Alexander Moeller

FAIRMONT — After a year away from the course as a team, Fairmont’s returning core is ready to compete.

“We have a good core back,” Fairmont assistant coach Ryan Stevens said of the Cardinals’ boys roster. “They’re young. I don’t have any returning seniors, I missed out on having my one senior last year in Carson Kuhl, a good example of a guy who was really excited and out here putting in the work. … Now we’ve got guys who had a majority of the varsity play with Alexander Moeller, Jake Harris and Brock Lutterman and some guys who were right on the edge with Matthew Cone and Alec Reutzel.”

Moeller, Harris and Lutterman return from a team that placed fifth in the Section 3AA tournament in 2019, but will join Section 2AA with Big South Conference rival Blue Earth Area this season.

Stevens said the three main returners have stepped up to take leadership roles going into the new season, but Moeller seems to stand above.

“I think a lot of the guys are looking to Moeller as kind of being the team leader,” Stevens said. “… He was out here all the time working on his game and it shows. I feel like he’s made that next step to get better, not only on the golf course, but off the course, too, as far as getting the team involved. He’s not just going out there and playing for himself, he’s not only excited about getting himself better, but getting the team better. … Everyone is doing really good. I’ve got to give props to not only him, but Jake and Brock, too. … They’re three guys we can count on when we need drills to do.”

Moeller, Lutterman and Harris will lead a team that will have major competiton for the final couple of varsity spots.

Stevens said he expects four or five players to compete for the those varsity spots throughout the season. The three varsity returners aren’t the only team leaders though.

“One of the coolest things that happened at practice the other day, I just kind of stopped and nudged the people around me,” Fairmont head coach Brad Haugen said. “I just told them to listen. At one of the stations on the driving range, our lone senior Sam Buchan had gone over and was partnered up with a seventh-grader. The seventh-grader hit a couple of bad shots and next thing you know, Sam says ‘Hey, can I help you?’ And he started talking through it … He was very kind and gentle with his words. Here’s a seventh-grade kid who’s kind of nervous his first time on the range and the senior leadership, ‘Hey, I’ve been here, I’ve done this.’ Unfortunately Sam hasn’t shot the numbers to get on varsity yet, but hopefully he’ll get it. … It was just cool to see that kid that came through the program and just how he understood what the program is about. It’s not always about shooting the best score, but it’s helping people and doing those things. That was pretty cool for a coach to see.”

Former Martin County West golfer Connor Anderson has joined the coaching staff and will help the Cardinals transition into their new season. Fairmont will tee off at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when it hosts Granada-Huntley-East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther at Interlaken Golf Course.

While Stevens said he is happy with how the players look on the course after missing a full season, he said the maturity he has seen off the course has him more impressed.

“During the crunch time, I noticed that we had teammates grouping up just to say, ‘Hey, how are our grades shaping up?’ I’ve really seen a lot of maturity come throughout the program,” Stevens said. “I think that’s one thing that Haugen and I talked about early on, after we had a few practices, both the boys and the girls, we’re seeing this maturity happen and you know, oftentimes in sports, just growing up, people tend to get kind of clicky and it’s not that way out here. We’re a couple of families and we want everyone to not only be better on the course, but better off the course and it’s great to see that the years of us kind of instilling that into these guys is paying off.”