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SARTELL — Genevieve Birkland is a section champion and her Pequot Lakes Patriots are headed back to the state tournament.
Birkland fired a second-round 85 Tuesday, June 7, to finish with a two-day 161 and tie with Albany’s Abby Thelen for the Section 6-2A Individual title at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club.
The freshman’s score along with Morgan Krieger’s third-place 167, Annie Neva’s fourth-place 171 and Charlee Sullivan’s 16th-place 189 catapulted the Patriots to a 16-stroke section team win.
“After yesterday, we were sitting in a very good spot so coming into today I just told the girls to play to their potential,” Pequot head coach Savannah Smith said. “They had nothing to lose and they played to their potential. They took some risks and got some rewards and we ended up going to state again.”
Pequot’s Kate Stephens placed 17th with a 192 putting five Patriots in the top 20.
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“It’s fun because every day at practice we are pushing each other to get better,” Smith said. “You never know who is going to come out on top. We keep climbing and pushing the limits. That’s what makes our team such a strong team.”
Little Falls’ Abby Turkowski shot a 176 to finish sixth individually but land the third individual state spot. Emily Virnig of Pierz and Staples-Motley’s Mallory Uselman both shot 178 to tie for seventh and grab the fourth and fifth individual state spots.
The top team and top five individuals not on that team advance to state.
