TEEING IT UP — Members of the Fairmont Cardinal girls golf lineup scheduled to tee off the season at the Worthington Invitational at 9 a.m. Saturday, April 6, include, front row (left to right): Mercedes Droegemueller, Kailyn Miller, Lauren Zarling and Leslie Zarling. Back row: Bel Lutterman, Brynn Gustafson, Katherine Zelaya and Carly Gustafson. Not pictured: Joslyn Meyer, Ingrid Edman and Georgia Werre. (Photo by Charlie Sorrells)

FAIRMONT — The Fairmont Cardinal girls golf lineup will literally contain a family atmosphere in the clubhouse as it prepares for season-opening fairway action at the Worthington Invitational on Saturday, April 6.

Brynn Gustafson, the Cardinals’ lone senior, and freshman sibling Carly Gustafson — along with sophomore Leslie Zarling and eighth-grade sister Lauren Zarling — will help set the scoring tempo upon their respective returns to the tee box this spring.

Brynn Gustafson earned all-Big South Conference honors by firing a ninth-place 18-hole round of 90 to help guide Fairmont to the East Division championship in 2023.

Brynn Gustafson, who penciled in the team’s lowest nine-hole seasonal average of 40 for returning players, also produced a 15th-place two-day total of 186 to help steer the Cardinals to a tie for third place at last year’s Section 3AA Meet at Oakdale Golf Course in Buffalo Lake.

“She has steadily improved from season to season since making the varsity as a freshman,” Fairmont head coach Brad Haugen said in reference to Brynn Gustafson. “She qualified individually for state as a sophomore and as part of our state team as a freshman in 2021.

“While she earned a place on the all-section team last year, she missed going to state and will look to return this season.”

Leslie Zarling and freshman Katherine Zelaya — who contributed scores to Fairmont’s winning conference divisional squad — and sophomore Bel Lutterman return to the tee box after competing in the sectional tournament last spring.

Leslie Zarling, who posted a nine-hole scoring average of 52, and Zelaya each carded 18-hole rounds of 102 during the Big South Conference Meet.

Zelaya, who averaged a nine-hole clip of 59, tied for 35th place at the 2023 Section 3AA Meet with a two-day total of 211, while Leslie Zarling shared 25th place individually with a two-round 197 in sectional competition.

Lutterman, who captured top honors in Fairmont’s junior varsity tournament, captured 45th place in sectional play a year ago.

While Haugen, the “self-appointed director of Fairmont golf,” will handle the administrative side of the program, Dylan Post will serve as the on-site coach after serving as the Cardinals’ assistant for the past two seasons.

“With only one senior and no juniors, we’re definitely building this program for the future,” said Post.

Kailyn Miller and Mercedes Droegemueller will join fellow sophomores Leslie Zarling and Lutterman on the roster, while Joslyn Meyer will join fellow freshmen Carly Gustafson and Zelaya as part of the up-and-coming nucleus.

Ingrid Edman will join fellow eighth-grader Lauren Zarling, while seventh-grader Georgia Werre rounds out the team.

“When I moved back to Fairmont, I figured I could offer some help coaching to Brad (Haugen) since he was my golf coach in high school,” said Post.