Photo by Jake Olson: Back row left to right. Deacon Thompson, Dominic Klassen, Logan Zimmer, Colten Donahue, Silas Maasen, Jackson Luhmann, Jackson Clow, Keagan Berhow.: Front row left to right. Sophia Carlson, Allison Steuber, Chloe Nowicki, Josie Moeller, Autumn Davis, Charlotte Berhow, Beau Madsen, Landyn Williams, Gavin Kester, Curtis Bressler, and Jevin Gerry

FAIRMONT – The Granada Huntley East Chain/Truman/Martin Luther boys and girls golf team is looking to have another strong season under now second-year head coach Sam Kulseth. Both teams are set to return a group of varsity golfers that should pace the scoring for this year’s spring campaign.

Landon Zimmer is the most notable departure for the boys’ team. Landon Zimmer had an excellent final year for the Jaguars, seeing consistent low scores throughout the season while qualifying for the 2025 MSHSL Boys Class A Golf State Tournament. He finished this meet tied for 48th place after recording a 169 over the two days of golf.

“From start to finish, he had an amazing year, to be completely honest,” Kulseth said. “I didn’t coach him the year before that, but to my understanding, it was tremendously better, and he put a lot of spare time in the offseason to improve, so it was really cool to see that work pay off.”

Tavin Janssen and Xander Connell are two other graduates who found consistent time in the five and six spots of the varsity roster.

Kulseth thinks Gavin Kester can step up after a solid junior season. Outside of going back and forth with Landon Zimmer for the top spot on varsity, Kester just missed a state tournament qualification after placing ninth in the Section 2A Tournament with a score of 166. A summer of offseason work should maintain his position as one of the top golfers in the section.

“It’s amazing having him for a couple of reasons, number one, he’s a good golfer,” Kulseth said. “But he’s also our boys’ team captain, and he’s a very good leader. …I’m excited to have him back and wish he had a couple more years here.”

Some other golfers Kulseth is excited to see step up this year are Jevin Garry and Logan Zimmer, Landon’s little brother. The two competed on varsity last season as an underclassman pair and finished the year with solid averages.

For the girls, the Jaguars are set to return two of their top three golfers after Elsa Thompson’s graduation from her number two spot on the team. Charlotte Berhow, now an eighth grader, is coming off a full season as the top varsity player. She averaged 54.2 last year and has since put in the practice to step into a bigger role.

“She was very good for that age,” Kulseth said. “Being that young on varsity, there is a lot of pressure that goes with that, and this year she seems like she’s matured. She’s golfed every day it wasn’t raining this summer, so I’m excited to see where her maturity is at, and where she’s improved.”

Meredith Miller is another returnee for GHEC/T/ML, bringing leadership and experience back to the lineup. She is set to become one of the captains of this year’s team.

“We also have Meredith Miller returning from last year, she’s a team captain. “Kulseth said. “She’s a very strong leader and I think she’ll have a good year too.”