Golf 2025: Season concludes with crowning of individual and team champions

At the conclusion of the Minnesota State High School League’s Boys and Girls Golf season on Wednesday, June 11, there were smiles all around as dreams were realized in the form of state championships. Individuals and teams were crowned champions in three different enrollment classifications after the final round of play. 

Here is a look at the thrilling crescendo to end the 2025 golf season:

Class A

Girls 

Dawson-Boyd hit the daily double of state championships after Day 2 at Pebble Creek in Becker. Half of that occurred when senior Lindsey Lund was the repeat individual champion with a 2-over 74. She was the first-round leader with a 78. Her two-round total of 152 was five strokes better than Border West senior Paige Beyer. Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City junior Brooke Brekke was third at 161 and Pine River-Backus ninth-grader Lyric Aulie was fourth with a 166.

Lund is the first repeat Class A champion since 2019 when Lac qui Parle Valley’s Rachel Halvorson won back-to-back crowns. 

In the team chase, Dawson-Boyd didn’t have to share this time. The Blackjacks captured the team title with a two-day total of 669. Dawson-Boyd, which shared the Class A title a year ago with Fillmore Central, had a 10-stroke lead over Park Christian after Day 1. The Blackjacks extended that lead by eight additional strokes on the final day. Park Christian was runner-up at 687 and Fillmore Central was third at 745.

Boys

Heritage Christian Academy junior Alex Rhode took a quantum leap during this season’s Class A state tournament. Why? A year ago, he finished in a four-way tie for 22^nd place. A year later, he was wearing a blue-ribboned gold medal after successive rounds of 73 during the Class A tournament at Pebble Creek. His two-round 146 was two strokes better than runner-up Brayton Ylanen, a sophomore from Legacy Christian Academy and Brandon-Evansville/Ashby’s Traeton Nelson, a sophomore, who tied at. There was a three-way tie for third at 150 between Lakeview senior Carson Boe, Lac qui Parle Valley senior Carson Besonen and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley junior Maverick Reed. 

Rhode is the Maple Grove-based school’s first boys golf state champion.

Behind Reed, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley captured the team title with a combined score of 613. The Wolves had a four-stroke lead over Legacy Christian Academy after Day 1. But that lead ballooned after a 14-stroke advantage after the final round. Legacy Christian Academy, located in Andover, finished with a 631. Lac qui Parle Valley was third at 661. 

Class AA

Girls

Pequot Lakes senior Genevieve Birkeland extended a single stroke lead after Day 1 into a state championship at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan. Entering the final round, she had a one-stroke advantage over Detroit Lakes ninth-grader Sophie Christianson. Her second day 75 gave her a 148, good for a four-stroke victory over Hawley senior Sophie Cook, who was runner-up at 152. Totino-Grace senior Kaitlyn Burstad was eight off the pace and finished with a 156. 

Top-ranked Detroit Lakes not only successfully defended its Class AA championship, but also won the team title for the ninth time in 15 state tournament appearances. Detroit Lakes held an eight-stroke lead following Day 1 and built on that with one more in compiling a 646. Minnewaska Area was runner-up with a 655. Totino-Grace and Holy Family Catholic tied for third with matching totals of 681.

Boys

While Southwest Christian ninth-grader Ryder Rose started the final round among the leaders, he was four strokes back amid a talented field. After his round, he stood alone. He fired the best round of the Class AA field with a 70 to end with a two-round 143, which was good enough for a dandy rally and a one-stroke victory over Holy Family Catholic junior Riley Doyle, who was runner-up at 144. There was a three-way tie for third at 145 with Detroit Lakes junior Brock Burhans, Albert Lea junior Noah Teeter and Totino-Grace junior Collin Ramos at 145. 

Rose is the first boys’ golf state champion from the Chaska-based school since Luke Johanson in 2013. 

Detroit Lakes joined its girls counterparts by capturing the team title. The Lakers began the day with an 11-stroke lead and were able to hold off a charge from Blake. Detroit Lakes carded a 586 while Blake was runner-up at 594. Southwest Christian was third at 597. Detroit Lakes has won four team titles in 15 state tournament trips. 

Class AAA

Girls 

Orono senior Ava Hanneman was one shot off the pace after Day 1, in a logjam with two others. That was wiped out and then some when she carded a 2-under 70 to win the individual gold medal with a two-day total of 142. The Furman University recruit is the first girls golf state champion to represent Orono High School. That was four strokes better than St. Michael-Albertville ninth-grader Abigail Labrador, who along with Benilde-St. Margaret’s junior Alyssa Raghuveer, were runner-ups with 146. Two Rivers sophomore Briana Simek and Minnetonka junior Selena Wu tied for fourth with 149s.

Minnetonka, top-ranked in Class AAA, proved worthy of that lofty status by cruising to the team championship. The Skippers recorded a team score of 611, 19 strokes better than Maple Grove, the defending big-school champion, which was runner-up with a 630. Wayzata was third at 650.

It is the Skippers’ first championship in Girls Golf. 

Boys

It’s been a big week for Cretin-Derham Hall senior Sam Udovich. Last weekend, he was selected as Mr. Minnesota Golf, an honor presented to the top senior by the Minnesota Golf Association. He validated that with two incredible rounds of the Class AAA tournament at Bunker Hills. His four-stroke lead after the opening round paved the way to a 10-under 134 and top honors in the big-school field. He needed his 4-under 68 in the final round because Orono junior Dylan Kringen was right on his shoulder, finishing with a two-round 138.

He was the Class AA champion in 2022 when he played for St. Croix Lutheran. 

Udovich, who has signed to play at Texas Christian University, is the first Cretin-Derham Hall boys golf state champion since Brian Bohlig in 2001. 

Chanhassen senior Lucas Arntsen and Cretin-Derham Hall senior Joe Honsa tied for third at 141, seven strokes behind Udovich.

Behind Udovich and Honsa, Cretin-Derham grabbed the team championship, too. The Raiders had a one stroke lead over Chanhassen entering the final round and that expanded thanks to a three-shot advantage over the final 18 holes of the tournament. The Raiders finished with a combined 578 and Chanhassen was four back at 582. Rosemount was third with a 598. 

In the rich history of athletic success at the St. Paul-based school, it is the first state crown in boys golf for Cretin-Derham Hall.