May 28—CANNON FALLS — For Flora Bolster, Tuesday was all about putting herself in position for Thursday.
And the Rochester Mayo senior’s plan worked perfectly.
Tuesday night, she was in a tie for third place after shooting 79 in the opening round of the Section 1, Class 3A girls golf meet at Cannon Golf Club.
That gave her a little wiggle room heading into Thursday’s final round, but she didn’t need it.
The course toughened a bit, but the Spartans’ standout shot a final-round 82 to finish the 36-hole meet at 161 and in a tie for fourth place.
She also fairly comfortably earned a repeat trip to the Class 3A state meet, set for June 9-10 at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids.
Bolster is no stranger to state or to pressure-filled rounds of golf. A year ago, she tied for seventh place, earning the final trip to state from Section 1. She finished solidly in the top half of the field there, following up a first-round 89 with a sterling 76 to finish in 36th place.
Her goal is for an even better finish to her season — and her high school career — this time around. And if her play over the past two days is an indication, she’s ready to move up the leaderboard at Bunker Hills.
The highlight of her final round at this year’s section meet came on hole No. 11 at Cannon Golf Club, a 280-yard par-4. After making a 7 on the par-4 10th, Bolster responded with an eagle on the 11th. She also had one birdie — on the opening hole — and eight pars in her round of 82.
Owatonna’s Carmen Jirele won her second individual section championship in three years, shooting a 1-over-par 73 on Thursday to pull away for a nine-shot victory over runner-up Karina Johnson of Northfield, who was last year’s section medalist.
Jirele also won the section title in 2024, when she went on to win the Class 3A state championship.
Jirele’s strong showing this week helped Owatonna capture the section team championship with a 36-hole score of 651. That gave the Huskies a resounding 33-shot victory over runner-up Lakeville North.
Rochester Mayo placed fifth (713) and Austin placed sixth (750).
Austin was led by junior Ailani Thiravong, who finished ninth, with a 168 total. She missed a state-qualifying spot by just one stroke.
John Marshall junior Ashtyn Krenke also had a strong finish to her season. She shot consecutive rounds of 86 in the section meet, to finish at 172 and in a tie for 13th place.
Century’s top finisher was freshman Charlotte Perry, who fired rounds of 90-92—182, to tie for 22nd place.
SECTION 1, CLASS 3A
Final Round, Thursday
(At Cannon Golf Club, Cannon Falls; par 72)
TEAM TOTALS
1. Owatonna 325-326—651, 2. Lakeville North 327-357—684, 3. Farmington 340-345—685, 4. Northfield 350-357—707, 5. Mayo 351-362—713, 6. Austin 370-380—750.
INDIVIDUALS
(Top 10, local scorers)
*1. Carmen Jirele (Owt) 76-73—149, *2. Karina Johnson (Nfld) 80-78—158, *3. Paige Thompson (Owt) 79-80—159, *4t. Olivia Hanson (LN) 72-89—161, *4t. Flora Bolster (Mayo) 79-82—161, *6. Chloe Friesz (Farm) 79-86—165, *7. Danica Hager (Owt) 83-83—166, *8. Olivia Streefland (Faribault) 80-87—167, 9. Ailani Thiravong (Aust) 82-86—168, 10. Cindy Kraus (LN) 82-87—169.
Mayo (351-362—713): *4. Flora Bolster 79-82—161, 21. Sloane Bolster 89-92—181, 25. Dylan Raukar 87-96—183, 29. Aubrey Evenson 96-92—188, 41. Josie Meyer 99-108—207, 48. Molly Landherr 116-122—238.
Austin (370-380—750): 9. Ailani Thiravong 82-86—168, 20. Lucy Annis 93-87—180, 36. Gracie Greenman 96-101—197, 41. Reagan Harty 99-108—207, 44. Adalyn Coyle 101-108—209, 46. Ali Muzik 105-106—211.
Local Individuals: 13. Ashtyn Krenke (John Marshall) 86-86—172, 22. Charlotte Perry (Century) 90-92—182, 30. Cora Erickson (Century) 94-96—190, 36. Stella Link (Century) 99-98—197, 43. Kaleigh Risser (John Marshall) 96-112—208.
* — state-meet qualifier
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