Those splashes weren’t water hazards either, they were the varsity golf debuts of eighth-grader Asher Wendinger and seventh-grader Ethan Schmidt.

Asher Wendinger shot a 77, while Schmidt carded a 78 to lead the New Ulm Eagles boys golf team to a second-place finish in their home invite.

Asher Wendinger’s 77 had him tied for fourth on the leaderboard, while Schmidt finished sixth as the Eagles took second with a 334 behind St. Peter, which scored a 310. The Fairmont boys took third with a 348, while Tri-City United was fourth (356), New Ulm’s second team took fifth (366), Le Sueur-Henderson took sixth (377) and Blue Earth Area took seventh (386).

The girls’ side of the meet was won by BEA, which had a 382, followed by St. Peter (400), LSH (401), New Ulm (415), Fairmont (420) and TCU (447).

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Ethan Schmidt watches a shot of his on the 13th hole at New Ulm Country Club on Thursday.

Wind speeds topped out at 24 miles per hour during the meet, with temperatures in the mid 80s.

Asher Wendinger, who started the 18-hole meet on Hole 3, said he was happy with his score overall for his first varsity meet.

“I was a little nervous about it,” he said. “I played fine.”

His highlight came when he circled back to play the 502-yard, par-5 first hole and birdied it.

“I don’t get very many [birdies],” he said.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Lilly Kral grabs her club ahead of one of her tee shots during Thursday’s prep golf invite at New Ulm Country Club on Thursday.

Asher Wendinger said his approach shots led him on Thursday and helped him secure 10 pars and his birdie, but he would need to work on his putting in order to get more top-five finishes this season.

Schmidt, meanwhile, started on the par-4 seventh hole, a 354-yard hole he was able to par. He ended up with seven bogeys and 11 pars.

“I think I played pretty well,” Schmidt said. “There were some things that could have went worse and could have went better, but I think I played pretty well overall.”

Schmidt had his putter working for him to keep him up near the top of the leaderboard all day.

“I did well on my short game today,” he said.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm’s Maddy Wellmann putts from the fringe during Thursday’s prep golf invite at New Ulm Country Club on Thursday.

Schmidt’s highlight came on the par-3 second hole, with a par-saving chip having him a foot from the pin.

“Number 2, I had a really good up and down,” he said. “I was on the left side of the green and I chipped it up to about a foot and made my putt.”

For Eagles head coach Andrew Aukes, being led on the day by two underclassmen is a sign of things to come.

“It really wasn’t too much of a surprise for me really that Ethan played well,” Aukes said. “He plays a ton of golf out here and does a lot of competitive rounds in the offseason as well. It was a tough day condition-wise, but the way [Ethan and Asher] both handled themselves is super impressive given everything and being their first varsity meet.

“Asher, I’ve worked with for a few years now and his swing was so smooth today. He didn’t try to force anything with the wind and he might be a little modest on it, but he’s a very good player. It’s good to see from him, especially so early. I’m expecting some big things out of them.”

The boys medalist was junior Ethan Moreau, who carded a 73, while St. Peter freshman Kade Mata took second with a 75 and BEA junior Cole Becker shot a 76 for third. Asher Wendinger tied with St. Peter’s Owen Matejcek, and TCU’s Eli Krautkremer shot an 80 for seventh. New Ulm juniors Brandt Munson and Mason Buegler shot 84s to tie for eighth, while St. Peter’s Isaiah Homrighausen, Fairmont’s Hudson McKean, St. Peter’s Kalvin Barfknecht, LSH’s Nathan Tews and Fairmont’s Macklain Anderson all shot 85s to tie for 10th.

The New Ulm boys also had Brayden Wendinger and Colton Anderson tie for 16th with 88s.

For the girls, Lilly Kral led the Eagles with a 96 to finish fifth. The girls medalist was BEA senior Katelyn Storbeck, who shot a 79. Fairmont’s Katherine Zelaya and LSH’s Addison Fahey shot 93s to tie for second. Fairmont’s Carly Gustafson shot a 94 for fourth, BEA’s McKinley Hanson and St. Peter’s Natalie Salfer shot 98s to tie for sixth, and St. Peter’s Samantha Salzwedel, St. Peter’s Julie Weber and TCU’s Payton Huffman shot 99s to tie for eighth.

Also for the New Ulm girls, Maddy Wellmann carded a 100 for 11th, Lydia Osborne shot a 109 for 22nd, Brogan Thordson shot a 110 for 24th and Chloe Kelley turned in a 128 for 32nd.