Playing in a 12-team tournament in Fairmont on Saturday, it took a little bit of math before the Marshall boys' golf team was named the winner of the tournament.
With only a few holes remaining, teams were left rushing back to the clubhouse after rain and lightning hit the Fairmont area. Leaving the course soaking wet and unable to play, officials tabulated the scores of the nine holes every golfer played on. When the adding was all said and done, the Tiger boys got the win with a score of 152, beating second-place Albert Lea by nine strokes.
"We played pretty good,"?said Marshall head coach Allen Lucht. "The way it was looking, we would have won with 18 holes or nine holes."
Leading the way for the Tigers was Matt Bennett, who took medalist honors with a 36 on the nine-hole score. Matt Christianson and Brent Haukom each followed with 38s, and Max Deutz and Marcus Holmberg each carded 40s.
"Three of our players were keeping touch with where they should be," Lucht said about his players' projected 18-hole rounds.
Lucht admitted that the scores were not quite as indictive of how the rounds were going because of the hole selection.
"Max came in with a 76, Brent had a 77 and Matt came in with a 78,"?Lucht said. "We would have done better with 12 holes. It wasn't the easiest situation, but everyone played those holes so you have to total it that way."
Today, the Marshall boys are back at the Marshall Golf Club to face Pipestone in a dual meet. The dual with the Arrows has been pushed back twice this spring due to inclement weather, including lightning last week.
The Tiger girls were able to squeeze in all 18 holes of golf on Saturday in the girls' meet, shooting a year-low 387, good for fifth place.
For a course that only one of her golfers (Ali Pogatchinik) had played previously, Marshall head girls' golf coach Nancy Blanchard was impressed with the team's progress in the tournament.
"We had four people shoot under 100. We haven't had that (this spring),"?Blanchard said. "We all talked in the clubhouse and they all feel like we're very, very close to shooting some significantly lower numbers. ... Hopefully, we'll peak come tournament time."
Using her experience to her advantage, Pogatchinik led the Tigers by carding a 95. Jessica Blanchard (96), Hanna Peterson (97) and Kirsten Webskowski (99) all shot under 100.
"I believe 95 is a best for Ali," Blanchard said. "She shot a 43 on the first nine and played really well. She had maybe one hole where she wishes she could take it back, but she did well leading with a 95."
Winning the girls' meet was Windom with 371, besting host Fairmont by six strokes. Jackson County Central took third place, led by Kaylee Benson's medalist round of 79.
The Marshall girls return to the road today for a tournament in Hutchinson.
Boys Team Scores:?1. Marshall 152; 2. Albert Lea 161; t3. Fairmont, Champlin Park 162; 5. Blue Earth Area 164; 6. Waseca 166; 7. Windom 174; 8. St. Peter 174; 9. Worthington 175; 10. Jackson County Central 176; 11. Luverne 177; 12. Pipestone 199.
Marshall Individual Results:?Matt Bennett 36, Matt Christianson 38, Brent Haukom 38, Max Deutz 40, Marcus Holmberg 40.
Girls Team Scores:?1. Windom 371; 2. Fairmont 377; 3. Jackson County Central 378; 4. Waseca 385; 5. Marshall 387; t6. Blue Earth Area, Luverne 403; 8. Worthington 422; t9. Redwood Valley, St. Peter 424; 11. New Ulm 469.
Marshall Individual Results:?Ali Pogatchinik 95, Jessica Blanchard 96, Hanna Peterson 97, Kirsten Webskowski 99, Hannah Pfeiffer 111, Sarah Vogl 116.