Boys second after first day of sections
1. Lac qui Parle Valley 336; 2. Minneota 352; 3. Lakeview 360; 4. Yellow Medicine East 366; 5. Ortonville 369; 6. Canby 380; 7. Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa 381; 8. Osakis 423; 9. West Central Area 426; 10. Border West 487; 11. Central MN Christian 516; Renville County West, Dawson-Boyd, MACCRAY incomplete.
Medalist: Harrison Patzer, Lac qui Parle Valley, 72.
MINNEOTA; Mitchell Rost and TJ Esping 87; Nolan Boerboom 88; Tyler Myhre and Lucas Bot 90. Other: Cole Myhre 103.
"More than the rain and lightning was the agonizing slow play! Cole Myhre was suppose to tee off at 11:20 however with the delays, it was closer to 1:00. He was the very last group to tee off and It was around 7:30 when he parred hole 18 recording the last scores for the day," said Coach Greg Gile.
In the first round of Section 5A on Wednesday in Willmar, the Minneota boys shot a respectable 352, good for second place behind Lac qui Parle Valley's 336.
While they are 16 strokes off the pace going into the second and final day of Sections next Wednesday, their finish was remarkable considering the fact their usual leader, Nolan Boerboom fell off to an 88.
Instead, they got leadership from TJ Esping and Mitchell Rost, both of whom shot an 87. The fourth spot for the Vikings was a tie between Tyler Myhre and Lucas Bot. They both shot a 90.
"The varsity boys fired one of their lowest team scores of the season and have a realistic opportunity to qualify for state competition," said Coach Gile.
He added, "When the claim is made that someone's score is off you really are talking about one or two shots over six hours that missed there mark. In a team with six players preference should be given to the individuals that get back on their feet after a tough hole and still record a decent score. Tough to do under the circumstances we experienced."
Minneota's other score was a 103 by Cole Myhre.
Lakeview came in third at 360 with Yellow Medicine East fourth at 366 and Canby sixth at 380.
Jarret Geihl shot a 77 for Lakeview to tie Canby's Jake Wagner.
The teams will tee it up again at 9 a.m. next Wednesday in Willmar to determine a team representative to state and also the indiividuals who will advance.