GLENWOOD
— There is a good chance the
Minnewaska girls golf team
will be competing for a state championship come June.
Minnewaska head coach Tony Janu has his entire lineup back from last spring where the Lakers finished third at the Class AA state tournament.
A state berth would mark Minnewaska’s fourth in the past five seasons.
And, truth be told, the Lakers are accustomed to June golf.
Minnewaska, seeking its first state title since it won five straight from 2006-10, has made 17 state appearances in program history, according to the Minnesota State High School League. Two of those have come in a co-op with
Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa
.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
Although the Lakers are young, their experience runs deep.
Janu hopes it pays off for the Lakers, who rank No. 2 in Class AA per 9-hole rounds as of Tuesday on the iWanamaker Rating, which is the sum of the top four scores in team stroke-play events.
His message is already on the minds of his seven golfers.
“All I’m doing is confirming what they already know, and that is, we got everybody back,” said Janu, who is assisted by his daughter Jenna Janu. Jenna was a star golfer for Minnewaska before she played women’s golf at the NCAA Division I University of North Dakota. “With hard work and dedication, we could really do something special this year.”
Arivia DeBoer is the lone senior for the Lakers and is seeking her fifth straight state berth. She made it as an individual in 2023 when Minnewaska finished as the Section 3AA runner-up.
DeBoer averages 39.5 strokes across 9-hole rounds and 81.3 strokes in 18-hole rounds. Those rank No. 9 and No. 13 among Class AA golfers.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
With her commitment to the NCAA Division III St. Catherine University in the books, DeBoer has settled in nicely for her senior season.
“Now she can just go out, have a good time, play and not worry about it,” Janu said. “I can tell that’s a big reason why Arivia’s scores are where they have been.”
Next up for the Lakers is Ava Kollman, who is searching for her fourth consecutive state appearance. She also appeared in the state tournament as an individual in 2023.
The junior was Minnewaska’s top golfer at the state meet a season ago, tying Byron’s Calie Dockter and Holy Family’s Paige Kroll for 10th place.
Kollman has posted 41.8 strokes per 9-hole rounds and 85.0 strokes for 18-hole rounds. That puts her at No. 22 and No. 26 in Class AA.
She has garnered interest from a couple colleges, according to Janu.
Michael Lyne / West Central Tribune
“Ava works on her game very hard,” Janu said. “She does want to play at the next level and I have no doubt she will.”
Annika DeBoer, Arivia DeBoer’s younger sister, has been strong out of the gates for the Lakers.
The sophomore’s 41.2 strokes average in 9-hole rounds and 82.8 strokes average across 18-hole rounds both rank No. 17 in Class AA.
Also refueling Minnewaska’s lineup is freshman Kyra Nelson, who returns after missing the opening parts of the season due to a back injury.
There are three others who contribute and they are all freshmen.
That is Anna Kollman — Ava Kollman’s younger sister — Lillie Ogdahl and Michaela Johnson.
“If our top four golfers are playing well,” I think we can play with anybody,” Janu said. “These girls work hard and they put a lot of time into their games.”
Minnewaska is the favorite of out Section 3AA and it can prove that at the two-round section tournament which is set for May 21/28 at Oakdale Golf Club in Buffalo Lake.
The Lakers are averaging 343.8 team strokes for every 18-hole round. Marshall comes in second at 382.0 and
New London-Spicer
rounds out the top three averages with a 384.0.
“I’m super confident in the girls,” Janu said. “If we take care of business, I don’t think anybody in our section could beat us.”
There are only two teams among all classes in the state who are ranked above Minnewaska,
according to the Minnesota Golf Association rankings
. That would be Minnetonka and Detroit Lakes.
Detroit Lakes won its eighth Class AA state championship in program history last spring. It was the school’s first since winning three straight state titles from 2016-18.
Five Class AA teams have better averages than Minnewaska: Detroit Lakes (307.2), Totino-Grace (335.0), Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa (340.7), Pequot Lakes (340.7) and Holy Family (342.0).
The two-round Class AA state tournament takes place on June 10-11 at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.
“Hopefully we can put it all together to make another run in the state tournament,” Janu said.
Read the full article here