Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall's Elijah Winn spots his ball on the green during the Section 3AA golf championships at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake on May 27. Winn finished the first round of the Class AA state boys golf tournament at Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Club in Jordan in a tie for fourth place on Tuesday.

JORDAN — A strong start in his state tournament debut has Marshall’s Elijah Winn in the top five of the 88-player field at the Class AA state boys golf tournament, Tuesday at Ridges at Sand Creek Golf Club. The freshman shot a 1-under for the day, leading the Tigers into fifth place as a team at the midway point of the tournament.

Starting his day on hole 10, Elijah Winn shot 1-under with a pair of birdies on the back 9, and he carded an eagle on hole 7 to go even-par on the front 9. His score of 71 on the day trails only Henry Johnson’s 5-under and Ryder Rose’s 4-under, both of Southwest Christian, and Legacy Christian Academy’s Braylon Ylkanen’s 2-under. Winn is tied with Collin Ramos, Drew Burstad Ben Appelhof of Totino-Grace, Albany’s Blake Silbernick, Blake School’s Nathan Dunbar and Little Falls’ Peyton Carr.

As a team, Marshall sits at 17-over through the first day, sandwiched between Detroit Lakes’ 10-over and St. Cloud Cathedral’s 19-over. Southwest Christian leads the pack at 1-under, followed by Totino-Grace’s 1-under and Blake School’s 4-over.

Deacon Wing was Marshall’s No. 2 scorer on the day, finishing in 23rd with a 3-over 75. He logged a pair of birdies in the round, including his final hole of the day, and was just 1-under through his first nine holes.

Ethan Wendorff and Jaylen Koster rounded out Marshall’s scorers in 43rd and 65th, respectively. Wendorff shot a 7-over 78, including a pair of birdies on the final three holes of the back 9, while Koster shot a 9-over 81 with birdies on holes 12 and 1.

Keegan Fossum and Carter Manthei also competed for Marshall, each shooting an 82 on the day to tie for 72nd.

Marshall’s golfers will again be starting on hole 10 today. Manthei will be Marshall’s first golfer to start on the day at 8:15 a.m., while Winn will be the final Tiger to get his round started at 9:09 a.m.