St. Peter took second with a 159, followed by Blue Earth Area (170), Le Sueur-Henderson (174), Tri-City United (179) and Fairmont (190). The New Ulm boys had a second team compete also at the invite, with that team scoring a 175 to finish fifth.

The girls’ side of the meet was won by LSH, which had a 197, followed by Fairmont (200), BEA (201), St. Peter (229), TCU (242) and New Ulm (245).

The boys competed on the front nine at the invite, while the girls competed on the back nine. The invite was originally going to be an 18-hole invite but was changed to nine holes due to the impending weather.

Eagles head coach Andy Aukes said the home win was a good way to bounce back after a tough Tuesday in Le Sueur.

Brayden Wendinger

“We started off really good last Saturday in Marshall,” Aukes said. “We were actually leading that tournament through most of it and just kind of let it slip away at the end. Marshall’s a really good team, too, same with St. Peter today. Today was kind of a get-right spot for us after kind of a really disappointing day on Tuesday.”

The New Ulm boys took second to Marshall on Saturday in a six-team invite and took second out of three teams at a meet in Le Sueur on Tuesday.

But according to Aukes, the boys’ 155 Thursday, which saw a late delay in the action due to storms in the area, was still just a taste of what the boys are capable of.

“This is one of the lowest nine-hole scores New Ulm has had in the last few years,” Aukes said. “The best part is they’re all hungry for more. That was not quite what they’re still capable of. Lot of high expectations for the boys.”

Brayden Wendinger, a New Ulm junior, shot an even-par 36 on the front nine to finish as the boys medalist.

Staff photo by Travis Rosenau New Ulm senior Rory Gieseke putts on the 17th hole during a New Ulm Invitational at the New Ulm Country Club on Thursday.

“I thought it was pretty cool,” Wendinger said of finishing first. “I knew at the beginning of the season that our team would be pretty good now with Jaxon Buegler switching from baseball to golf his senior year. That’s the first time I’ve actually gotten first out of everybody in a meet, so that was pretty cool.”

Wendinger had just one double bogey on the seventh hole, but he made up for it with a birdie on the eighth hole. After getting delayed and sent back to the club house for a half hour due to lightning, Wendinger finished his last hole of the day, Hole 4, with another birdie.

“There was obviously a little bit of wind there and on-and-off-again rain, which I just tried to not let get in my head and thought about hitting the next shot like coach always says,” Wendinger said. “After that double bogey and going out of bounds, I just tried to forget about it and got a birdie the next hole.”

Aukes said he was happy for Wendinger being able to put it all together on Thursday.

“Brayden was a long time coming,” Aukes said. “He’s probably one of our better swings on our team and most consistent golfers, it’s just being able to piece it all together today and it’s the start of some confidence building for him and he’s able to just get keep getting better.”

New Ulm’s Mason Buegler carded a 37 to finish second, followed by St. Peter’s Ethan Moreau (38). St. Peter’s Owen Matejcek and Kade Mata tied for fourth with LSH’s JD Reinhardt and BEA’s Eli Blagg, with all players shooting a 40. New Ulm’s Jaxon Buegler, Owen Rasche, Brecken Neuman and Brandt Munson each shot a 41 to tie for eighth.

The girls’ side of the meet saw BEA’s Katelyn Storbeck finish as the medalist with a 46, while LSH’s Sophie Tews took second with a 47, BEA’s Madison Ehrich and Fairmont’s Leslie Zarling tied for third (48) and LSH’s Addison Fahey finished fifth with a 49.

Senior Rory Gieseke led the Eagles girls with a 58 to finish tied for 19th, while teammates Lillian Kral and Chloe Kelley each shot a 61 to tie for 24th. Maddy Wellmann (65), Lydia Osborne (66) and Brogan Thordson (69) completed the New Ulm girls scores.

The New Ulm boys and girls travel to Montomgery next to play in a Big South Division Event at the Montgomery National Golf Course on Monday.