State golf: BHS’s Dale 33rd in Class AAA; Cass Lake’s Brunelle takes third in Class A

COON RAPIDS – Trey Dale didn’t have the best day on Wednesday, but his all-state certificate should mitigate the final golf tournament of his Bemidji High School career.

The Lumberjacks senior shot an 80 on day two of the MSHSL Class AAA State Golf Tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Course in Coon Rapids, dropping him into a tie for 35th place.

“It wasn’t his best day,” Bemidji head coach Seth Knudson said. “But he finished it strong despite some mishaps.”

Dale shot 38-39-79 on Tuesday but struggled on the second day of the tournament with a 40-40-80.

That gave him a total of 157 for the two-day tournament. Moorhead’s Ben Welle and Chaska’s Jon Dutoit finished tied for first with scores of 142. Moorhead won the team title by 14 strokes over second-place Minnetonka.

For Dale, an early two-stroke penalty hampered him on the third hole.

Dale was taking a practice swing and inadvertently knocked some branches to the ground.

Unluckily, a tournament official was standing right there and Dale was awarded a two-stroke penalty.

“It was definitely a bit of a bummer for him,” Knudson said. “He hit par on the first two holes. But Trey showed a lot of character today. For a lot of kids that would be mentally devastating but he just kept grinding.”

Dale shot par on the next five holes after that but his two-stroke penalty meant the difference between 80 and 78.

Despite his rough afternoon, Dale still gets the honor of being named to the all-state team. Any golfer who makes the top ten at any point in the season receives the honor.

Knudson said it’s a good way to cap off a solid senior season for Dale.

“He’s been her two years,” Knudson said. “That’s just not easy to do. A lot of kids try to make it every year and some don’t even get to go once. So for Trey to come out here again to the state tournament and be named all-state, it was a great season overall for him.”

BECKER – Trey Dale wasn’t the only area golfer trying to finish out a solid senior season.

Cass Lake-Bena’s Dakotah Brunelle came out firing Wednesday at Pebble Creek in Becker, shooting a 37-35-72. That great day on the course vaulted him into a three-way tie for third place overall. He shot 37-42-79 on day one and finished with an overall score of 151.

Martin County West’s Cordell Weber took first place with a 144, while Northeast Range’s Sam Eisenhuth took second at 145. Brunelle ended up tying Mountain Lake Christian’s Aaron Walzak and Frazee’s Beau Hanson for third place.

Brunelle, who was ranked in the top ten in Class A for much of the season, was also named to the all-state team, along with teammate Cody Wind, who usually traded sports with him.

Wind didn’t make the state finals in Class A. But another area golfer, Red Lake’s Rob McNeal, did.

McNeal shot a 45-40 on his first day and a 43-43 on day to end up with a score of 171. He tied for 44th place with four other golfers.

On the girls’ side, Red Lake’s Daisey Mondragon greatly improved on her 118 score from Tuesday, shooting a 49-50-99. She tied for 73rd overall with 217.

Legacy Christian Academy’s Rachel Gray won the girls’ individual title with a score of 161. Lewiston-Altura won the girls team title with a 709.

JORDAN – Bagley’s Aaron Leintz finished a respectable 33rd place with a two day score of 157 in the Class AA tournament at the Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.

Leintz shot 37-38-75 on Tuesday before carding a 39-43-82 Wednesday. He tied with Marshall’s Brent Haukom.

The story in the Class AA meet was Detroit Lakes, which swept both the boys and girls team competitions.

The Laker boys shot a combined 601 to beat Hermantown by one stroke. Hermantown’s Taylor Sundbom shot a 142 to take the individual title.

On the girls’ side, Detroit Lakes demolished the competition. The Lakers’ combined score of 619 was 35 strokes better than second-place Minnewaska, which carded a 654.

The Detroit Lakes girls made it a clean sweep when Kate Smith won the individual title with a two-day score of 140. Smith is only an eighth-grader but beat second-place Kourtney Williams of Becker (a senior) by nine strokes.