Prescott is back on top of the Middle Border Conference for a seventh consecutive season, River Falls took second and is peaking at the right time in the Big Rivers Conference and Ellsworth secured a spot in the top half of the conference as the teams now prepare for the postseason.

Middle Border Conference

The Middle Border Conference duo of Prescott and Ellsworth competed in Amery on Sept. 22. Prescott secured a seventh consecutive conference title, coming in 31 strokes ahead of one of the Division 2 State favorites in St. Croix Central with a 366 score. Ellsworth was locked into that fourth spot all season long and nearly snatched a third-place finish in the conference finale, scoring a 416 (three strokes behind Amery) to take fourth.

For Prescott, senior Layla Salay was the individual winner of the final by an insane eight strokes with a 78, and fellow senior Macy Reiter was next on the list with an 86, which was another six strokes above the third-place finisher. It was Reiter who was named Conference Golfer of the Year based on the results throughout conference play, and Salay was the runner-up.

It was not just those two who led Prescott to the title, though. Lily Vesperman, a second team all-conference senior, tied for 11th with a 100, freshman all-conference honorable mention Claire Salay scored a 106, sophomore Lyla Randolph scored a 102 and junior Avery Braun scored a 105.

Ellsworth’s finish was headlined by the always steady all-conference second team senior Emma Helgeson, who scored a 92 to tie for third place in the final meet. Following her up were junior all-conference honorable mention Marley Halverson tied for 11th with a 100, junior Aubrey Marks with a 111, sophomore Natalie Kirchner with a 113, sophomore Stella Deml with a 120 and senior McKenna Maurer with a 147.

“Most of our play has been consistent,” Ellsworth Coach Carson Huppert said. “[The key is] just playing good at the right time. We’re giving ourselves a shot being in that fourth place spot. With Prescott having to move up to Division 1, it kind of creates some space for us to place a little higher. The opportunity is there.”

Huppert said Amery is a contender to qualify for State out of the two’s Sectional, and the Panthers were right behind them in the conference finale. If they play their best, a trip to State is not out of the question.

Huppert said the whole lineup has been getting it done this year. Having two all-conference golfers at the top of the lineup certainly helps.

“They’re getting better throughout the season. Emma was toward 10th, 11th-ish, and then she came on really strong, started to play pretty consistent. Same with Marley. She wasn’t in that honorable mention spot, and then she just put a few rounds together lately, and now she’s in contention to do some really good things,” Huppert said.

Big Rivers Conference

River Falls spent most of the season fighting with a handful of teams for second place behind a seemingly unstoppable Hudson squad in the Big Rivers Conference. The Wildcats sealed that second position in the BRC finale at Menomonie on Sept. 24, scoring a 364 to finish 21 strokes ahead of third place Chippewa Falls. River Falls even gave Hudson a run for their money on the day, finishing nine strokes behind the Raiders who ran away with many of the conference events this season.

Individually, senior Elsie Schmid put an exclamation point on a first team all-conference season with a second-place finish and a 78 score (one stroke off the leader). Schmid was also six strokes ahead of the third-place finisher. Sophomore Olivia Lick and senior Rory Opatz both secured second team all-conference spots with top 10 finishes. Lick scored a 90 to tie for sixth and Opatz scored a 94 to take 10th. Behind them, senior Lilyana Lansing had a 102 and junior Maddie Schmidt scored a 107.

“The course was playing pretty tough for everybody, but Elsie played a really great round again, and that really anchored our team and our team score. Olivia was hitting the ball really well and just having a little trouble getting the ball in the hole, but she played great and Rory hung in there. The team just kind of hung in there and played the way we have been playing all year,” River Falls Coach Tim LaVold said.

LaVold said over the course of the year the entire lineup has found its zone of how to play to put up the best score possible.

“Everybody has kind of figured out their games and what they expect from themselves. They’ve just been playing within themselves,” LaVold said. “The girls have really, really come together as a group. They’re really supporting each other and having fun being together.

Seniors Schmid and Opatz have been outstanding atop the leaderboards all season long, but getting significant impact from Lick, the sophomore, has been a gamechanger.

“From last year to this year, her ability to put up a score is just incredible,” LaVold said. “She has high standards for herself and expects herself to go out and play really well every time. It’s been fun watching her get used to playing around the top and playing some really good golf.”