WHO TO WATCH
Area boys golfers to keep an eye on this season:
Fletcher Blaschko, Wabasha-Kellogg: The sophomore had an impressive freshman season, qualifying for the Class A state meet, where he finished in a six-way tie for 33rd.
Dom Kieffer, Byron: Kieffer was an all-HVL player and qualified for the Class AA state meet as a sophomore.
Jordan Schultz, Lewiston-Altura: Schultz, a Cardinals co-captain, had a 40.5 scoring average per nine holes last season, when he qualified for the Class A state meet. He tied for 33rd at state.
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WHO TO WATCH
Area girls golfers to keep an eye on this season:
Aimee Cichon, Lewiston-Altura: The senior had a 47.1 scoring average in 2010 and had an outstanding Class A state tournament, placing fifth.
Andrea Clement, Kingsland: The senior, who averaged a 44.4 score per nine holes last season, is in her sixth season as a varsity player for the Knights.
Kaitlyn Hennessy, Lewiston-Altura: The junior held a 45.1 scoring average last season. She placed sixth at the Class A state tournament.
Jordan Price, Byron: The senior is in her sixth season on the Bears' varsity, seeking her fifth trip to the state meet and her fourth consecutive top-six finish.
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BOYS TEAM-BY-TEAM PREVIEWS
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(The following teams submitted information for these previews)
BLOOMING PRAIRIE BLOSSOMS
Outlook: The Blossoms will greatly miss having team leader Jordan Ressler, coach Erik Vigeland said. Ressler died in a car accident last November. "The biggest goal starting out is just to learn to deal with and overcome not having Jordan on our team," Vigeland said. "If we can do that, which will be extremely tough, I feel the rest will be easy." … The Blossoms captured the subsection championship, but couldn't advance a golfer to state. Four key players are back from that team — senior Dylan Hatch (43.8 average per nine holes); junior Pat Jones (49.6), and freshmen Victor Peterson (48.0) and CJ Hein (50.2).
BYRON BEARS
Outlook: The Bears return five seasoned players, led by All-Hiawatha Valley League golfer, and state meet qualifier, junior Dom Kieffer. The Bears top four other players are also juniors, including state qualifier Logan Bashaw, All-HVL golfer Connor Hedlund, Mike Espey and Nate Hemann. Sophomores Jacob Boe and Nick Iverson are among the top candidates to fill the sixth varsity spot.
KINGSLAND KNIGHTS
Outlook: The Knights had a very good season in 2010, winning the Three Rivers Conference championship. They will be led this season by four seniors and a junior, all of whom put up nine-hole scoring averages of 48.3 or better. The seniors are Nate Vorwerk (41.1), Nick Bly (43.6), Trent Harder (47.0), and Jake Harder (48.3). Junior Spencer Klevan (47.7) is also a top varsity player.
Coach Kohn says: "We feel we have a team this year that can accomplish as much as last year, and also accomplish the goals we didn't achieve last year."
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LANESBORO BURROS
Outlook: The Burros have a roster full of veterans who have their sights set on another Southeast Conference championship, as well as contending at the subsection and section meets. Lanesboro will be led by four seniors, Lucas Johnson, Dakota Dorn, JD Eddy and Michael Luck. Five juniors are also in the battle for spots in the varsity lineup.
Coach John Smith says: "We have a good returning group of letterwinners. We hope to contend for our conference championship again and look to play well at tournament time."
LEWISTON-ALTURA CARDINALS
Outlook: The Cardinals have two letterwinners back from last season's team that was 6-5 in dual meets. The returning starters are co-captains this year, senior Jordan Schultz (40.5 scoring average per nine holes) and junior Graham Sullivan (46.3). Schultz qualified for the Class A state meet last season.
PLAINVIEW-ELGIN-MILLVILLE BULLDOGS
Outlook: PEM has five solid players returning this season, led by a pair of seniors. Adam Nymann (45.0 scoring average) and Aaron Loechler (48.2) are back to lead the team. Juniors Taylor Axley (46.6), Tanner Rinken (47.1), Christian Schad (42.2), who made all-conference last year, and sophomore Corey Hofschulte (46.7) are also returning to lead the Bulldogs.
RUSHFORD-PETERSON TROJANS
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Outlook: The Trojans have three golfers back from a team that captured the Section One, Class A championship and placed fifth at the Class A state meet. Senior Justin Boyum had the best score of any Trojan at last year's state tournament (95 in the rain-shortened 18-hole event). Sophomores Zach Boehmke and Phillip O'Shaughnessy each shot 97 at state. R-P was just 5-3 in conference dual meets last season, but playing against the tough competition in the Three Rivers Conference made the Trojans a better team by the time the postseason came around.
ST. CHARLES SAINTS
Outlook: The Saints have six returning letterwinners, led by three seniors, Jordan Gathje (All-Three Rivers Conference), Kai Davis and Dylan Barth. Sophomore Austin Hawk, freshman Taylor Johnston and eighth-grader Ty Doan also earned varsity letters last season. The Saints hope to use their experienced lineup to repeat as winners of the Three Rivers Conference North Division.
TRITON COBRAS
Outlook: The Cobras are fairly young, with no seniors among their returning letterwinners. Junior Andre Joyce (86.5 scoring average per 18 holes) is Triton's top returner. He qualified for the Section One meet and had a season-low score of 79. Sophomores Luke Roussel (90.9) and Ayrton Henderson (93), and eighth-grader Zach Otto (89.9) are other leading returners. Seniors Braden Barber and Kyle Olson, sophomore JP Keller, eighth-grader Preston Pflaum and seventh-grader Jaden Thiemann are other leading candidates for varsity playing time.
WABASHA-KELLOGG FALCONS
Outlook: The Falcons have their entire lineup back from a year ago, led by Ben Meyer and Dan Quade, the only seniors on the team. Also back for W-K are junior Alec Pierce, sophomores Fletcher Blaschko and Michael Flicek, and freshman Winston Fosmo. The Falcons have as many as seven underclassmen who could compete for a spot in the varsity lineup.
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GIRLS TEAM-BY-TEAM PREVIEWS
(The following teams submitted information for these previews)
BLOOMING PRAIRIE BLOSSOMS
Outlook: The Blossoms have four key players back from a team that finished second in the subsection meet. That group is led by junior Maggie Sorensen, senior Jeana Johnson and freshmen Anna Noble and Katelyn Eischens. Sorenson led Blooming Prairie last season with a scoring average of 56.0 per nine holes. Johnson was close behind, at 56.8.
BYRON BEARS
Outlook: Byron has one of the state's top players — senior Jordan Price — leading the way. She is a four-time state meet qualifier and has placed no worse than sixth in the state in the past three years. The Bears also have a mix of youth and experience. They have two other seniors on the varsity roster, Carin Neseth and Kimberly Klatt, as well as three sophomores and a freshman.
KINGSLAND KNIGHTS
Outlook: The Knights will build their team this season around senior Andrea Clement, who has been a varsity player since her seventh-grade season. Clement led the Knights with a 44.4 scoring average per nine holes last season. While Kingsland plays in the tough Three Rivers Conference, coach Brent Kohn is pleased to have multiple players with varsity experience back, including freshmen Karli Bly (57.3) and Crystal Dempewolf (59.4). Sophomore Lizzy Tart and freshman Megan Back are also back after playing extensively with the varsity a year ago.
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Coach Kohn says: "I really expect our team to compete this season," Kohn said. "Even though they seem young, most of them have as much experience as a junior or senior on most teams. I can see confidence in them as players and I really look forward to seeing them compete."
LAKE CITY TIGERS
Outlook: The Tigers are loaded with talented seniors, including 2010 Class AA state meet entrants Annalise Wallerich (23rd place finish) and Abby Gruber (27th). Carley Siewert, Mary Schmidt and Jennifer Schmidt are also key returners. All five of the seniors were All-Hiawatha Valley League golfers last season. Wallerich is a two-time state meet qualifier. Senior Amanda Johnson and sophomore Katy Balduc are among the contenders for the sixth varsity spot. The Tigers have been the Section 1AA runners-up the past three seasons and they hope to contend for the championship again this year.
LANESBORO BURROS
Outlook: The Burros have a good mix of veterans and young players. They're led by senior Dana Sautter and junior Paige Hungerholt. Senior Kasi Wangen, juniors Bryn Harmon, Kiah Halverson, sophomore Johanna Bearson and freshman Brooke Kimball are the other top returning players for the Burros. They look to challenge Houston and Lyle/Austin Pacelli for the SEC championship.
LEWISTON-ALTURA CARDINALS
Outlook: The Cardinals return two outstanding golfers, in senior Aimee Cichon and junior Kaitlyn Hennessy. They will serve as co-captains this season. Cichon placed fifth at the Class A state tournament last year, with Hennessy following right behind her in sixth place. Four other key golfers are back — senior Alissa Moe (50.1 average), junior Kayley Borkowski (45.9), freshman Elli Hennessy (47.42) and Brianna Kinstler (53.2). The Cardinals were 11-0 in duals and finished as the Class A state runners-up behind Providence Academy. Borkowski also had a strong state meet, finishing in a tie for 17th.
RED WING WINGERS
Outlook: The defending Class AA state runners-up Wingers have a great mix of youth and veterans, all of whom have experience golfing in big meets. Red Wing is led by three seniors, including captain Ashley Brooks (88 average/18 holes). Juniors Katie Kesti (82.0) and Marisa Toivonen (84.0) both finished in the top 10 at the Class AA state meet. Kesti placed fifth and Toivonen tied for eighth. Senior Nikki Pasch (87.0) also had a scoring average better than 90. Other top returners are senior Anna Busch (93), junior Bryn Christianson (97), sophomore Maddie Flack (97) and freshman Nicole Schammel (93). The Wingers, who finished 14 shots behind Minnewaska Area at state last year, have their sights set on another Section 1AA title and trip to state.
Coach Mark Herzog says: "We have a number of girls who have had success in the past. If each girl can make a little improvement in her overall game, the Wingers could be strong this spring."
ST. CHARLES SAINTS
Outlook: The Saints placed second in the Three Rivers Conference North Division last season and look to take a step forward this year with a young roster that features three returning letterwinners. There are no juniors or seniors on the Saints roster. They'll be led by sophomore letterwinners Josie Pearson and Acacia Wimmer, as well as eighth-grader Kennedy Schwichtenberg. The Saints have three more sophomores and a seventh-grader who will battle to fill out the varsity lineup.
TRITON COBRAS
Outlook: Triton has a good mix of young players and veterans, and its only two seniors did not play last season. Senior Mercedeys Lamoree didn't play last season because of an injury, and Erica Bryngelson is a good athlete who is out for golf for the first time. Top returners include sophomores Paige Johnson (109.7 average per 18 holes), Abbie Lilledahl (113.2), Miranda DeBus (117.1) and Amber Miosi; junior Rachel Welsh (118.2); and freshman Shania Wojtowicz.
WABASHA-KELLOGG FALCONS
Outlook: Five starters return for W-K, including seniors Storme Eaton and Becca Lamey. Other top returners include sophomores Alyssa Hartert and Mallory Patrow, and freshman Tiffany Stumpf. Coach Jerry Dalen expects sophomore Kortney Wobbe and eighth-grader Ashley Braem to compete for varsity time.
