Ava Hanneman of Orono is Class 3A girls golf medalist; Cretin-Derham Hall’s Sam Udovich wins boys title

Orono senior Ava Hanneman hit a solid approach shot on the long par-3, hole No. 7, getting within about 3 feet of the hole. That shot kick-started her momentum for the final round. By the time she reached No. 17, she had a four-stroke lead.

Hanneman drew on her past state tournament experience and hard work to shoot 70 for a two-round total of 142 to take first place Wednesday at the Class 3A girls golf state tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids. She pulled away from a tight leaderboard headed into the final round.

“Honestly, I was just trying to be patient with myself and let some things come to me,” Hanneman said. “This is the best way to finish it off.”

In the Class 3A boys tournament, Cretin-Derham Hall’s Sam Udovich shot a 68 to go with his Tuesday 66 and won the championship. It’s his second state title, after he won Class 2A for St. Croix Lutheran as a freshman.

Hanneman, who tied for third last year and is ranked first among Minnesota girls this season by the Minnesota Golf Association, finished ahead of St. Michael-Albertville freshman Abigail Labrador and Benilde-St. Margaret’s junior Alyssa Raghuveer, who tied for second at 146. Hanneman was a stroke back after the first round.

“She didn’t back into this,” Orono coach George Edellstein said. “She went out and got it.”

No. 1-ranked Minnetonka won its first girls golf team title, after taking third the past two years. The Skippers and two-time defending champion Maple Grove each shot a four-player total of 306 Wednesday, but Minnetonka had a 19-stroke lead after Day 1. The Skippers finished at 611 to the Crimson’s 630. Wayzata took third at 650.

After the awards ceremony, the Skippers doused each other — and coach Sara Martinson — in a water bottle celebration.

“Rain wasn’t enough, I guess,” Martinson said with a smile, attributing the team’s victory to maturity. “They don’t panic. When they make a bad hole or a bad shot, they come back and do the right thing and figure it out. They’ve been able to draw on their success throughout the season and their other years of success.”

At the boys tournament, Udovich remembered what it was like last year, when he and his Cretin-Derham Hall teammates finished sixth in the Class 3A boys golf state tournament. That left them “super mad” coming into this spring.

“But we wanted it,” Udovich said. “We just came together as a team and practiced more. … Then obviously it was our biggest bottom-line goal to perform and be the last one standing today.”

Any feelings of disappointment or anger were flipped upside down as Cretin-Derham Hall won the program’s first state title. The Raiders posted a two-day score of 578, four strokes ahead of Chanhassen (582). Rosemount took third place with 598.

Udovich tied for 13th as a sophomore in Class 3A and tied for third place as a junior.

“It’s kind of cool to win it as a freshman and senior,” Udovich said.

Udovich’s total of 134 won the tournament by four strokes over second-place Dylan Kringen (70-68—138), a junior from Orono. Raiders senior teammate Joe Honsa finished tied for third with Chanhassen’s Lucas Arntsen, each shooting 141. Honsa finishes a five-year career with the Raiders and said the team title was “a long time coming.”

“It makes it extra special to go out this way,” Honsa said. “I think we just battled really well the entire day.”

The Raiders had a one-shot lead at the start of the round. It was a back-and-forth battle on the back nine with Chanhassen. The biggest thing coach Bob Kinne, a CDH alum, noticed was his Raiders trusted themselves and executed the shots they needed to.

“It’s a huge honor,” Kinne said of the team title. “I feel pretty blessed to have these guys play really well today, the past two days, and accomplish a goal I believe they set out from our season last season.

“I’m just so excited that we got it done today.”

At Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan, Detroit Lakes proved it’s No. 1 for the second consecutive year. The No. 2-ranked Lakers successfully defended their girls team championship with a 646 total, nine shots better than sixth-ranked Minnewaska Area.

Pequot Lakes senior Genevieve Birkeland, ranked eighth, was the medalist with a 4-over-par 148. She finished fifth last year.

Hawley senior Sophie Cook was the runner-up, four strokes back. Each shot 75 in the final round.

Detroit Lakes completed a sweep of the team titles when the boys squad checked in with a winning score of 586. Blake was the runner-up with 594.

Southwest Christian freshman Ryder Rose shot a final round 2-under-par 70 to win the individual title by one stroke with a 1-under-par 143. Holy Family junior Riley Doyle was the runner-up with a 144 thanks to a final-round 71.

At Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, Dawson-Boyd senior Lindsey Lund and her teammates repeated as champs. Lund went back-to-back as the girls medalist with an 8-over-par 152, helping the ninth-ranked Blackjacks defend their team title with a 669 .

Lund shot a 2-over-par 74 Wednesday. Border West senior Paige Beyer was the runner-up, five strokes back.

The Blackjacks finished 18 shots better than runner-up Park Christian. Dawson-Boyd shared the team title with Fillmore Central last year.

In the boys tournament, Heritage Christian junior Alex Rhode shot his second consecutive 1-over-par 73 to win the individual title with a 146. The first-round leader, Ashby/Brandon-Evansville sophomore Traeton Nelson, and Legacy Christian sophomore Braylon Ylkanen shared second with 148 totals.

Walker-Hackensack-Akeley won its first team crown in program history with a 613, 18 strokes better an runner-up Legacy Christian.