Lake City's title streak snapped, but Tigers coming home with hardware

Jun. 14—JORDAN — Jordana Windhorst Knudsen stood a few feet away from the Class AA girls golf state runner-up trophy Wednesday afternoon and offered some perspective.

"It's still second place," the Lake City standout junior said with a smile. "Second place isn't bad at all."

It isn't the trophy the Tigers wanted to return home with, but after winning state championships in 2021 and 2022, the third time wasn't quite the charm they hoped it would be.

Lake City built a seven-shot lead after one round of the state meet, but to show just how difficult it is to win three consecutive championships, Pequot Lakes found a way to narrowly outplay the Tigers on Wednesday. Pequot Lakes shot 322, for a two-day total of 651, good for a three-shot win against the Tigers, who won the first two girls golf state championships in program history over the past two years.

The Tigers played well enough to win another, following Tuesday's opening-round 322 with a 332 on Wednesday to finish at 654.

"We were talking about getting off to a good start today," Lake City head coach Steve Randgaard said, "and we did on the first hole. We changed our strategy a little bit ... We played the first hole very well, but got into a rut on holes 3-6. Those got us into a little trouble. We tried to battle back, but you have to give Pequot Lakes the credit. They played very well today, a very good score."

The difference between the two teams turned out to be out of Lake City's control. Pequot Lakes junior Charlee Sullivan, the team's fourth golfer, shot an opening-round 97, but followed that Wednesday with an 85. That was enough to push her team past the Tigers and to the top of the podium.

"We did tough it out and try to make it a close battle at the end," Randgaard said. "But Pequot, their top three can really play and their fourth (Sullivan) can score, too. She struggled yesterday, but we knew she wouldn't shoot 97 again today."

Still, Lake City places in the top two at the state meet for a third consecutive season and the Tigers had two golfers finish in the top 10 — Section 1AA medalist Windhorst Knudsen and fellow junior Ella Matzke tied for eighth place overall, at 157.

Sophomore Mattie Mears also turned in two solid rounds, shooting 83-90 — 173 to place 32nd.

The Tigers will have to say goodbye to three seniors who were a key part of the team's run to two consecutive state titles and a runner-up finish this year: Emma Berge, who'll play at Minnesota State University, Mankato, tied for 25th (82-85 — 167); Kaitlin Schmidt tied for 49th (91-91 — 82) and Brooke Bee tied for 58th (94-95 — 189).

"Oh my gosh, they're my best friends and I'm going to really miss them," Windhorst Knudsen said. "They are truly one of a kind; I'm never going to find friends like them again. I'm so happy they were here; they mean so much to all of us."

Randgaard added: "They mean ... everything to us. They're solid student-athletes. Emma's a three-time all-state player, Brooke has been our most improved player the past three years and Kaitlin has just been really steady for us. I'm going to miss all of them.

"They're always there; they're great for our program and great for our junior program, too."

Windhorst Knudsen said she has never left the United States.

She will next month for the first time, when she joins her dad and a family friend on a trip to watch the British Open, which will be played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club July 20-23.

If that's not enough, Windhorst Knudsen plans to be up bright and early the following week to line up and attempt to play a round at St. Andrews, the nearly 200-year-old course in Scotland, where the Open Championship has been played 30 times.

"We have to get to the course at about 2 in the morning and basically wait in line to try to get on," she said.

—Providence Academy's Grace Petzold was just one shot off the lead to start the final round. The senior made the most of her final high school round, shooting a 2-under par 70 to finish the meet at 1-over 145 and pull away and become the state medalist by three shots over Hawley sophomore Sophie Cook (75-73 — 148). Petzold seized control on the back nine Wednesday, when she made three of her four birdies (all coming on par-5s). Two of those birdies came on the final three holes as she put an exclamation point on her title.

—Pequot Lakes' big three of senior Morgan Krieger (76-75 — 151), sophomore Genevieve Birkeland (81-78 — 159) and junior Annie Neva (75-74 — 159) were among the most consistent players on the course this week. Their fourth player made the difference, though, as Charlee Sullivan shot a final-round 85 to finish the meet at 182. Sullivan's score helped Pequot make up a seven-shot deficit against Lake City and win the title by three strokes.

—Lake City's Matzke — the state runner-up a year ago — had a key turnaround to help her team stay in the hunt. Matzke, a junior, shot an 82 on Tuesday, but rebounded with a 3-over 75 on Wednesday. She tied teammate and classmate Windhorst Knudsen for eighth place. Matzke's 75 included a pair of birdies, one on the 345-yard, par-4 second hole and another on the 461-yard, par-5 10th hole. She was solid down the stretch, parring four of her final five holes.

—Byron's Calie Dockter also had an excellent state meet. The junior standout shot rounds of 79-82 — 161 to place 15th. She made eight pars and a birdie (on the par-5, 420-yard seventh hole) on Wednesday. Dockter's teammate Rylee Finney shot 85-90 — 175 to tie for 33rd place.

—Lourdes' Ellie Leise finished 28th. The Eagles' junior shot 83-86 — 169 to place 28th.

—First-round leader Madysen Maninga, a senior from Park Rapids, finished in a tie for 11th. She shot a final-round 85 after opening with a 74.

—Hawley sophomore Sophie Cook is the state runner-up. She made five birdies in her first-round 75 on Tuesday. She improved her score by two shots Wednesday, shooting a 73, though she made just two birdies. She also made a strong 13 pars, including on the first six holes she played.

CLASS AA GIRLS

TEAM TOTALS

1. Pequot Lakes 329-322 — 651, 2. Lake City 322-332 — 654, 3. Providence Academy 340-345 — 685, 4. Park Rapids 356-352 — 708, 5. Redwood Valley 356-358 — 714, 6. Holy Angels 365-361 — 726, 7. Jordan 366-373 — 739, 8. Rock Ridge 391-395 — 786.

INDIVIDUALS

(Top 10 + Section 1 golfers)

1. Grace Petzold (Providence) 75-70 — 145, 2. Sophie Cook (Hawley) 75-73 — 148, 3. Morgan Krieger (Pequot) 76-75 — 151, 4. Anna Eckmann (Park Rapids) 76-78 — 154, 5t. Addison Wood (St. Croix Lutheran) 82-74 — 156, 5t. Paige Johnson (Zimmerman) 80-76 — 156, 5t. Annika Jyrkas (Fergus Falls) 77-79 — 156, 8t. Ella Matzke (LC) 82-75 — 157, 8. Mila Jenniges (Redwood Valley) 78-79 — 157, 8t. Jordana Windhorst Knudsen (LC) 75-82 — 157,

15t. Calie Dockter (Byron) 79-82 — 161, 25t. Emma Berge (LC) 82-85 — 167, 28. Ellie Leise (Lourdes) 83-86 — 169, 32. Mattie Mears (LC) 83-90 — 173, 33t. Rylee Finney (Byron) 85-90 — 175, 37t. Olivia Cordes (PIZM) 86-91 — 177, 49t. Kaitlin Schmidt (LC) 91-91 — 182, 52. Lily Sullivan (St. Charles) 91-92 — 183, 58t. Brooke Bee (LC) 94-95 — 189.