By Bruce Karnick

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The Raiders Girls Golf team had a busy week. Their Tuesday meet vs Simley was postponed to Wednesday due to the release of the jury’s decision in the Chauvin trial. The match was at Hidden Greens and Simley defeated the Raiders 165 to 193. Simley has returning state champion Bella McCauley and her sister Reese who took fifth in state the last state tournament in 2019.

“Simley is going to be tough this year, but if the girls keep improving at the capacity they are doing right now anything is possible,” Head Coach Becky Hartung said after the meet.

Scoring for the Raiders were juniors Ashlyn Endres 46, Lauren Skov 48, Megan Brown 48 and Shea Levos 51.

On Thursday, Hastings was host to the mid-conference tournament, a tournament that had eight schools involved. The Raiders took second with a score of 179, just seven strokes off Simley who won the tournament with a 172. Mahtomedi 196, Henry Sibley 214, Hill-Murray 226, South St. Paul 238, North DNS, Tartan DNS.

“Lauren Skov had the best round of her career shooting a 40. Lauren started the round by chipping in on one for a birdie and continued the stellar round from there! She was bombing her drives, her putter was on fire, had only 16 putts for the round and recorded two birdies,” explained Hartung. “She got in a little trouble on eight when she went in the water but recovered well with the next shot that she put right next to the green.”

Hartung continued singing the praises of her athletes, “Ashlyn Endres has been quietly making a name for herself. She shot her personal best round of her career also that day shooting a 43. She is just playing consistent golf right now. She was struggling a little with her putter in previous rounds. We talked about what needed to be done on the green, she did it and she took a few putts off from the previous round and it really made an impact on her overall score. Also, scoring for the raiders Maddy Daley shot a 46 and Lauren Hubbart shot a 50.”

How is the season going so far?

“Well this is only our third match so we’ve won one we’ve lost one so time will tell. And we’re outside playing, which is wonderful, it’s, it’s a beautiful thing. We’re just happy to be here, you know. Best day all season so far, you know, we have been hand warmers mittens, hats, you know, long underwear, so now we’re out and it’s the weather’s great,” Hartung said with a smile you could see even with the mask on.

The girls take on Henry Sibley Tuesday the 27th, then North on Monday, May 3rd, followed by Hill-Murray on the 4th and Mahtomedi on the 6th. It will be a busy week next week for the ladies.

Lauren Hubbard tee’s off third in the Raider line-up at Hidden Greens for the Mid-Conference tournament. Hubbard shot a 50 on the front nine helping Hastings take second in the tournament. Photo by Bruce Karnick.