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Belka Claims AA Girls State Title, Fergus Falls Takes 3rd in Team Competition

By Craig Olson, 06/16/21, 8:15PM CDT

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Perham junior Mallory Belka won the Class AA Girls Individual Golf title on Wednesday at Ridges at Sand Creek in Jordan.  Belka, who held the first round lead after carding a one-under par 73 on Tuesday, finished with a 75 Wednesday, giving her a two-day total of 148, 9 strokes better than runner-up Jordana Windhorst Knudsen of Lake City.  Lake City captured the team title with a score of 330, 22 strokes better than second place Providence Academy.  Fergus Falls came in third with a 727 (359-368).


(L to R) Coach Amber Hovland, Lexi Metcalf, Annie Mayer, Thea Eklund, Ella Mayer, Ellia Soydara, Annika Jyrkas, Coach Ben Jurgens. PHOTO by JENNIFER SOYDARA

“What a wonderful experience for the players, coaches, and family members who were able to attend,” commented Fergus Falls Head Coach Ben Jurgens.  “These Queens laughed a lot, competed hard, and truly enjoyed their experience at the state tournament.  When on the course their will to grind out 5 ½ rounds in 90 degree heat while walking 7 miles each day was so fun to watch as they learned so much about their character.  These girls are true Otters.  They battled, supported one another and performed at a high level.”

Freshman Annika Jyrkas of the Otters had rounds of 83 and 87 to finish with a 170 two-day total, good for 12th place in the individual competition.  Junior Ellia Soydara had a 174 (83-91), taking 19th place.


Annika Jyrkas sticks her approach shot on the 14th green. PHOTO by JENNIFER SOYDARA


Annie Mayer hits her second shot on the sixth hole. PHOTO by JENNIFER SOYDARA

Annie Mayer (97-92=189), Lexi Metcalf (96-98=194), Thea Eklund (99-98=197) and Ella Mayer (101-105=206) rounded out the scoring for Fergus Falls.

“Ellia placed 19th, Annika was 12th, and everyone else contributed in their own way, mixing and matching scores,” added Jurgens.  “Thea Eklund, the lone senior was truly the glue that stuck this team together.  She will be missed to graduation.  This is just the start.  There’s a revolution of young female golfers at PLGC and we are going to do everything in our power to continue the trend this group started by making it to the state tournament!  A huge shout out to my assistant coach, Amber Hovland, who was absolutely amazing to work with on the golf course.  Congratulations to Mallory Belka of Perham who won the 2021 individual state title, representing Section 8AA.”

The AA boys' title was won by Cloquet with a score of 598.  They were followed by Totino-Grace 616, Delano 618, Blue Earth Area 621, Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa 627, Roseau 636, Staples-Motley 643 and New London-Spicer 650.

Sam Baker of Cloquet was the individual champion with a two-day total of 141, one stroke ahead of Beck Erholtz of Staples-Motley and four better than Peyton Coahran of New London-Spicer.

Barnesville senior Adam Tonsfeldt followed up his first round 76 with a second round 78, finishing in a tie for 14th place with a two-day score of 154.  Marcus Belka of Perham was tied for 57th with a 165 (78-87) and Lukas Justesen of Detroit Lakes was tied for 36th place with a 160 (78-82).