After 10 long years and three second-place finishes, Mounds View's girls' golf team is back at the state tournament.
The Mustangs begin play in the Class 3A tournament on Tuesday at Bunker Hills Golf course in Coon Rapids, which they reached by winning the Section 5 title.
Coach Paul Bailey was pleased to see his talented bunch block out windy conditions at The Links at Northfork in Ramsey to win. Reaching their potential has been a season-long journey through highs and lows on the course.
"We played that course several times to prepare," Bailey said. "But with the wind blowing like it did, it kind of took away a lot of what we were preparing to do. But the girls buckled down and reached their potential."
Mounds View's golfers combined to shoot a meet-best 359, 10 strokes ahead of second-place Centennial. Junior Annie Gustafson (7-over par 79) was the medalist and she was joined by teammates Emily Kauls (92), Annie Schneider (93) and Catie Mattson (95).
Gustafson's performance set the right tone for Mounds View.
"She is extremely talented," Bailey said. "She was all-conference and she went to state last year. But she was up and down at times this year and we needed her to post a low number."
Osseo PI softball takes thirdOsseo's adapted softball team entered last week's PI (physically impaired) Division state tournament riding high on its first winning season in eight years. The Orioles appeared ready to make up for lost time, winning their quarterfinal game before losing 1-0 in the semifinals to Mounds View/Irondale/Roseville. They rebounded to beat Anoka-Hennepin in the third-place game.
