PARK RAPIDS – Streaks are meant to be broken and the Detroit Lakes boys golf team saw their nearly three-decade-long Mid-State Conference championship streak come to a close at Headwaters Golf Club on May 15.
The Lakers entered the day having won the Mid-State Conference for the past 28 years. After the final putt hit the bottom of the cup, Detroit Lakes finished as runners-up with 297 team points. Pequot Lakes was crowned the new Mid-State Conference champion, beating the Lakers by one stroke with a final team score of 296.
“I thought that we had a very good day,” Detroit Lakes head coach Vern Schnathorst said. “Our final score of 297 is our lowest score this year by 12 strokes. The guys that shot 73 were all-conference and the other three were all-conference honorable mention. All six guys shot in the 70s which is also a good sign. Pequot Lakes said that was a record team score for their high school. I told the guys they didn't lose, they just got beat by one stroke by a very good team.”
Schnathorst knew the loss hit the boys hard because they didn’t want to be the ones to break the streak. He knows that his team will use the loss as motivation to end the season on a high note.
“Our team was disappointed, but they played very well all day,” he said. “I'm glad we aren't content, there is still a lot of room for us to get better prior to sections. We had three guys below 75 which was great. That's something that we need to continue to do if we want to contend for a section championship.”
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Senior Logan Schons and freshmen Lawsen Justesen and Carter Whitworth each completed their rounds with a 1-over par 73 and a share of third place. Freshman Brock Burhans ended the day with a 6-over par 78 to finish tied for 11th. Sophomore Tyler Stensgard and senior Ben Hines each shot a 7-over par 79 to finish tied for 13th.
In the world of golf, where a single stroke can be the deciding factor, there are countless variables to scrutinize when reflecting on a close defeat. It is during such moments that one realizes how even the slightest of missed opportunities can tip the scales.
“One of Pequot Lakes’ players made a long putt on his last hole and our guys missed a couple of short putts towards the end and that was the difference,” Schnathorst said. “When you get beat by one stroke, you can go back and point to many different things that could have made a difference. Ultimately they just finished a little better than we did.”
Reflecting on the intense competition at the Mid-State tournament, the coach shared a poignant message with his team.
“My message to the guys was that there can only be one winner and sometimes you're going to play really well and it still won't quite be enough, that's okay,” he said. “Our team score would have probably won just about every Mid-State tournament the last 50 years, Monday it wasn't quite enough.”
MID-STATE CONFERENCE TEAM SCORES- 1- Pequot Lakes 296, 2- Detroit Lakes 297, 3- Staples-Motley 306, 4- Crosby-Ironton/Aitkin 344, 5- Park Rapids 350, 6- Wadena-Deer Creek 365
MID-STATE CONFERENCE TOP TEN INDIVIDUAL SCORES- 1st- Carter White (Staples Motley) 71, 2nd- Hunter Oelschlager (Pequot Lakes) 72, T-3rd- Logan Schons (Detroit Lakes) 73, T-3rd- Lawson Justesen (Detroit Lakes) 73, T-3rd- Carter Whitworth (Detroit Lakes) 73, T-3rd- Anthony Armstrong (Pequot Lakes) 73, 7th- Logan Fogarty (Pequot Lakes) 74, 8th- isaiah Schultz (Staples-Motley) 75, 9th- Nolan Eckmann (Park Rapids) 76, 10th- Ethan Thomas (Pequot Lakes) 77
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