Having an 8.5 point lead over Wadena-Deer Creek en-tering the final Mid-Minne-sota Conference meet at Blueberry Pines Tuesday gave the Park Rapids boys golf team some breathing room in the battle to qualify for the Mid-Minnesota Con-ference Championship.
As it turned out, the Panthers didn't need that advantage.
Led by Justin Borchart's 39, Landon Kohlrusch's 43, Justin Dennis' 44, Ben Bran-don's 42, Adam Eskola's 44 and Dusty Craig's 49, the Panthers carded a 210 team score for runner-up honors in the final meet and a berth in the conference championship.
"The kids played pretty well," said Park Rapids head coach Jim Weinzierl.
Borchart and Dennis took first in their groups while Brandon, Eskola and Craig finished second as the Panthers earned 19 points to finish the four conference meets with 81.5 points. Staples-Motley, which used Ben Duhn's 36, shot a 203 and tallied 29 points to win the conference title with 93.5 points. Wadena-Deer Creek shot a 222 and ended the conference season with 68 points while United North Central shot a 248 and ended with 27 points.
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Staples-Motley and Park Rapids will advance to the Mid-Minnesota Conference Championship May 21 at Wadena.
Trent Hillukka led the Warriors with a 42 while Cody Bronstrom and Trent Hillukka shot 49s.
Meet results: Staples-Motley (203) 29 points, Park Rapids (210) 19 points, Wadena-Deer Creek (222) 14 points, United North Central (248) 6 points.
Final overall standings: Staples-Motley 93.5 points, Park Rapids 81.5 points, Wadena-Deer Creek 68 points, United North Central 27 points.
Individual results
No. 1 player: 1, Justin Borchart, PR, 39. 2, Brad Quast, SM, 40. 3, Matt Kramer, WDC, 41. 4, Tyler Hillukka, UNC, 42.
No. 2 player: 1, Nick Forsberg, SM, 41. 2, Landon Kohlrusch, PR, 43. 3, Jon Taves, WDC, 42. 4, Cody Bronstrom, UNC, 49.
No. 3 player: 1, Justin Dennis, PR, 44. 2, Andrew Browne, WDC, 45. 3, Zach Israelson, SM, 50. 4, Gerald Klemz, UNC, 53.
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No. 4 player: 1, Ben Duhn, SM, 36. 2, Ben Brandon, PR, 42. 3, Colton Borg, WDC, 47. 4, Trent Hillukka, UNC, 49.
No. 5 player: 1, Travis Myers, SM, 42. 2, Adam Eskola, PR, 44. 3, Brandon Kramer, WDC, 47. 4, Brock Clements, UNC, 55.
No. 6 player: 1, Lance Noska, SM, 44. 2, Dusty Craig, PR, 49. 3, Michael Schmidt, WDC, 51. 4, Reid Anderson, UNC, 56.
Schroeder, Tigers take 2nd
Taylor Schroeder earned runner-up honors with a 76 in leading Nevis to a runner-up showing at Tuesday's Blueberry Pines Invitational.
Nolan Toft's 82, Hunter Schroeder's 85 and Adam Poole's 90 led Nevis to a 333 team score. Staples-Motley won the team title with a 326 while Park Rapids finished fourth with a 342.
Borchart's 80, Brandon's 85, Eskola's 86 and Kohlrusch's 91 led the Panthers to a 342 in this meet which also served as the final Mid-Minnesota Conference meet.
United North Central finished ninth with a 389. Tyler Hillukka's 86, Bronstrom's 99, Trent Hillukka's 101 and Gerald Klemz's 106 led the Warriors.
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Duhn earned medalist honors with a 1-over par 73.
Team scores: Staples-Motley 326, Nevis 333, Park Christian 341, Park Rapids 342, Detroit Lakes 344, Wadena-Deer Creek 346, Red Lake Falls 358, Pine River-Backus 366, United North Central 389, Cass Lake-Bena 400, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 417, Fosston 494.
Individual results
Medalist: Ben Duhn, S-M, 37-36-73. 2, Taylor Schroeder, Nevis, 40-36-76. 3, Matt Kramer, W-DC, 36-41-77.
Park Rapids results
Justin Borchart 41-39-80, Ben Brandon 43-42-85, Adam Eskola 42-44-86, Landon Kohlrusch 48-43-91, Justin Dennis 51-44-95, Dusty Craig 50-49-99.
Nevis results
Taylor Schroeder 40-36-76, Nolan Toft 41-41-82, Hunter Schroeder 42-43-85, Adam Poole 45-45-90, Mitch Rehkamp 47-45-92, Michael Kempnick 49-48-97.
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United North Central results
Tyler Hillukka 44-42-86, Cody Bronstrom 50-49-99, Trent Hillukka 52-49-101, Gerald Klemz 53-53-106, Reid Anderson 53-56-109, Brock Clements 64-55-119.
Haugen leads Panthers
O.C. Haugen's 95 led the Panthers at Monday's Bemidji Invitational at the Bemidji Town & Country Club.
Nate Schmidgall shot a 99, T.J. Becker carded a 102 and Derek Holden shot a 103 as the Panthers finished 18th with a 399.
Josh Herzog shot a 73 to lead Detroit Lakes to the team title with a 315.
Team scores: Detroit Lakes 315, Moorhead 318, Grand Rapids 318, Bemidji 321, Crookston 323, Roseau 325, Staples-Motley 328, East Grand Forks 331, International Falls 335, Thief River Falls 338, Pequot Lakes 346, Lake of the Woods 347, Bemidji Blue 348, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 357, Warroad 357, Wadena-Deer Creek 361, Fosston 368, Blackduck 377, Warren 389, Park Rapids 399.
Individual results
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Medalist: Josh Herzog, DL, 73. 2, Zach Kappes, Moorhead, 74.
Park Raids results
O.C. Haugen 95, Nate Schmidgall 99, T.J. Becker 102, Derek Holden 103, Jared Naeve 111, Derek Ricke 112.
Tigers take 4th at Staples
Taylor Schroeder's 74 led the Tigers to a fourth-place finish at last Saturday's Staples-Motley Invitational.
Hunter Schroeder's 83, Toft's 86 and Poole's 100 led Nevis to a 343. Jake Sanders' 72 helped Crookston claim the team title with a 314.
Team scores: Crookston 314, Staples-Motley 325, Princeton 327, Nevis 343, Moorhead 347, Providence 350, Perham 351, Bemidji 367, Wadena-Deer Creek 371, Barnesville 377.
Individual results
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Medalist: Jake Sanders, Crookston, 72.
Nevis results
Taylor Schroeder 34-40-74, Hunter Schroeder 40-43-83, Toft 45-41-86, Adam Poole 46-54-100, Michael Kempnich 51-60-111, Kyle Magnuson 57-67-124.
Nevis boys trail W-H-A
The Walker-Hackensack-Akeley boys golf team maintained first place in the conference standings by topping the Tigers at Ridgewood last Thursday.
Toft led the Tigers with a 42 to claim runner-up honors. Hunter Schroeder's 44, Taylor Schroeder's 45, Chris Kirschman's 46, Poole's 47 and Michael Kempnich's 50 completed Nevis' team score.
Jaci Heath shot a 48 for runner-up honors and Sarah Sackeett shot a 62 for the Nevis girls at Ridegwood.
