Alexandria senior and

future Montana State Bobcat

Hannah Boraas added to her impressive resume with another Section 8AAA title win and did so by breaking two school records.

First, she broke the school record for the lowest score with a round of 67 (5-under par) on Thursday, June 1, 2023, which also set the course record at Headwaters Golf Club in Park Rapids.

She then posted a round of 73 on Friday, June 2, 2023, to break the school record for the best two-day score with a total of 140. With that score, Boraas won her fourth Section 8AAA Individual title with a total of 140.

“It’s been one of my goals for a long time, so accomplishing that in one of my last meets as a Cardinal is great,” Boraas said. “It’s a surreal feeling winning another section title. It never gets old.”

Boraas won the individual title by 12 strokes over runner-up Lauren Syltie (Detroit Lakes) and helped Alexandria finish second as a team behind Detroit Lakes. She, along with senior Aisling O’Connor and sophomore Rachel Bowen, are heading to the state tournament at Bunker Hills Golf Club in Coon Rapids on June 13-14, 2023.

The school’s previous record for the best round was set by

Maggie Leland at Bunker Hills Golf Club

with her day two score of 69 at the 2010 Class AAA State Tournament at Bunker Hills.

Booras tied the school record for the lowest round in

2021 at Geneva Golf Club

.

Leland also previously had the school record for the best two-day score (143), which she also set at the 2010 state meet.

In Boraas’ round on Thursday, she posted an eagle, four birdies, and 12 pars. She followed that with four birdies and nine pars on day two.

“Hannah had an excellent tournament,” Alexandria head coach Tim Zupfer said.

“My driver has been great all year round, so that helped me set up for success for good shots into the green,” Boraas said.

Being a four-time section champion and a champion of the women’s division at the Resorters, Boraas has developed a grueling training schedule that has helped earn many accolades.

“For three years, I’ve driven to Hudson, Wisconsin, for a seven-hour lesson with my swing coach, and I also, in October, started working out with Bennett Black, who grew up in Alexandria. He operates Golf Specifics in Maple Grove,” Boraas said. “He’s helped me get stronger, and I can hit the ball 20 yards further already because of him. It’s extra special because he’s from Alex. For me to work with him, have good weight training, and to see my swing coach at least once a week helps out. And then high school wise, we practice every day after school. So now it’s just narrowed down to Aisling, Rachel, and I, but we’re going to continue to practice every day.”

Boraas is a three-time all-state golfer who wants to represent Alexandria well at the state meet one last time.

“I would love to finish as a state champion, get on that podium, and have one last good ride with Aisling, Rachel, coach Zupfer, and coach [Lauren] Stockmoe,” Boraas said.

Booras placed 10th at last year’s state meet and won first at a state tournament preview at Bunker Hills earlier this year (total of 145).

“You definitely have to set yourself up for success with your tee shots, but I think it’s a pretty good getable course, and a lot of people can go low there; I hope I’m one of them,” Boraas said.”

O’Connor and Bowen cracked the top eight at the section meet to earn their spots at the state meet.

Bowen finished sixth overall with a two-day score of 165 (85, 80).

Bowen had one birdie and 17 pars total in the two days combined.

“Rachel had two very good days of ball striking,” Zupfer said. “She struggled with putting the first day, as she suffered seven three-putt greens. She was much happier with her score of 80 on the second day. She finished her final two holes with birdie and par to secure her spot in the state tournament.”

O’Conner tied for seventh with a two-day total of 166 (81, 85).

Sam Stuve / Alexandria Echo Press

She had one birdie and 17 pars as well in the two-day tournament.

“Aisling had a really rough start the first day, she was 5-over par her first two holes, but she then settled into her round carding only four bogeys along with 12 pars the rest of the way,” Zupfer said. “She had pars on eight consecutive holes, and she had a very normal day two.”

The Class AAA state tournament begins at 7:30 a.m. on June 13, 2023.

Alexandria was in the lead for the team title by six strokes after day one of the tournament, scoring 320.

With a total day two score of 304, Detroit Lakes rallied to win the tournament with a score of 630, beating out Alexandria, the winner of the last two team section and state titles, by 15 strokes.

“Detroit Lakes just hit another gear on the second day,” Zupfer said. “They had four players score in the 70s, which we were not able to match. For much of the season, both Alexandria and Detroit Lakes were the top 10-ranked teams in the state. Stating the obvious, we play in a very talented section. To have three players advance to the state tournament is exciting, even though we had hoped to participate as a team. All six players posted scores that counted towards our team score on one of the two days of play.”

Rounding out the Alexandria scores from the tournament, freshman Ellie Sticha posted a total of 175 (87, 88) to tie for 16th overall, freshman Cadence Simon tied for 20th with a total of 178 (91, 87), and junior Grace Herzog placed 34th with a total of 189 (102, 87).

Sticha had two birdies and 10 pars in the tournament.

“Ellie also had two pretty good days of ball striking,” Zupfer said. She struggled with putting on the second day after putting quite well on the first day. She put herself in pretty good positions on each hole on the second day but had a large number of missed par putts. She was on the proverbial “bogey train” through her first 10 holes. She has improved her overall ball striking and is making strides in her short game. She is close to being a player that can consistently shoot in the 70s. Sometimes I forget that she is only a freshman, as she has been a player on the varsity for three years.”

Simon had 13 pars, while Herzog had eight.

“Cadence earned her spot on the varsity after qualifying last week,” Zupfer said. “In her last six varsity meets, she has posted a score in the 80s five times. She was quite nervous but managed to play two good rounds of golf. It was also her first time playing in the Section tournament. She got off to a great start on her second day as she parred her first five holes. Grace had an unusually tough first day of the tournament. It was her first year playing in the section tournament, and nerves may have played a part in her struggles. She simply struggled with her ball striking. She had a much better second day bouncing back to shoot 87, which was a counting score.”

TOP-EIGHT TEAM SCORES – 1. Detroit Lakes, 630; 2. Alexandria, 645; 3. Brainerd, 687; 4. Moorhead, 707; 5. Becker, 716; 6. Sartell, 720; 7. Buffalo, 751; 8. Bemidji, 766