Royals Win First State Tournament
In it's six short years of existence the Royals have been blessed with player leadership based on various individual strengths: Sean Dunham, Chad Christian, Aaron Humphrey, and Colton Buege, to name just a few. Each of their contributions has been a key to the team's quick rise to an elite high school program. However, as those players have come and gone one thing has remained consistent - coaching.
Coaches Dan Bursheim and Dan Klabunde today led the Rogers golfers to their first MN State Championship as they tied Wayzata with cumulative two day scores of 592. The Royals spent most of their year acquiring an identity. Their Mississippi 8 conference dominance aside, they often came up just short in the invitationals. They rode the early season play of junior Corey Muenzhuber, the strength of the state's season-long number one player Mac Buege, and the continued seasoning of Jordan Rykal and sophomore Morgan Rask, into a late season flourish. While last years consensus number one ranked team dominated the entire year but came up just short of a state championship, the 2011 version of Roger's Boys golf entered the year barely ranked in the top five with something to prove.
Day Two of the tournament began with the Royals and top ranked Eagles of Eden Prairie locked in a first place tie at 299. It may have been one of Roger's best rounds of the year. The Eagles were likely capable of something better. The Wayzata Trojans were two back as the teams teed off in the rain. Wayzata has a tendency to peak during tourney time as evidenced by their two consecutive state championships.
Royals Zach Hnath and Phil Ballard went out early in the worst of the morning weather. Ballard, playing in his final tournament as a senior, had shot 80 in the first round but fell back in his second eighteen. Hnath improved by two shots, shooting an 83-81-164 in his first state experience.
Junior Corey Muenzhuber started with a double bogey but quickly birdied his next two. The season-long top ten player was solid the rest of the day, as he has been all season, shooting one over par 73 and moving up from a tie for 26th to 10th place. Another of next seasons' seniors, Jordan Rykal, mirrored his teammates performance, 76-73-149. Jordan spent most of the year ranked in the top 35 but his performance confirms next year's senior leadership will be a shared effort. Sophomore Morgan Rask completed another ascent up the leaderboard that would be absolutely necessary for the team to be near the top at the end by shooting another 75, finishing at 150, and moving up from 22nd to 15th place.
The last question of the day was whether departing senior leader Buege could continue his exceptional 2011 run. Mac finished first or second in every tournament he played this year. He also moved up, albeit just one spot. Entering the day in third place, his 72-72-144 was good enough for second one back of medalist Max Kelly of Forest Lake. Mac's bogey-bogey finish was a personal disappointment but cannot tarnish his record setting year and career as a Royal.
The Royals shot an impressive 293 in round two. Their two day 592 total is just one off the state tournament record.
As another senior leader relinquishes his grasp on his high school team he leaves it in better shape, just as those that have come before him have done. The coaches remain. Is there any question about next year?
