Adam Papin/MDN Minot High’s Morgan Strange tees off on the back nine at the Minot Invite on Friday afternoon.

Mandan’s Anna Huettl aced the 17th hole at The Vardon Golf Club on Friday afternoon, as the senior standout took medalist honors with a 76 and helped the Braves win the team title with a 321.

Golfers battled both breezy, chilly conditions and smoke-filled air throughout the tournament, sending scores higher than at recent events. Nonetheless, a number of golfers punched their tickets to the state tournament next month in Grand Forks, as the Minot Invite marked the first individual qualifier in Class A.

To qualify, girls needed to shoot 15-over par or within 15 shots of the tournament medalist, whichever one was higher. Because Huettl finished with a four-over 76, that meant that anyone who finished with a 91 or under during today’s round advanced.

Minot High saw two girls qualify. Senior Adison Dittus eagled the par-five 16th on her way to a personal best 37 on the back nine to finish with an 83, and classmate Morgan Strange posted an 88 on the day, pacing the Majettes to a third-place finish.

“Dittus and Strange both battled the windy and smokey conditions to qualify as individuals,” said Minot High head coach Scott Foltz. “The wind made the already long holes eight and eighteen play even longer today.”

Their northern neighbors, the Minot North Sentinels returned Emersyn Kopp to state. She shot an 88 on the day.

“Emersyn has had a little bit of an up and down year, so it was great to see her battle on a tough day,” said Minot North head coach Michael DeLorme. “Her best is still ahead of her, and I think she felt a weight come of her shoulders today.”

After Mandan, Bismarck St. Mary’s continued cementing their state as the second-best team in the region, posting a 362. Minot High finished with a 369, while Minot North was two shots back of their crosstown rivals with a 371, good enough for fourth place. Bismarck Legacy rounded out the top five at 374.

Bismarck Century and Jamestown both carded 377s, while Dickinson was eighth with a 383. Williston (402), Bismarck High (404) and Watford City (419).

In total, sixteen individuals finished with fifteen strokes of Huettl.

Several local players just missed out on qualifying. Katelyn Bast missed the qualifying mark by a single stroke with a 92 and teammate Carlie Brown shot a personal-best 94 for Minot North.

“Brown needed par on the last hole to qualify and Bast needed bogey or better on her final hole to qualify, but it just wasn’t meant to be,” said DeLorme.

Mandan had three individuals in the top five. St. Mary’s Abigail Schneider finished second overall with a 78, followed by Huettl’s teammates’ Ruby Heydt (80) and Isabella Hale (82). Dittus tied for fifth for the Majettes with Mandan’s Brittyn Mettler.

“We get another chance to qualify individually next Tuesday at Prairie West, in Mandan,” said Foltz. The tournament will wrap of the regular season in the WDA.

Local team scores are below (an asterisk after a name represents a state qualifier):

Minot High (369): Adison Dittus*-83; Morgan Strange*-88; Katie Thomas-97; Cali Wilson-101; Samantha Lentz-107 and Kenadee Burud-108.

Minot North (371): Emerysn Kopp*-88; Katelyn Bast-92; Carlie Brown-94; Kinzy Welstad-97; Ally Larson-101 and Abigail Speer-105.