WORTHINGTON — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and Murray County Central girls golf teams are neck-and-neck after the first day of the Section 3A tournament at Great Life Golf & Fitness on Wednesday. The Knights remain a stroke ahead of the Rebels at 410, meaning every stroke will count on Day 2 next week.

Aside from the team leaderboard, the Knights and Rebels also have tight individual battles atop the leaderboard. Juniors Jenna Gossen of RTR and Ava Johnson of MCC are tied at the top of the pack with 93 strokes each. Johnson put together a strong 44 on the front 9, including three of her four pars on the day, while Gossen had a par and a birdie on the back 9 and a pair of pars on the front 9.

MCC’s Rachel Huso remains right behind the duo with 94 strokes, seven strokes ahead of the next closest competitors.

The next closest competitors were another log jam of Knights and Rebels. RTR’s Shae O’Leary and Teigyn Gossen tied MCC’s Lizzie Daniels for fourth place at 101. Shae O’Leary shot a 53 on the front 9 but snapped back into form with a 48 on the back 9, including each of her three pars on the day. Teigyn O’Leary had two pars on both the front and back 9 while Daniels was consistent throughout her round but had just one par on the day on hole 9.

Izzy Thomas rounded out the RTR scorers with a 115 to place 12th in the field of 36 while MCC’s Natalie Einck shot a 123 to place 24th.

Aside from the top 2 teams, Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove placed third with a 433, Canby placed fourth with 472 strokes and Lakeview placed fifth with 494 strokes. None of the other six teams that sent golfers fielded a team score.

HLOF/WWG put three golfers in the top 11. Seniors Marenna Bang and Marissa Becker carded a 102 and 105 to place 7th and 9th while freshman Cadey Brown placed 11th with a 111.

Canby eighth grader placed eighth overall with a 104 while Taylor Munson finished 10th for Tracy-Milroy-Balaton with a 109.

Lakeview had a pair of top 20 golfers, with Lauren Boe and Cydney Manning finishing 12th and 18th with a 115 and a 118. Minneota’s Ava Panka and Canby’s Jayda Nemken tied Manning while Wabasso’s Chloe Rohlik tied Boe.

The Section 3A teams will resume competition on Wednesday at 9 a.m. with the top team and top 5 other individuals advancing to the Class A state tournament.

Section 3A boys

WORTHINGTON — The Lakeview boys golf team appears poised to return to the state tournament after the first day of the Section 3A tournament. The reigning Class A state champs and three-time reigning Camden Conference champs are in first place out of 10 teams at the halfway mark at Great Life Golf & Fitness.

Lakeview compiled a team score of 345, putting them 16 strokes ahead of second-place Southwest Minnesota Christian/Edgerton. Camden runner-up Canby is in third with 365 strokes while Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Murray County Central round out the top five at 367 and 373 respectively.

Also competing, Minneota and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton sit at 379 and 385 strokes respectively, Red Rock Central and Tracy-Milroy-Balaton are tied for eighth with 409 strokes and Hills-Beaver Creek is in last at 413 strokes.

Carson Boe is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack on the day, sitting at a 71 after day 1. He had eight pars on the front 9 and three birdies and four pars on the back 9. His teammate, Lane Arends, tied HLOF/WWWG’s Nathan Kueny for third place with an 81 on the day while Kyran Neuman and Kyle Kurowski placed 23rd and 25th with a 96 and 97 to round out the Laker scorers.

Alex Munson is currently second in the tournament with a 79, leading the TMB Panthers on the day. He had birdies on holes 7 and 12 as well as eight pars.

Jack Abrahamson led Canby with an 86 on the day, tied with HLOF/WWG’s Mason Ommen for fifth place, while Dylan Houseman tied MCC’s Lucas Kuball for 10th with a 91. Daven VanEngen and Brady Hulzebos placed 16th and 20th respectively with a 93 and a 95 to round out the Canby scorers.

MCC’s Dawson Schreier tied VanEngen while Schryvers tied Hulzebos. In between, Jett Veldhuisen also carded a 94 for the Rebels.

Minneota’s Max Rost and Keaton Jurrens, RTR’s Isaac Norgaard and RRC’s Keagan Steen all tied for 12th with 92 strokes on the day.

The Section 3A teams will resume competition on Wednesday at 9 a.m. with the top team and top 5 other individuals advancing to the Class A state tournament.

2AA girls golf

BUFFALO LAKE — After the first day at the Section 3AA girls golf tournament, Marshall sophomore Dayton Webskowski is holding strong in the top 10 of the 83-golfer field as the Tigers sit in seventh pace as a team.

Webskowski carded an 87 on the day to finish one stroke ahead of Kyra Nelson and three strokes back of Annika DeBoer, both of Minnewaska area. Minnewaska’s Arivia DeBoer and Ava Kollman also placed fourth and third respectively with a 79 and an 82 to lead their team to a team score of 333, good for first place and 59 strokes ahead of second-place Redwood Valley.

With the top five individuals qualifying for state, Webskowski is currently in line to continue her season into the Class AA tournament.

Marshall put together a team score of 407, putting them in between Litchfield and Minnesota Valley Lutheran in the 15-team field.

Webskowski’s fellow sophomore Grace Rokeh was the Tigers’ second-lowest scorer on the day, finishing with 93 strokes to place 12th. The freshman duo of Maddi Panka and Isabella Gossen placed 48th and 54th with a 112 and a 115.

Mila Jenniges of Redwood Valley and Avery Maus of Kimball Area are tied atop the individual leaderboard with 78 strokes each.

The Section 3AA teams will return to Oakdale Golf Club for day 2 of sections on Wednesday at 9 a.m. The top team and the top 5 individuals will advance to the Class AA state tournament.

Section 5A girls

WILLMAR — Lindsey Lund, Alyssa Swedzinski and Kylar Hjelmeland each put together top 6 performances at the first day of the Section 5A girls golf tournament at Eagle Creek Golf Club on Wednesday morning, leading the Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks into pole position after the halfway mark of the competition.

The Blackjacks’ team score of 349 puts them 11 strokes ahead of second-place B.O.L.D. after Day 1. Reigning state champions Lac qui Parle Valley sit in third place at 373, followed by Community Christian and Benson at 421 and 474. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart, MACCRAY and Renville County West did not field team scores.

Lindsey Lund leads the Blackjacks with an individual score of 78, putting her four strokes ahead of second-place Molly Halvorson of LQPV. Lund carded five front-9 pars and another seven on the back 9.

Right behind her, Swedzinski placed third overall with an 84. While Swedzinski went over par in four of her first five holes, she had some great high-points on the day. She had a birdie on hole 4 and another on hole 11, as well as five pars.

Hjelmeland also birdied hole 11 and carded another four pars to place sixth with an 89 while Claire Stratmoen shot a 98 to round out the Blackjack scorers in 13th place.

The Section 5A tournament will wrap up on Wednesday at the same location with the top team and top 5 individuals advancing to the Class A tournament.

Section 5A boys

WILLMAR — The depth of the Dawson-Boyd golf team has made the difference after the first day of the Section 5A tournament, as the Blackjacks’ three top-10 individuals have led the team to first place.

The Blackjacks have compiled a team score of 339, putting them three strokes of second-place Central Minnesota Christian. Benson is in third at 345, followed by Lac qui Parle Valley and B.O.L.D. at 348 and 356.

Yellow Medicine East placed 11th in the 12-team field with a team score of 427.

Carson Stratmoen led the Blackjacks with a 79 on the day, putting him in fourth place. He birdied holes 1 and 12 and notched another seven pars.

Evan Mork and Drew Hjelmeland tied B.O.L.D.’s Grant Pfarr for sixth place with 82 strokes. Mork had eight pars and a birdie on the day while Hjelmeland had eight pars and two birdies. Landon Kemen rounded out the team scorers in 31st with a 96.

Cooper McCosh was the Sting’s top scorer with an 87, tying Benson’s Franklin Knutson for 12th, while Jack Mensink also shot a 94 to place 26th.

The Section 5A tournament will wrap up on Wednesday at the same location with the top team and top 5 individuals advancing to the Class A tournament.