By Nick Hansen

nhansen@marshall

independent.com

Twenty-five area high school golfers will be taking part in the Minnesota high school state golf championship next Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Class A championship will be held at Pebble Creek Country Club in Becker. The Class AA tournament will take place at Sand Creek in Jordan.

Three teams qualified for the Class A tournament: Minneota girls, Dawson-Boyd boys and Murray County Central boys.

They will be joined by four who qualified as individuals: Whitney Fischer of Lakeview, Abby Herding of Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Jenna Huber of Canby and Devin Skalak of Tracy-Milroy-Balaton.

Four individuals from Marshall qualified for the Class AA tournament: Jessica Blanchard, Hanna Peterson, Kami Love and Jacob Baker.

The Marshall girls bring a lot of experience to Jordan. Blanchard and Peterson will be playing their fourth state tournament.

Love will be playing in her first Minnesota state tournament, but qualified for South Dakota state tournaments prior to moving to Minnesota before her junior year.

“The girls are excited. It’s a long week in between, but they’ve been playing or practicing almost every day and gearing their game up knowing the challenge they have ahead of them,” said coach Nancy Blanchard.

Marshall boys coach Kari Ehlers said that Baker has been a consistent contributor for the team. The senior was part of the 2014 state-runner up squad and finished in the top 40.

He will be continuing his career next year for Iowa Lakes Community College.

Baker said he is hoping to finish in the top eight at the tournament.

He added that he’s looking forward to ending his career on a high note.

After a year off from qualifying as a team, the Vikings are excited to head back to state as a group. Coach Ralph Hagen said the team has “carved out a niche” in the successful Minneota athletics tradition.

Rachel Knutson, Brooklyn Downing, Nicole Evers, Allison Bot, Kyra Gores and Heidi Guttormsson will represent the Vikings at Pebble Creek.

Bot, Gores and Guttormsson all qualified last year as individuals. Hagen said the team feels “one hundred percent better” about qualifying as a team once again.

The team shot a record 366 at the section meet to qualify for the tournament.

Dawson-Boyd’s six golfers aim to continue their successful run.

Spencer Erickson, Tyler Lund, Dalton Palmer, Cameron Kemen, Christian Thoen and Easton Popma are an experienced bunch. Five members of the squad were part of the 2014 state championship-winning team.

However, they put last year’s success in the back of their minds.

“I would say our motivation is the fact that we’re playing competitive and that we want to do our best. Anything that happened in the past is not a factor in what happened this year,” said coach Dave Baldwin.

The team is a tight-knit bunch. “They’re like brothers in a way. They’re very much a team even though golf is an individual game. They do a lot of things together they get along. They push each other, It’s a great group,” said Baldwin.

The Murray County Central Boys team is no stranger to the state tournament either.

It is the Rebels fourth-straight year qualifying. Cole Ahlers, Jack Pierson, Brad Schreiber, Adam Christensen, Tyler Groves and Grant Everson will represent the Rebels this year.

The team finished in seventh at last year’s tournament. Christensen placed third overall.

Herding has her sights set high for her fourth trip to the state tournament, a school record.

The junior placed second at last year’s competition and seventh in the 2013 contest.

“Abby plays the game at a high level. Her swing and techniques are very good. She practices every aspect of her game on a daily basis. She can also score and play well when her swing leaves her for a round. Because she is a student of the game, she is never out of the competition,” said WWG coach Carter Ross.

Herding shot numerous rounds in the 30’s this year. Ross said that Herding’s goal is to “compete at a high level and be in a position to win.”

Whitney Fischer will be making her second appearance at the state tournament. The senior shot a 202 overall score in 2014 to finish in 55th place. She is looking to improve on that number this year.

“One of her goals is to place better in the field of golfers than last year. Another goal is to play the hole and focus on each swing, not to get caught up with her score or how other players are playing within her group, stay within the moment mentally,” said Lakeview coach Cory Hendrickson.

Huber will be making her first trip to the state tournament in only her second year playing on the varsity golf team. The Lancer shot a personal-best 91 at the section tournament to make the cut for the state tournament.

Canby coach Milo Larson said Huber is looking to make the most of her trip to Pebble Creek. Larson said that Huber wants to “enjoy the experience, and play with confidence. She has been working very hard on her game the past week in preparation for the tournament.”

Skalak will also be making his first trip to the state tournament this year. The Panther nearly made it last year, but lost in a five-way playoff.

Skalak medaled in a few tournaments this year and also made the all-conference team.

Coach Randy McIntire said that Skalak has a pretty solid game and wants to finish in the top 30.