Game of the Week: East Ridge, Park, Woodbury golf teams tune up for conference, section championships

GAME OF THE WEEK

Who: East Ridge, Park and Woodbury girls golf teams

What: Suburban East Conference match

Where: River Oaks Golf Course

When: Thursday, May 17, 3 p.m.

Girls golf teams from East Ridge, Park and Woodbury high schools will tee it up in at River Oaks Golf Course in Cottage Grove today in one of its final tune-ups before the Suburban East Conference Championship and Section 3AAA Championship tournaments.

East Ridge recently won the Forest Lake Invitational and finished in fifth place out of 10 teams at the school’s most recent Suburban East Conference match, held last Thursday at Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury. East Ridge senior Ashley Lehner and sophomore Molly Richardson have paced the Raptors this season. Other Raptors golfers to keep an eye on include senior Celina Spencer and sophomores Jaedyn Walz, Taylor Anderson and Andriel Aimua.

Park sophomore Anna Keys leads the way for the upstart Wolfpack. Last week, Keys shot a 2-over-par 38 to lead the Wolfpack to an eighth place finish at Prestwick. Other Park golfers to watch include eighth graders Lexi Hofstetter, Annika Hein and Brooke Strenke.

Though it lost one of the best players in the state to graduation in Mary Sweeney, Woodbury has played well this spring in hopes of defending its Section 3AAA Championship and returning to the state tournament. Woodbury lacks a lights-out golfer like Sweeney, but makes up for it in depth. Junior Katie Moore and sophomore Kalley Hakes lead the way along with seniors Rachel Letsche and Maggie Sweeney. Other golfers to watch include senior Kari Johnson, eighth grader Annemarie Fisher and junior Molly Sweeney.

Overall, Cretin-Derham Hall’s Celia Kuenster and Stillwater’s Cassie Deeg head the list of the top players in the conference – and in the state. Kuenster, a sophomore, and Deeg, a senior, shared the individual state championship title last year and have been tearing it up again this season.

Following the match, the teams will wrap up its conference season – and compete for the last time for All-Conference honors – at the SEC Championship tournament on Thursday, May 24, at Oak Glen. The two-day Section 3AAA Championship tournament will be Wednesday, May 30, at Phalen Golf Course and Friday, June 1, at Bunker Hills.

Tags: game of the week, sports, prep, updates