Photo courtesy of Mark Wilmes/The Tyler Tribute The 2024 Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Shae O’Leary, Jenna Gossen, Teigyn O’Leary, Izzy Thomas, Zoey Williams, Leah Norgaard and Shelby Korman. The team is coached by Tim O’Leary with assistant coaches Rick Gossen and Carter Hansen.

TYLER — After winning last year’s Section 3A championship, the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton girls golf team returns all of its top 6 players with the hope of making another deep run in 2024.

Shae O’Leary leads the Knights’ large returning cast. One of three seniors on the team in addition to Zoey Williams and Shelby Korman, O’Leary shot a 98 in last year’s state tournament to place 40th as an individual and lead the Knights to an eighth-place team finish. She also placed third in last year’s section tournament at 31-over — making her the only non-senior in the top 4 — and has gotten off to a hot start this year with a fifth-place finish at the Marshall Class A girls Invitational.

Jenna Gossen and Teigyn O’Leary each also put together quality seasons last year. Gossen placed sixth in the section tournament while O’Leary placed 10th in the field of 36. Gossen is now a junior and O’Leary a sophomore, giving the two plenty of time to continue to grow and develop along with the team.

On the boys side, Chase Christensen qualified for the state tournament last year after placing fifth in the section tournament. While he represented the school well with an 11-over to place 43rd, he graduated, leaving a large gap for the underclassmen to fill.

Isaac Norgaard leads the returning Knights after placing 21st in last year’s section meet. At the Marshall Class A boys invitational, he was the lone senior for the Knights alongside two freshmen and three sophomores.

Many of the Knights’ underclassmen performed well at the meet, with sophomore Jonah Norgaard recording a 93. Still, as with all young talent, the benchmark for this year’s boys team will be its growth rather than reslts, at least to start.

The Knights will next compete on Thursday with the girls heading to Farmers Golf & Health Club and the Boys headed to Slayton Country Club. Both meets are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.