It’s no secret anymore how good the Prescott girls golf team is.

Coach Chad Salay’s squad sent a pretty firm message Monday evening, when they captured a Middle Border Conference Meet on the home course of New Richmond.

The Cardinals went from second last in the Middle Border two years ago to second in Division 2 in the state last year and are pegged to be one of the state’s best this year.

They’re sure playing like it. Salay said his team put in countless hours this summer in preparation.

“It shows. It’s a heck of a season so far. The girls are playing awesome, so it’s been fun,” he said. “A month ago, you’re just hoping to be able to have a season. These girls spent so much time working on golf over the summer, you just wanted them to get some recognition for all the work. It’s been fun to see them get the payoff.”

Salay knew his team was good going into the year, but they’ve quickly developed into the team to beat, and that’s not lost on the golfers.

“The way we’ve performed so far, it definitely has exceeded some expectation. We thought we could be there, but we’ve developed so fast. The mindset has changed. Now we expect to win. We went into New Richmond on their home course, and we knew we could win. The talk was the pressure was on them there. We kind of flipped it. It was awesome to win on their home course. That was a big accomplishment,” said Salay. “It’s great to see. We have a different mentality. The girls just want to keep getting better. Last year we kind of came out of nowhere and snuck our way to state runner-up. This year, there’s no secret anymore. We essentially returned our whole team, and we know we’re going to be the team to beat now. In Division 2, we’re a top program, and I think the girls are starting to embrace that. They have such personal motivation. They have such a good golf mentality. They’re focused on playing their game and doing the best they can.”

The team won the meet with sophomore Ava Salay setting the pace with an impressive 37. Jessica Heinsch was fourth overall for the Cardinals, shooting a 48, followed by Lindsay Olson 49, and Liz Rohl and Rhi Stutz at 52.

Prescott won overall with a team score of 186, 12 strokes ahead of New Richmond’s 194. St. Croix Central was third with a 196.

Ellsworth came in seventh with a 245.

The Panthers were led by Charlize Smith with a 52, while Taryn Baker shot 58. Katie Gillespie shot a 66, followed by Kayley Bayer 69 and Hallie Flock 73.