Independent file photo: Marshall's Elijah Winn watches his shot during a golf meet on May 5, 2025. Winn finished the first day of the 2026 Section 3A boys golf tournament in first place, helping the Tigers lead the field as a team at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.

BUFFALO LAKE — Elijah Winn leads the 95-player field after the first day of competition at the Section 3AA boys golf tournament on Thursday at Oakdale Golf Club. The freshman standout’s performance led a group of four Tigers in the top 10 of the field, helping Marshall to the top of the field at the halfway mark.

As a team, Marshall compiled a score of 298 to lead the field by 10 strokes. Should they hold on to the lead after the second day of competition, the Tigers would earn their 11th team state tournament appearance and second in the last three years.

Trailing behind Marshall in the 16-team field, New London-Spicer lurks in second place at 308 and New Ulm is right behind the Wildcats at 309.

Winn shot a 3-under 69 on Thursday, putting him one stroke ahead of NLS’ Max Truscinski for first place. Winn carded four front-9 birdies to go 1-under, and he added another three birdies with five pars for a 2-under back-9 score.

After Winn, a trio of juniors flooded the top 10 for the Tigers. At the front of the group, Ethan Wendorff shot a 3-over 75, highlighted by three birdies and 10 pars, to slot into fifth place.

Carter Manthei and Deacon Wing rounded out Marshall’s scorers, tied for seventh place with 77 strokes each. Both golfers shot even-par on the front 9, including a birdie and seven pars for Manthei and three birdies with four pars for Wing.

While not counting towards Marshall’s team score after the first day of competition, the Tigers’ depth gives them insurance heading into Day 2. Senior Keegan Fossum ranks 13th in the field at the halfway mark with a 79, finishing strong by going 1-under over his final five holes, and Jaylen Koster sits in 16th with an 80 behind seven back-9 pars.

The second day of competition at Oakdale Golf Club is slated for Wednesday at 9 a.m.