The River Falls High School girls golf team advanced to the WIAA Sectional meet after taking third place out of nine teams at the WIAA Division One Regional Championship at Troy Burne Golf Course in Hudson on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

According to River Falls High School girls golf head coach Tim LaVold, the Wildcats battled hard on a very tough golf course in Hudson. Mahlia McCane led the way with a 90. That score was followed by Mekinnah Xiong’s 97. Mollie Schmidt’s 109, Jenna Bergmanis’ 112 and Riley Schmidt’s 118.

McCane’s 90 at Troy Burne was good enough to put her into a tie for the sixth-best individual score of the meet. Her score was tied with Olivia Grothaus from Hudson. Xiong’s 97 was also good enough to finish in the top ten individual scores, as she finished in ninth place as an individual.

The total team score for the Wildcats was 408, which was good enough to secure third place ahead of fourth-place finisher Chippewa Falls/McDonell Catholic, a team that shot 415. The top four team scores at the regional event advanced to sectionals. Those teams were New Richmond, Hudson, RFHS, and the aforementioned Chippewa Falls team. The New Richmond Tigers posted the best score at the meet with a total team score of 329 followed by Hudson’s 380.

The River Falls Wildcats will compete in sectionals on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at the Turtleback Golf Course in Rice Lake. The meet is scheduled to get underway at 9 a.m.