By John RittenhouseA trio of Luverne High School players completed the 2003 season at the Minnesota State Class A Golf Championships staged at the Izaty’s Golf Courses near Onamia June 4-5.Seniors Gabe Van Dyk and Kim Bennett represented the LHS girls’ program on The Sanctuary course.Junior Colby Anderson, the lone Cardinal boy involved in the competition, played on the Black Brook course.Van Dyk capped an outstanding career by placing in the Top 10 in state competition for the third consecutive season.Van Dyk shot an 85-80-165, giving her a share of eighth place out of 86 golfers with Annandale’s Kelly Brens and Albany’s Lindsay Wellenstein."Gabe had a really good second day," said Cardinal coach Chris Nowatzki. "She played really well on the front nine. She ran into a couple of difficult situations on the back nine, but she was able to hang in there and place eighth."Van Dyk, who placed seventh at the state meet as a sophomore before finishing ninth as a junior last spring, had to battle back to place in the Top 10 last week.After carding a 13-over-par 85 during play Wednesday, June 4, Van Dyk found herself in a four-way-tie for 16th place, 12 strokes off the pace set by first-day leader Erin Oakland (73) of Fulda.By shaving five strokes off her first-round score with an 80 Thursday, Van Dyk was able climb into a deadlock for eighth place in the final standings. She finished 12 strokes behind Staci Smoot, a Rochester Lourdes’ player who nipped Oakland 153-154 to win the state individual championship.Bennett shot a 93-97-190 to place 49th while capping her LHS career at the state classic. Her 49th-place finish was her best effort in state competition."Kim played some really good golf, too," Nowatzki said. "There were three or four holes over the two days that set her back substantially."Bennett’s 93 on Day 1 placed her in a four-way-tie for 40th place. Her chances for cracking the Top 40 slipped away with a 97 on Day 2.This also was Bennett’s third straight appearance at the state tournament. She placed 52nd as a sophomore in 2001, and 58th last season."I’m sure both Gabe and Kim would have liked to place higher, but I’m very proud of the way they played in the tournament," Nowatzki said. "These two girls finished up great high school careers with three straight appearances in state tournaments. That doesn’t happen in every sport. They can be very proud of what they accomplished."Anderson played well in his first appearance on the boys’ field. The LHS junior shot an 83-82-165, finishing 41st out of 89 players."Colby played very well," said Cardinal coach John Oksness. "It was the type of course where making one or two mistakes will hurt you, and that’s what happened to Colby. He needed to eliminate a couple of mistakes and it would have moved him up into the Top 20, which was his goal."Anderson shot an 11-over-par 83 during Day 1, placing him in a six-way-tie for 42nd place, and 15-shots off the pace (68) set by Springfield-Comfrey’s Johnny Larson.With an 82 on Thursday, Anderson shared 41st place with Meadow Creek Christian’s Joel Swanson and Marshall School’s Scott Kozlak.Larson won the state championship with a 137.
