File photo by Travis Rosenau Sleepy Eye United’s Carson Erickson hits out of a bunker during the third leg of the Tomahawk Conference Boys’ Golf Tournament in Sanborn on May 1.

BECKER — The 2021 Class A State Golf Tournament will take place June 15-16 at Pebble Creek Golf Club, with the Sleepy Eye United boys’ team highlighting the area’s state golfers this year.

The SEU boys punched their ticket to state this past Monday at North Links Golf Course after becoming the Section 2A boys’ team champions with a score of 633. Carson Erickson was the Section 2A individual boys’ champion with a two-day total of 151, while Toby Weiss turned in a Monday-best score of 73 and finished with a two-day score of 154. The 73 was Weiss’ lowest 18-hole score of the year.

Also joining Erickson and Weiss from SEU will be Logan Netzke (two-day score of 157), Jack Nelson (171), Jacob Schultz (179) and Allen Arneson (195).

After Monday’s Section 2A awards were dealt out, Erickson said SEU’s biggest strength heading to state will be the bond the team shares.

“We spend a lot of time with each other,” Erickson said. “We all like to go to the course, and so we get a lot of practice in together.”

Erickson will be making his first appearance at state this season and his 18-hole low score for the year was a 75 at the section tournament. Weiss will be making his second trip to state this year, while Netzke will be making his fourth trip. Netzke’s 18-hole low score was a 76 at the section tournament.

Schultz, Nelson and Arneson will all be making their first trip to state. Schultz’s 18-hole low was an 81 at North Links on May 20, while Nelson turned in an 18-hole low of 85 at the section tournament and Arneson turned in an 18-hole low of 91 in Sanborn in the third leg of the conference.

The tee times for the boys on Tuesday are as followed. Arneson tees off at 12 p.m., followed by Nelson (12:09 p.m.), Schultz (12:18 p.m.), Netzke (12:27 p.m.), Weiss (12:36 p.m.) and Erickson (12:45 p.m). Erickson, Weiss, Netzke and Schultz were all all-conference golfers this year also.

The SEU boys will also be joined by one SEU girl golfer in Liz Schwint. Schwint turned in a two-day score of 212 to qualify for state for the first time in her career. Her 18-hole best came in the second leg of the Tomahawk Conference Tournament at the New Ulm Country Club when she shot a 104 and she also was an all-conference golfer. She will tee off at 8:24 a.m.

Springfield will be represented at state this year by senior Mavrick Winkelmann and junior Christopher Thram. Winkelmann shot a two-day total of 153 at the section meet to qualify, while Thram shot a two-day total of 161.

Winkelmann, the Tomahawk Conference Boys’ Golfer of the Year, had an 18-hole best 72 at the conference meet in Sanborn and shot a 9-hole best of 33 at a meet in Oakdale earlier this season. He placed fourth at state as a sophomore and will tee off at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday in his second state appearance.

Thram will be making his second trip to state after qualifying with the Springfield boys’ team in 2019. He shot an 18-hole best of 81 at Dacotah Ridge and had a front-nine best score of 37 at the section meet. He will tee off at 1:09 p.m. on Tuesday.

Last Monday’s Section 2A girls’ champion was New Ulm Cathedral junior Kayla Goblirsch, who will be making her fourth appearance at state. The Tomahawk Conference Girls’ Golfer of the Year had a two-day Section 2A total score of 169.

After winning the Section 2A individual title on Monday, Goblirsch said that her state experience at Pebble Creek gives her confidence for next week’s state tournament.

“The more you play a course, the more confident you get and the easier it becomes,” she said. “So I think that will help me. Also, I started to hit the ball a little bit farther as I’ve gotten older, and that’s a little bit of a longer course, so that will help me this year, too.”

Goblirsch, who had her 18-hole best score of 80 this season on Day 1 of the section tournament, will tee off at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Also qualifying from New Ulm Cathedral was Logan Haala, who shot a two-day score of 157 at the section tournament to finish fourth for the boys’ golfers and advance to state. Haala’s 77 on Day 2 of the section tournament this year was his top 18-hole score. He will make his second appearance at state and tee of at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

Minnesota Valley Lutheran will also send two girls to the state tournament this year in senior Nadine Clobes and junior Abbie Riederer. Clobes turned in a two-day total of 171 at the Section 2A tournament to qualify for state, while Riederer had a two-day total of 209 to qualify.

Clobes will be making her second state appearance, while Riederer will be making her first. Clobes’ top 18-hole score this season came on Day 1 of the section tournament when she shot an 81. Riederer’s top score this year in 18 holes came on Day 2 of the section tournament when she finished with a 102.

Head coach Craig Morgan said that both girls were a big key to the team’s success this season.

“This year’s team earned our school’s first girls’ conference championship and a second-place finish at the sections,” he said. “Nadine and Abbie were a big part of our team’s success. This will be Nadine’s second trip to the state tournament and she has a very good chance to score low. Abbie has worked hard on her game. She has continued to practice and improve throughout the season. Her determination and gritty attitude have made her a force to be reckoned with at state.”

Both girls were also All-Conference golfers this season. Clobes tees off at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, while Riederer tees off at 8:24 a.m. Tuesday.

Also from the area, Cedar Mountain’s Morgan Engholm will be making her first trip to state after her two-day score of 197 at the Section 2A tourney. Engholm, a junior, averaged a 51 per nine holes, with two of her best rounds coming at the section tournament Monday (46, 48).

Engholm also finished fourth in the section, fourth in the conference and was an All-Conference golfer this year. She will tee off at 8:42 a.m. on Tuesday on Hole 10.

Wabasso will be represented at state by senior Will Carlson, who shot a two-day score of 175 at the Section 3A meet in Worthington to qualify on June 1. Carlson, a dual-sport athlete in the spring with baseball, will be making his first state appearance for golf this year. His 9-hole average this year was a 44.5, and his best round came during the last nine holes at the section meet, where he shot a 41. Carlson tees off at 12:54 p.m. on Tuesday.