This season, Springfield changed that, shooting a 753 across the two days of the Section 2A Girls Golf Tournament to clinch that state tournament trip.

“It means so much coming back from last year especially,” Winkelmann said. “We kept getting second, and then we finally pulled it together, and now we’re headed to the state tournament, and we couldn’t be more excited.”

Winkelmann finished the tournament as co-section champion, along with Sleepy Eye United’s Sam Price, as the pair shot a 170. Winkelmann shot an 82 on the second day of the tournament on Monday at North Links Golf Course to lead the field.

“A lot was going well for me,” Winkelmann said. “I didn’t have too many off shots. Driving was going really well, putting, nothing really too bad to complain about. It was all going well, especially my mental game.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Springfield's Mavri Winkelmann watches her drive during the second day of the Section 2A Golf Tournament Monday at North Links Golf Course.

Winkelmann and Lipetzky will be joined by Annie Kuehn, Willow Krueger and Kynslee Kasnter at the state tournament this year. Winkelmann believes that her and Lipetzky’s previous state experience will help as the rest of the team makes the trip for the first time this year.

Price, meanwhile, claims her fourth consecutive section championship on her way to her fifth state tournament.

“Consistency, other than a couple holes,” Price said. “I felt very consistent with all my shots today, which definitely helped me get a confidence booster.”

Now a senior, Price has set her goals high for the upcoming state tournament.

“I’m hoping to earn some metal up there,” Price said. “Top eight is my goal, but we’ll see how it goes … I think just knowing the course — this will be my fifth time — knowing the course will definitely help me a lot.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye United's Sam Price lines up a putt during the second day of the Section 2A Golf Tournament Monday at North Links Golf Course.

After Winkelmann and Price, Mountain Lake Area’s Nevah Ott placed third (178), while Lipetzky took fourth (187). SEU’s Kiara Murphy will also return to the state tournament after placing fifth (188), and Kuehn (196) and Krueger (200) took sixth and seventh, respectively. Alden-Conger’s Courtney Bakkedahl and ML’s Amiya Oakland were the final state-qualifying individuals, tying for eighth (201), while Cedar Mountain’s Bailey Woodford rounded out the top-10 (209). Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop’s Kjerssa Jasinski placed 15th (216).

After Springfield, SEU placed second as a team (786), followed by MLA (809) and Alden-Conger (900).

The top team and the top five individuals not on that team qualified for the state tournament.

The state tournament begins on June 9 at Pebble Creek Golf Course in Becker.