The Hastings Raiders boys golf team stayed busy with three varsity events during the first full week of May, competing in a Metro East Conference meet in St. Paul, a large invitational in Northfield, and a two round tournament at Giants Ridge in Biwabik. Hastings faced deep fields throughout the week and continued to lean on strong play from senior Drew Mamer and junior David Bauer as the Raiders battled some of the top programs in Minnesota.
Hastings opened the week on May 5 at the Metro East Conference No. 3 meet at Highland National Golf Course in St. Paul. The conference event featured many of the Raiders’ regular league opponents and was played in varsity team stroke play format. St. Thomas Academy claimed the team title with a 292, followed by Mahtomedi at 301 and Two Rivers at 303. Hastings finished sixth in the standings with a team score of 314, just five strokes behind Simley for fifth place.
Mamer led the Raiders with a 3 over par 75, tying for 11th place overall in the conference field. Bauer followed closely with a 77, good for 16th place. Brecken Fullerton and Isaac Meyers both carded rounds of 81, while Chase Pine finished with an 84 and Mason Leary shot an 85. Hastings showed balanced scoring through the lineup, with four golfers finishing at 81 or better.
The Metro East meet once again showed the depth of the conference, with five teams finishing within 17 strokes of first place. St. Thomas Academy’s winning score of 292 set the pace for the day, while Hastings continued to stay competitive in the middle of the standings heading into another busy stretch of the season.
Two days later, the Raiders traveled to Northfield Golf Club for the Skip Boyum Invitational on May 7. The invitational included several strong Class AAA programs from around southern Minnesota, including champion Northfield, Prior Lake, Bloomington Jefferson, and Eagan. Hastings finished sixth out of 13 teams with a team score of 307, only four strokes behind fourth place St. Peter and five strokes behind New Prague.
Bauer again paced Hastings with a solid round of 74, finishing near the top of the individual standings. Freshman Chase Pine turned in one of the best rounds of the day for the Raiders with a 75, continuing a strong week against quality competition. Mamer added a 78, Rylan Krauth shot an 80, and Fullerton rounded out the team scoring with an 82. Jack Woodwick completed the Hastings lineup with a 92.
The Raiders were consistent throughout the lineup and stayed within striking distance of several teams above them in the standings. Northfield won the event with an even par 288, while Prior Lake followed at 292. Hastings finished ahead of conference rival Eagan and several Rochester area schools in a competitive invitational field. Pine’s 75 stood out as one of the best rounds of his young varsity season and helped the Raiders remain close to the top half of the standings throughout the day.
Hastings closed the week at the Northern Invitational at Giants Ridge Golf Course in Biwabik on May 8. The event featured a two-round format against many strong programs from across the state. Orono captured the team championship, while St. Thomas Academy and Southwest Christian also finished near the top of the leaderboard. Hastings placed eighth overall with a two-round score of 642.
Bauer delivered the top performance for the Raiders during the tournament, finishing seventh overall individually with a two-day total of 149. Bauer opened the event with an impressive 1 under par 71 in the first round before adding a 78 in round two. His opening round was one of the best scores posted in the tournament and kept Hastings near the middle of the team standings after the first day.
Mamer finished with a two-round total of 162 after rounds of 77 and 85. Leary added consistent scores of 83 and 83 for a 166 total. Krauth finished at 171, Meyers shot 172, and Fullerton closed with a 175 after improving from a first round 93 to an 82 in the second round. Hastings opened the event with a team score of 314 before shooting 328 in the second round.
The Giants Ridge tournament featured one of the strongest fields Hastings has seen this spring, including state caliber programs such as Orono and St. Thomas Academy. Bauer’s top 10 individual finish highlighted the weekend for the Raiders, while the team continued to gain experience in large tournament settings against top competition from around Minnesota.
Hastings will continue its busy May schedule with another Metro East Conference meet on May 14 at 2 p.m. against conference opponents including Hill-Murray, Mahtomedi, North St. Paul, Simley, South St. Paul, St. Thomas Academy, Tartan, and Two Rivers. The Raiders will then return to conference action again on May 18 at 10 a.m. in another large league meet.