Photo by Jake McNeill: Minneota's Owen Dalager hits a shot from the fairway during the Camden Conference boys golf championship at Marshall Golf Club on Tuesday, May 12. Dalager finished the first day of the Section 3A tournament in second place with the minneota Vikings in first place as a team, Wednesday at Great Life Golf & Fitness in Worthington.

WORTHINGTON — Following the first day of the Section 3A Tournament on Wednesday, the Minneota and Lakeview boys golf teams spearhead top of the leaderboard while Lakers’ eighth-grader Ledgen Javens is leading all individuals.

The section tournament is taking place at the Great Life Golf and Fitness Course in Worthington, with the second and final day of the tournament slated to take place next Wednesday to determine state tournament berths.

The top-5 teams after the first day of the section tournament advance to next week’s final day for a chance earning a spot at the state tournament, as will the top-14 individuals not a part of those teams.

Following Tuesday’s results, Minneota, Lakeview, Canby, Hills-Beaver Creek and Southwest Minnesota Christian/Edgerton move on to next week.

Minneota finished the opening day on top with a 340, while Lakeview follows one stroke behind with a 341. Canby is also sporting a strong performance, sitting in third place with a 352 out of the 12 competing teams in the section.

Individually, Javens had carded four birdies through his first 18 holes and sits in first place overall with a 3-over 74. Red Rock Central’s Finn Batalden and Murray County Central’s Kaden Landsman follow close behind with a 7-over 78 tied for second, while Lakeview’s Landon Teske and Canby’s Lane Citrowske are tied for fourth with a 9-over 80.

Despite not continuing as a team, Batalden and Landsman will return to the tournament next week as individuals.

Owen Dalager leads the Vikings after day 1 in seventh place with an 11-over 82 and a pair of birdies. Jase Sorensen is holding onto eighth place with an 83, as is Blayze Hulzebos in ninth afte carding an 85.

Dalager also finished in seventh-place individually at last year’s state tournament as a freshman, with five strokes being the difference between first and seventh.

Berkley Sheik finished the day in 16th and Randy Sorensen in 18th, and Easton Sheik is in 37th.

For the Lakers to pair with Javens and Teske, Caleb Teske is in 23rd, while Gavin Gregoire and Koven Neuman follow in 28th and 29th, respectively. Trevor Tusberg rounds out Lakeview in 52nd.

The Lakeview boys in particular are looking to make its fifth-straight state tournament appearance as a team, winning the section championship the past four consecutive seasons.

Daven Vanengan also has a top-10 finish after the first day for the Lancers to pair with Citrowske. Vanengan shot an 81 and sits in sixth place.

Concluding their seasons after falling short of a top-5 team finish on Tuesday is Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove, Murray County Central, Red Rock Central, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton and Wabasso.

The second day of the section tournament will next place next Wednesday back in Worthington, with the boys again teeing-off at 9 a.m. The team that wins the section along with the top-5 individuals not a part of the winning team will earn spots in the upcoming state tournament.

Rebel girls finish day 1 on top in 3A

WORTHINGTON — Looking to defend its section title and return back to the team state tournament, the Murray County Central girls golf team leads the Section 3A Tournament following the first day, which took place on Tuesday at Worthington.

Moving onto the second and final day of the section tournament is also Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Minneota, Lakeview and Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda/Westbrook-Walnut Grove.

The top-5 teams after the first day of the section tournament advance to next week to compete for a state tournament spot, as do the top-14 individuals not a part of those teams.

Following the opening day, MCC finished with a comfortable team score of 388, while RTR follows in second place with a score of 402.

Minneota sits in third place with a 430, while Lakeview holds onto fourth place with 434 and HLOF/WWG does so in fifth with a 451.

MCC placed fourth as a team in last year’s state tournament run, as the Rebels fight to return once again.

Individually, RRC’s Jorga Brown will advance to the second day and is leading the pack in first place with a 13-over 84. RTR’s Teigyn O’Leary follows in second with an 86, while Maddison Richter carded an 87 for third place, also moving onto next week.

Rachael Huso and Natalie Einck lead the Rebels in fourth and fifth, respectively, with an 89 and 94. Elysia Korver wrapped up the day in 13th with a 102, as did Brielle Plotz in 14th with a 103.

Lizzie Daniels and Emersyn Meyer round out MCC in 18th and 34th, respectively.

Ava Panka is leading the Vikings with a 99 and sits in ninth place individually, while Lauren Boe is doing the same for the Lakers.

Canby missed the mark of advancing to the second day of the tournament. The Lancers finished Tuesday in sixth place, as did Red Rock Central in seventh and Wabasso in eighth. Tracy-Milroy-Balaton’s season also came to an end, who did not field a full team.

TMB’s Taylor Munson, however, will return next week as an individual after placing seventh on Tuesday with a 98.

The final day of the section tournament will take place next Wednesday back at Worthington with a 9 a.m. start, and will determine the team and individuals to move onto the state tournament.

Tigers finish 3AA opening day in second

BUFFALO LAKE — The Marshall girls golf team finished the first day of the Section 3AA Tournament on Tuesday in second place, led by Dayton Webskowski and MAddie Panka.

The opening day of the section tournament took place at the Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake, where it will also wrap up next week.

The top-5 teams after the first day of the section tournament will advance to next week’s final day for a chance of booking a state tournament ticket, as will the top-14 individuals not a part of those teams.

After the first 18 holes, Minnewaska Area hangs onto a sizable first-place team lead with a 315, who placed second in last year’s state tournament behind Detroit Lakes.

Marshall follows in second place with a 355, while New London-Spicer follows close in third with a 358. Paynesville Area and Fairmont will also advance to next week, placing fourth and fifth on Tuesday.

Individually, Minnewaska Area has five golfers sitting in the top-10. Webskowski is leading the Tigers with a 7-over 79 in a tie with Minnewaska Area’s Ava Kollman for third place.

The race is tight, however, with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City’s Brooke Brekke and Minnewaska Area’s Annika Deboer tied in second with a 3-over 75, just ahead of Kollman and Webskowski.

Webskowski also carded a birdie on hole 12.

Panka is also following close behind and wrapped up day 1 with an 85.

Additionally for the Tigers, Emry Weller shot a 94, Isabella Gossen finished with a 97, while Kathryn Gordon and Anna Thor each follow with a 100 and 102, respectively.

The second and final day of the tournament is slated to take place next Tuesday in Buffalo Lake, where the girls will again tee-off at 9 a.m. The team that wins the section along with the top-5 individuals not a part of the winning team will earn spots in the upcoming state tournament.

Webskowski earned a spot in last year’s state tournament, and placed 35th out of the 88 individual golfers.

The Marshall boys team will open the section tournament today at the same golf course with a 9 a.m. start, with the second day next Wednesday.

Blackjacks top the 5A girls field after Day 1

WILLMAR — Each of the Dawson-Boyd girls golf team’s four scorers were tied for fifth or better after the first day of play at the Section 5A tournament, Wednesday at Eagle Creek. The Blackjacks’ depth and dominance gives them a 30-stroke lead as they pursue their third consecutive section championship.

Dawson-Boyd fielded a team score of 343 after Day 1, well ahead of Community Christian’s 373 and Lac qui Parle Valley’s 376.

Kylar Hjelmeland was Dawson-Boyd’s top performer on the day, sitting in second place out of 32 golfers with a 9-over 81, trailing leader Molly Halvorson of Lac qui Parle Valley by a stroke. Hjelmeland finished her round with nine pars and a birdie on hole 13.

Alyssa Swedzinski, the Blackjacks’ lone senior, is also in the hunt for an individual section title. She posted a 10-over 82 to position herself in third place, highlighted by a pair of birdies on the front 9 and another pair on the back 9.

Laura Schreier and Claire Stratmoen rounded out the Blackjack scorers in a tie for fifth with 90 strokes each. Schreier carded a pair of back-9 birdies, including her final hole of the round, and Stratmoen played a consistent round with five pars.

While not factoring into the team score, Chloe Stratmoen finished the first round in 13th with a 104 and Myiah Bothun finished in 29th with a 122.

Dawson-Boyd will return to Eagle Creek for the second day of the 5A tournament on Thursday at 9 a.m.

Blackjack boys in the hunt in 5A

WILLMAR — Evan Mork finished the first day of the Section 5A boys golf tournament tied for first place, helping the Dawson-Boyd Blackjacks into second place and within reach of a section title.

As a team, Dawson-Boyd compiled a score of 323 to trail first-place Central Minnesota Christian by just three strokes. Lac qui Parle Valley sits in third at 340.

Yellow Medicine East also finished its round with a score of 372, sitting in eighth in the 13-team field. Senior Cooper McCosh and eighth grader Henry Austin will be the lone Sting golfers advancing to day 2, finishing 17th with an 88 and 33rd with a 93, respectively. Jack Mensink was also just one stroke back of the final spot in 37th with a 95.

Mork shot a 1-over 73 to tie Benson eighth grader Connor Larson for first place. Mork started his day with three pars and a birdie before logged bogeys on three of the next four holes. Yet, he remained composed and closed the round with a stretch of nine pars and a birdie.

Carson Stratmoen shot an 81 for the Blackjacks to tie Central Minnesota Christian’s Graham Lundeen for seventh, and Owen Schindler shot an 82 to tie Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City’s Blake Buer for ninth. Stratmoen carded two birdies and three pars on the back 9, and Schindler started his day strong with two pars and two birdies.

Landon Kemen was the Blackjacks’ final scorer, shooting an 87 to place 13th. Evan Menning and Mason Solem also competed for Dawson-Boyd, placing 27th with a 91 and 47th with a 99.

The Blackjacks will aim to climb the leaderboard again on Wednesday when they return to Eagle Creek for the final day of the 3A championship, starting at 9 a.m.