“It honestly feels really great,” Strei said. “It’s been a goal I’ve had for a long time. It felt really good to finally achieve that goal. I played really well today, which was a big bonus. Put some pieces together and my coach [Cole Owens] helped me keep calm today and helped me push myself a little bit farther, so that was awesome.”

Strei also finished first in the first two legs of the tournament, making it a clean sweep for the senior golfer.

Strei said he had a strong day putting, turning good drives and chips into birdies and salvaging pars out of his less efficient rounds.

“Putting was my number one thing today,” he said. “I had 25 puts through 18 holes, which is really good. When I would mess up on my iron shot, I would make a put to save the day, so that was the big thing today to make sure I could get those puts in the hole.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Sleepy Eye United’s Josh Sellner putts the ball during the third leg of the Tomahawk-Valley Conference Boys Golf Tournament Monday at St. James Golf Course

Strei made a putt that was around 25 feet on Hole 15 in one of his most impressive strokes of the day, earning a birdie on the Par 4 hole.

The Sleepy Eye United boys golf team, meanwhile achieved their preseason goal by becoming the Tomahawk-Valley Conference champions after putting in a team score of 326 in the third leg.

“It feels pretty good,” SEU’s Blaine Arneson said. “That was our goal, so it feels good.”

Arneson led SEU on the day with a score of 76, five over par and second among all golfers in the third leg. Arneson’s day was highlighted by an Eagle on Hole 12, his second Eagle of the tournament after earning one in the first leg on April 21 at Fox Lake Golf Club.

“It was pretty solid,” Arneson said. “I ended up getting an Eagle, which was pretty good … I hit my drive, hit it pretty solid, was about 200 [yards] out. Hit my hybrid, then made probably a 15-foot put for the Eagle.”

Staff photo by Ari Selvey Cedar Mountain’s Blake Schueller hits off of the tee during the third leg of the Tomahawk-Valley Conference Boys Golf Tournament Monday at St. James Golf Course.

After SEU, Alden-Conger placed second on Day 3 (351), followed by Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther (360), Cedar Mountain (363), Springfield (364), Cathedral (379), Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop, Madelia (385) and Wabasso (427). Martin County West and Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart were incomplete.

SEU won all three legs of the tournament, finishing with 40 points. GHEC/T/ML came in second (33), followed by Alden-Conger (29.5), Springfield (26), Cathedral (25), Cedar Mountain (25.5), MCW (15), GFW (12, Madelia (11) and Wabasso.

In the individual tournament after Strei and Arneson, GHEC/T/ML’s Landon Zimmer placed third (78), followed by Alden-Conger’s Ryan Hintz (80) and SEU’s Nolan Kucera (80), GHEC/T/ML’s Gavin Kester (83) and MCW’s Kale Larson (83). SEU’s George Schwint, SEU’s Josh Sellner and Cedar Mountain’s Blake Schueller each shot an 85 to tie for eighth, while Madelia’s Laiken Melzer and SEU’s Anders Coulson each carded 86s to tie for 11th. Alden-Conger’s Nick Korman and SEU’s Isaac Christensen each shot an 87 to tie for 13th, while Cedar Mountain’s Carson Schiller and GFW’s Cole Jacobson shot 88s, MCW’s Knox Larson shot an 89 and Springfield’s Dylan Simonson and Braiden Davis shot 90s. Wabasso’s Brayden Guetter, Alden Conger’s Jaydin Loya and Springfield’s Grant Kuehn shot 91s to tie for 19th.

For the overall tournament, Strei finished with 120 points, followed by Arneson (110), Zimmer (107.5), Nolan Kucera (99), GHEC/T/ML’s Gavin Kester (97), Schueller (95), Hintz (92), SEU’s Anders Coulson (87), Christensen (78.5) and Kale Larson (76.5).