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Red Wing golfer Cecil Belisle wins Minnesota State Open in three-player playoff

July 16, 2021 at 4:06AM

Cecil Belisle made a 6-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to win the 104th Minnesota State Open on Thursday at Chaska Town Course.

The three-round tournament ended in a tie at 12-under 204 between Belisle of Red Wing Golf Course; Derek Hitchner, a Blake graduate who will be a senior at Pepperdine; and Ben Greve of Olympic Hills Golf Club.

Of the three, Hitchner had the best final round with a 67. Belisle shot a 70 and Greve a 71.

Belisle is coming off a strong freshman season at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix; he took first in the NJCAA Division II meet this spring.

The two-time Class 2A state champion at Red Wing High School made a 12-foot birdie putt on his final hole to get into the playoff.

Hitchner won the Trans-Mississippi Amateur Championship at Windsong Farm last week on the second playoff hole.

Greve, a former Gophers player, was the State Open champion in 2016 and '17.

El-Amin to coach Cadets

Former Minneapolis North basketball star Khalid El-Amin, who helped lead Connecticut to a national championship and played in the NBA and Europe, was hired as head coach at St. Thomas Academy.

El-Amin has most recently served as an assistant coach at Burnsville and, before that, Minneapolis North, which he helped lead to three consecutive state basketball championships during his playing days from 1995-1997.

Paul Klauda

Finau to play in 3M Open

Tony Finau, the world's 17th-ranked player, committed to play in next week's 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine. Players have until 5 p.m. Friday to commit to the field, which already features 10 former major champions, including Dustin Johnson, the world's No. 1-ranked player.

Etc.

• Isabella McCauley, who will be a senior at Simley, lost 1 up to Karen Tsuru of Carlsbad, Calif., in the round of 32 at U.S. Girls' Junior Championship in Chevy Chase, Md.

• Olivia Salonek of Roseville won the rain-shortened Minnesota State Junior Girls' Championship at Le Sueur Country Club. She shot a 3-under 70 on Tuesday; rain canceled the second round Wednesday. Two-time champion Camille Kuznik of Orono was second, one shot back.

• Sarah Hopkins, the coach of the Gophers women's cross-country team for the past eight seasons, will be the head coach of men's program, too, starting this fall. She succeeds Steve Plasencia, who held that position for 25 years before stepping down last week.

• Laura Schuler, coach of Canada Olympic women's hockey team in 2018, will join the Minnesota Duluth women's hockey program as an assistant coach. She was an adviser to the Quinnipiac women's hockey coaching staff last season,

• Josh Lunak was named the women's tennis coach at Minnesota Crookston. He held the same position from 2007-13. Lunak is currently the boys' and girls' tennis coach at Red River High School in Grand Forks, N.D.

• Athlon Sports named Gophers running back Mohamed Ibrahim to its preseason All-America second team.

• Three MIAC football players were named to the Academic All-America second team by the College Sports Information Directors of America: St. John's offensive lineman Tyler Johnson, Carleton defensive back Travis Brown and St. Thomas long snapper Zach Bennett.