Cloquet girls golf second in conference

The Cloquet girls golf team placed second in the Lake Superior Conference golf meet Wednesday, falling to Grand Rapids but beating Hermantown by four strokes at the Pokegama Golf Course in Grand Rapids.

Top 10 Cloquet finishers were Abigail Steinert 91 (fifth), Addison Johnson 93 (eighth) and Kortney Kavanaugh 96 (ninth).

Twins Abigail and Julie Steinert are the team’s only seniors and both qualified as individuals for last year’s Class AA Minnesota State High School League state meet. Both are capable of shooting in the 70s or low 80s.

Other Cloquet players include three ninth-graders, Miaya Jukubek, Arya Nylund and Alicia St. Germaine, and eighth-grader Delilah Durfee. The top four individual scores are used for a team total in the section tournament.

The Cloquet girls took second in the section last year, while Hermantown won the section in 2023. Although Grand Rapids is in the conference, they play in a different section.

Weather in April and early May has made local golf courses sloppy and difficult to score low on, said new CHS girls golf coach Andrew Miller, a physical education teacher at Cloquet High School.

Miller is no stranger to coaching local high school teams, with more than 14 years of coaching experience. Currently the head coach for the Moose Lake/Willow River girls basketball team, Miller also coached Cloquet JV boys basketball and assisted Cloquet head coach Steve Battaglia.

He applied for the golf job after last year’s coach, Matt Carlson, was named the general manager of the Cloquet Country Club. Miller played college golf at Minnesota’s Crown College and offers lessons at the Moose Lake Golf Club under pro Josh Gamst in the summer. He’s been a Cloquet Country Club member for six years and plays in the men’s league.

Boys conference golf

Cloquet tipped Grand Rapids by 2 strokes (314 to 316) to win the Lake Superior conference championship. Cloquet’s four top players and scores included:

Lance Saylor 77 (fifth), Collin Young 78 (seventh), Karson Young 79 (ninth), and Anders Gunelson 80 (11th).