Girls Golf: Red Wing exceeds expectations against tough competition

The Red Wing girls golf team had tempered expectations going into its meet at the TPC of the Twin Cities Monday in Blaine.

The Wingers went up against some of the top teams in Class 2A and 3A and put together a third place performance out of 19 teams in poor conditions.

“We played very well,” Red Wing head coach Mark Herzog said. “It was tough today, very difficult conditions … I thought it was a little better than anticipated. Going in, I thought it we could shot anywhere under 350 I’d be happy.”

Red Wing scored a 341.

Minnewaska Area High School and Stillwater both shot 337 to tie for first place but Minnewaska won on a tiebreaker. Minnewaska’s (Class 2A) fifth lowest score was better than Stillwater’s (Class 3A) and both teams are the favorites in each class, Herzog said.

Jenna Janu, of Minnewaska, finished with a low score of 79.

Senior Marisa Toivonen shot an 80 to lead the Wingers while senior Katie Kesti and sophomore Nicole Schammel each shot an 84. Seventh-grader Stephanie Herzog scored a 93, junior Maddie Flack shot a 98 and ninth-grader Reagan Haley tallied a 107.

“The course is tough,” Mark Herzog said. “Girls with not a lot of experience you get into spots where you haven’t even practiced yet. You’ve had to play quite a bit of golf to manipulate around the course.”

Red Wing hosts the Early Bird invite Thursday at Mississippi National Golf Course in Red Wing. Competition begins at 12:30 p.m.

Tags: girls golf, red wing, sports, prep