing combined for a score of 442, while Max and Gabe Truscinski and Reid Kath did the same for NLS. As such, the winner of the team tournament came down to the fourth and final scorer.

Coming into the tournament, Marshall had a solid degree of familiarity with the course, Midtaune said. He added that the players’ comfort level and their intentionality with their shots combined to play a big part in the team’s success.

“We always preach that every shot matters, every hole matters,” Midtaune said. “Heck, we finished as a team, I think the last three holes, 5-under as a team. So we never gave up and had a good battle.”

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Carter Manthei takes a shot from the tee box in the 3AA boys golf tournament, Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Ethan Wendorff proved to be up to the task for Marshall. The junior shot a 6-over on Wednesday to tie Kath for eighth place in the field at 153, beating out NLS No. 4 Palmer Dalton by five strokes to seal the Marshall win. Wendorff finished his round particularly strong, going 3-under from holes 4 through 8 to make up some ground for the Tigers.

“I feel like I just took it hole by hole. Instead of getting down, I kept up and kept the next-hole mentality,” Wendorff said.

Keegan Fossum was the lone senior on the Marshall boys squad this year and he closes his career on a high note as he heads to the state tournament for the first time. Fossum shot a 9-over 81 on Wednesday to finish in 15th place with a 160.

“It feels great. I’ve never been [to the state tournament] before, and all the boys played good to bring us there,” Fossum said, adding that the team had high expectations for itself coming into the season because of its belief in itself.

The Section 3AA tournament began with 95 golfers, and 48 advanced to the second day. The golfers who qualified for the second round were the top 6 from each of the top-five teams, as well as the next 14 individuals.

Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Ethan Wendorff hits his driver during the Section 3AA boys golf tournament, Wednesday at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

Jaylen Koster also had a strong finish for Marshall, shooting a 9-over to place 16th at 161.

Familiar places with new faces

Now heading to state for the 11th time in program history, Marshall is just two years removed from its last appearance in 2024. While it’s been a relatively short span of time since the Tigers last went, Wing is the only returning golfer from that year’s tournament run.

“Freshman year just being on the team was just the most fun I’ve ever had in golf, and I’m really looking forward to this year as a team where we’re all really good friends,” Wing said. “I’m going to try to help them for sure during the practice round, have them know the right spots to hit into and to miss it. It’s a tough course, but we can play good there.”

The last time Marshall went to the state tournament, the Tigers tallied a team score of 468, finishing just one stroke out of fourth place and four strokes back of third. Wing, then a freshman, finished 46th in the field of 88 golfers with a two-day score of 122.

Marshall earned a pair of All-State nods after Jayden Manthei placed fifth and Luke Ehlers placed 11th, though both have since graduated.

“Being a player this time rather than a spectator feels pretty good,” Carter Manthei said of qualifying after being there to support his older brother Jayden two years ago.. “I’m pretty excited. I think we’ve got a good shot. I mean, we’ve got a good group of guys, I think we blend pretty well together.”

Manthei’s big-time debut

While CarterManthei had been a member of the team before, Wednesday marked his section tournament debut. Still, the junior was unfazed by the pressure during his first time in a tournament where a win was needed to extend his season.

“It feels pretty great. I’ve played the course a few times, watched my brother… and we had a nice practice round, too,” Manthei said. “We had a nice day, finally, and I think it was pretty sweet that we had a good round.”

“Carter’s first time in sections, and he comes out and shoots a 150 to place fifth, that’s big time,” Midtaune said.

Gearing up for bigger things

Marshall now prepares for the Class AA state tournament at Ridges at Sand Creek golf club in Jordan. The boys tournament begins on June 9, with individual boys starting at 7:30 a.m. and boys teams starting to roll out on the course at 8:15 a.m. Starting holes and tee times are yet to be announced.

“We’ve got to enjoy the moment today and then kind of flush it for tomorrow,” Midtaune said of preparing for the state meet. “We’re back to work, going to hit more greens, hit some fairways and stuff. I mean, we’re scrambling well, which is good, but up there at that course, you’ve got to be accurate off the tee or you’re going to struggle.”