Tigers top triangular

St. Mary's girls' golf dealt first loss of season

By JEREMY BEHNKE

Journal Sports Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- Springfield golf coach Peggy Larson describes her boy's golf team as a tight-knit group who feed off each other both at practice and at meets.

That group finished with a 158 Thursday, good enough to win the Sleepy Eye St. Mary's triangular.

"It's really a fun group of kids," she said. "They're working hard and they can play with each other. They're practicing hard. It's kind of a rivalry right now but it's a good healthy rivalry. They know what it's like to be winners and they want to win."

St. Mary's finished with a 167 while Cedar Mountain finished third with a 182.

Springfield's Johnny Larson was the medalist. He made it look easy as he battled the cold, windy conditions to shoot a 2-under 34.

"It was really cold and the winds were picking up, taking about 10 degrees off the temperature," Johnny Larson said. "But overall, it wasn't too bad."

He was focused throughout the day, earning two birdies on both par-5 holes. He also said that because it's still early in the season, he wanted to focus on his short game.

"The short game is a big thing this time of the year," he said. "I had it going today, but the long irons really helped today. I got a couple of short par-4s."

Despite the win, coach Larson expects to see better results as the year progresses.

"I think we're going to see some improvement through the year," she said. "It's early and we've only got to play three times. I think our numbers will get better, but I can see that we're still getting stronger and getting deeper."

Josh Roiger also had a good round for Springfield, carding a 38. Matt McNutt shot a 42 and Eric LaMott carded a 44.

St. Mary's was led by Garett Soukup's 40 and Chris Ibberson's 41. T.J. Ibberson and John Schmid each shot a 43 for the Knights. The Knights dropped to 4-4 on the season.

Cedar Mt. fell to 4-2 on the year with the third place finish. Dan Schroeder led Cedar Mt. with a 43. Teammates Alex Kettner and Jon Kalkhoff finished three shots back with a 46, while Aaron Larsen carded a 47.

On the girl's side, a familiar face once again surfaced at the top of the list. Springfield's Jeama Schultz, who won medalist honors at the Redwood Falls Invitational earlier this week with a 41, matched her total from Tuesday and once again earned medalist honors.

What's more impressive, however, is that she finished nine strokes better than the next closest competitor. She also stressed the importance of the short game.

"It's still early in the season, but I'm starting to put things together, especially with my short game," Schultz said. "Sometimes when I have an off-shot every once in a while, I make a putt or chip it close, so my short game really helps me."

Coach Larson is expecting big things from her senior, who has been playing varsity golf since the seventh grade.

"She's played for six years and she's been playing in that 1-2 spot for many years," Peggy Larson said. "She's gonna play really steady. I'm looking for her to shoot under-80 for us this year."

Springfield also claimed the girls' meet with a total of 199. St. Mary's lost its first meet of the year (7-1), finishing with a 214. Cedar Mt. finished with a 244.

After Schultz, Amanda Voge shot a 50 while Amy Wellner shot a 53 and Mindy Lipetzky shot a 55.

"They're really starting to see their numbers go down," coach Larson said. "We'd like to be down to 180-182."

St. Mary's was led by Kristy Schroepfer and Kate Ludewig, who each shot a 50. Laura Huiras and Alyssa Fischer each shot a 57 for the Knights.

Monde Larsen shot a 53 and Tracey Larsen shot a 58 to lead Cedar Mt. (2-2). Megan Larsen shot a 66 and Amanda Rothmeier shot a 67.

St. Mary's is at Oakdale against Buffalo Lake-Hector Monday. Springfield is at Red Rock Central Monday. Cedar Mt. is at Oakdale Wednesday.