By John RittenhouseThree Luverne High School players qualified for the Minnesota State Class A Golf Championships during the Section 3A meet played at the Marshall Country Club Friday.Junior Colby Anderson and seniors Gabe Van Dyk and Kim Bennett all qualified for the state attraction individually.Players who shoot the five lowest scores in section competition advance to state.Anderson won a playoff to finish fourth on the boys’ side. Bennett and Van Dyk tied for fourth place on the girls side to lock up the fourth and fifth qualifying positions.Anderson, who qualified for the section meet for the third consecutive year, will make his first appearance at the state class.Anderson shot a seven-over-par 78 to lead an LHS boys team that placed third at the section meet after winning its first sub-section title since 1999 the week before.Luverne tallied 336 strokes in team competition, finishing behind champion Redwood Valley (314) and runner up Benson (320). The Cardinals beat Yellow Medicine East (348) to finish the team season with a 22-23 record.Steve Berghorst, Tony Smedsrud and Jesson Vogt added 84-, 85- and 89-stroke rounds to Luverne’s team tally. Andy Haakenson and Austin Hoiland turned in 91- and 96-stroke cards without influencing the scoring.After registering his 78, Anderson had more work to do in order to lock up a trip to the state meet.Involved in a three-way playoff for the fourth and fifth qualifying positions for the state tournament, Anderson earned the fourth spot by recording a par on the first playoff hole. The other players involved in the playoff shot a bogey and double-bogey respectively.Bennett and Van Dyk didn’t have to compete in a playoff to earn their trips to state.Both Cardinals recorded 13-over-par 84s to share fourth place in the individual standings at tournament’s end.Van Dyk and Bennett were key members of Luverne’s state champion team in 2001 and the squad that placed third at state last season.The Class A Championships will be played at the Izaty’s Golf and Yacht Club in Onamia next Wednesday and Thursday.The girls’ competition will be played at the Sanctuary course starting at 8:30 a.m. each day. The boys’ competition will be staged on the Black Brook course at 8:35 a.m. each day.
