Forty teams and 24 lanes of boards were set up in the alley behind the B & L Bar, which served as tournament headquarters, with serious prizes on the line: cash payouts of $1,000, $750 and $500 in the winner’s bracket, and $300, $200 and $100 in the losers bracket.

“We’ve drawn people from out of state, just on the eastern side of South Dakota, we have one from Iowa, and we also have a lot of people that are here from town, who just want to come out and do something,” tournament director Joseph Miller said.

First place overall went to Ean Thomsen and Travis Selby (2 Guys, 1 Hole), second place went to Mick Penkert and John Haga (Dream Team) and Eli Dahl and Leonard Gutierrez (Just Some Dads) placed third. 

Javen Munce and Dust Giefer (Artic Holes) took first place in the second bracket, while Richard and Ryan McMullen (McBaggin) and Jackson Ahlness and Shane Traulich (The Neighbors) elected to split the 2nd and 3rd place prize money rather than do a playoff.

Saturday’s Baggin’ in the Street tournament began at 10 a.m. Saturday in amidst a light snowfall.

Although not as cold as last year, when temps dipped below zero, the snow this year made for some tricky conditions.

“It’s a struggle,” said Jackson Ahlness, who participated last year with his partner Shane Traulich. “We’re ‘The Neighbors’ because we live right behind each other.” 

“We didn’t have a very good draw, we got two solid teams we got beat by,” Ahlness said. “We went 1-2 in group play. We got a chance in the loser’s bracket, though, so hopefully we can be the number one losers.”

Tournament director Miller explained the process.

“First we are doing pool play,” he said. “People will play against three random teams, one game. We add up the wins, the losses, points scored, etc… and that creates an order. The people who do the best, that’s the way seeding works, they’ll play the worst teams, and everything gets narrowed down from there for the rest of the day.”

From left: Jessica Nachreiner, Bri Johnson and Grace Nelson enjoying some quality time together at the second annual Baggin' in the Streets Competition. "I think it's just something fun to break up the winter months," Nachreiner said. Photo by Peter Engeldinger

Bri Johnson and Grace Nelson of team “The Baggin’ Baddies” were excited to try it out this year.

“I saw it last year, I work at a bar in town, and I was like ‘I want to do that next year,'” Johnson said. “So I got together with my best friend and said ‘Hey, do you want to do it?’ and now we are out here. Love supporting town events.” 

Nelson, who grew up in New Ulm but moved to Mankato, said, “Alright, I’ll come over this morning and we’ll get ready and brave the cold.”

The conditions didn’t exactly help their performance. “We’ve played two games, Bri and I, and we scored an accumulative 10 points,” Nelson said. “There’s a throwing technique that we do not have down, but I know it exists,” she said.

The “Corn Dawgs,” consisting of Jonathon Johnson and Blaine Evans, were also not aiming for prize money so much as a good time.

Eleven sets of bean bag boards lined the alley way behind the New Ulm Chamber Saturday morning for the second annual Baggin’ in the Street. The tournament began during a snowfall that left a couple inches on the ground. Photo by Clay Schuldt

“We’re not novice but mediocre bean bag throwers out here to have a good time,” Johnson said. “I did it last year, and we froze our tails off. We’re having some more fun, meeting new people. I think this is an excellent idea to break up the winter blahs – whether it’s freezing cold out or snowing, I don’t care, I’m gonna do it.”

First place overall went to Ean Thomsen and Travis Selby (2 Guys, 1 Hole). Submitted photo

Second place went to Mick Penkert and John Haga (Dream Team). Submitted photo