“It’s a great group. I mean, we have anybody who can go low 80s, anybody could shoot in the 70s, and I’m proud of everybody,” Minneota’s Jase Sorensen said. “It’ll be fun to have another tournament and go play again.”

“I am very proud of all of us,” MCC’s Rachael Huso said. “Because, this is our second and third year going back-to-back, and we’re not done yet. So, it’s pretty cool.”

There are also several area individual qualifiers for the state tournament, where the first five golfers not a part of the winning team advance.

Jorga Brown from Red Rock Central placed first overall in the girls’ tournament with an 8-over 163, and Canby’s Maddison Richter and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton’s Teigyn Oleary tied for second with a 172. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton’s Taylor Munson also earned the final individual qualification with a sixth-place finish, carding a 194.

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Murray County Central girls golf team stands with their Section 3A championship trophy on Wednesday in Worthington.

“This feels crazy to me, and actually I was so stressed the whole time. I was not expecting it, and I just tried to do my best today,” Brown said. “Last year, I really struggled with [this course]. I just tried to keep a good attitude.”

For boy qualifiers, eighth-grader Ledgen Javens of Lakeview won the tournament with a 9-over 154 with seven total birdies. Red Rock Central’s Finn Batalden followed four strokes behind for second place, while MCC’s Kaden Landsman is also going to state with a third-place finish of 162. Canby’s Lane Citrwoske is also moving on, finishing the section in fifth place with a score of 164.

The Viking boys fought competitively with the defending four-time section champions in Lakeview, and prevailed throughout the second day of the tournament to take first place with a 674. The Lakers still followed close, and finished as runners-up with a 683.

Although the Laker boys missed the mark to return to state this year, the team again remained as a top program throughout the season. Lakeview graduates a trio of seniors in Landon Teske, Trevor Tusberg and Koven Neuman.

“The fact that both teams made it to day 2, I think is a success. Coming off of last year, the girls’ season ended on day 1, so [how] they were able to advance to day two was good to see. Overall, very proud of how [both teams] did,” Lakeview head coach Sarah Schultz said. “Day 1, he [Javens] came out here and had a great score to start. So, going into day 2, he felt comfortable, but knew he still just needed to go about the same, and he did very well today.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: The Minneota boys golf team stands with their Section 3A championship trophy on Wednesday in Worthington.

Becoming section champions has been a long time coming for the Minneota boys program. The last, and only, time the Vikings did so and went to the state tournament was 42 years ago in 1984, Hennen noted from a conversation he had with former longtime Minneota golf coach Ralph Hagen.

“It feels good to get a little bit of success and achieve what we knew we could,” Minneota head coach Walker Hennen said. “It’s very exciting for our program.”

Individually, Jase Sorensen led the Vikings with a third-place finish with a 162. Owen Dalager, who competed at state individually last year as a freshman, came in fifth with a 164, while Blayze Hulzebos also finished in the top-10 with a score of 167 for eighth place.

Berkley Sheik, Randy Sorensen and Easton Sheik capped off the Vikings in 15th, 19th and 30th, respectively.

“This is definitely not an easy course. Going into the rough, all of us, that’s hard to get out of, and it’s mentally challenging to keep pushing through,” Jase Sorensen said. “The coaches helped us get through that [with] really good drills at practice and challenges. Having steps along the way [over the season] of achievements that we want to get through [helped] … I think we had four guys win a tournament this year, and that’s a big achievement. Thats’ a big [result] of the coaching.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Red Rock Central's Jorga Brown smiles after completing the final hole and a first-place finish at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Minneota and Lakeview were locked nearly neck-and-neck entering day 2 of the tournament. The Vikings had just a one-stroke lead after the first day with a 340, while the Lakers followed with a 341.

“It was a goal for us from the very beginning of the season. We knew we’d have a pretty solid team, but Cottonwood kept it close the entire time. Keeping it within one on day 1 had us a little bit rattled,” Hennen said. “They got some really solid players, so yeah, they made it difficult all day.”

The Rebel girls were honed in throughout both days of the tournament from top to bottom, and won by an impressive 22 strokes with a 780. RTR finished in second place with 802.

MCC built up its lead quickly throughout the opening day of the tournament, and finished the first round with a team score of 388 to RTR’s 204.

“It feels pretty good. It’s great, for senior year,” Lizzie Daniels said. “I’m happy it’s not over yet … I love these people so much. It’s been amazing to work together.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Rachael Huso takes a swing at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Huso led the way with a 176 and finished in fourth place overall, and Natalie Einck followed with a 196 for seventh place. Elysia Korver shot a 204 for 12th place, as did Daniels in 14th place with a score of 206. Brielle Plotz and Emersyn Meyer capped off the Rebels in 18th and 27th, respectively.

“We were definitely trying to avoid the roughs, I think. There were a lot of trees,” Korver said. “I am really proud of these guys, because I know they went back-to-back-to-back, and it’s my second time going back.”

MCC has dominated Section 3A over recent years. In addition to winning the title and moving to state for the third straight season, this also marks the program’s seventh overall state tournament appearence.

The Rebels finished in fourth place at state last year, and in eighth in 2024.

The section tournament was overall well-respresented by area teams on the girls side. Following MCC and RTR, Lakeview placed third and Minneota finished in fourth.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Randy Sorensen studies the green at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

“The girls team making it to the second day, I think was a huge win for those guys,” Hennen said. “We really only had two golfers on the team that have much experience from the previous years, so four newcomers this year that played well on a tough course here [was great].”

Izzy Thomas and Leah Norgaard also led the Knights to pair with Oleary in ninth and tenth place, respectively. Lakeview was led by Nora Forslund’s 12th-place finish, while Ava Panka carded a 203 for 11th place to lead the Vikings.

Notably, Brown made an impressive final shot to secure her first-place finish on the final hole of the day. Standing right on the outside of the putting green on a slight hill, Brown shot a short chip to land the ball right on target and watched it roll in, sporting excitement after the shot.

“I was like, ‘No way I just made that,'” Brown said, laughing. “That’s the best feeling, to get it done and over with … I feel amazing, because I’ve worked so hard for it.”

On the boys side behind Minneota and Lakeview, Canby also had a strong performance and placed fourth as a team, led by Citrowske.

The second day of the Section 3A Tournament took place on Wednesday at Worthington’s golf course, while the first day was last week.

The Class A State Tournament will take place at the Pebble Creek golf course in Becker on June 9 and 10. The first team for the boys will tee-off at 8:15 a.m. on the first day with individuals starting at 7:15 a.m. For the girls, individuals will begin at noon and the first team at 12:45 p.m.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Owen Dalager takes a swing at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton's Teigyn Oleary smiles after receiving her medal at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington. Oleary tied for second place and advances to the Class A State Tournament.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Lakeview's Ledgen Javens putts at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Lizzie Daniels putts at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Minneota's Jase Sorensen takes a swing at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Canby's Maddison Richter smiles after receiving her medal at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington. Richter tied for second place and advances to the Class A State Tournament.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Tracy-Milroy-Balaton's Taylor Munson takes a swing at the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday in Worthington.