Boys Golf State Meet Storylines: Rushford-Peterson playing to honor 'The Legend' Chris Hoiland

Jun. 8—The six players in the Rushford-Peterson boys golf varsity lineup think about Chris Hoiland every day.

>Hoiland died on April 22, 2025, after — quoting directly from his loving and often light-hearted obituary — "he got very sick, very sudden, with Giant Cell Myocarditis, a disease as rare and unique as Chris himself."

>If the Trojans' golfers aren't thinking of him, all they have to do is look down at their own shirts. Tributes to Hoiland — whose son, Gus, is a junior on this year's team that will play in the Class 1A state meet this week — are printed on the front and back of R-P's golf shirts.

>R-P coach Luke Rye, a friend of Hoiland's — who wasn't a friend of his in Rushford or Peterson? — said Hoiland would have loved the tributes. On the back of R-P's golf shirts, the message reads "In Loving memory of The Legend Chris Hoiland."

>"We all love (Chris), so it's a big accomplishment for us to go back-to-back years, to state, for him," R-P senior Jaxson Meldahl said after the Trojans won their second straight Section 1-1A title on May 27 at Eastwood Golf Course in Rochester. "He was a big golfer, loved golfing. That's what he was doing, if he wasn't farming."

>With loads of support from friends, family, coaches and teammates, Gus Hoiland has persevered and helped R-P earn a return trip to state, the fifth in program history. Gus enters the state meet — the opening round begins at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday at Pebble Creek in Becker — with the fifth-best scoring average (87.79) on a team loaded with talent. The Trojans bring the same six-player lineup to state this year that they did a year ago.

>"I just think Gus, knowing that he has these brothers, and that he can relax and talk to us, or reach out with anything, if he has any problems, I think it helps him a lot," Meldahl said.

>R-P has one state championship in program history; it came in 2009. Whether it wins a second this week or not, the Trojans know their biggest fan will smiling down on them.

>"Chris was a really good friend, a big supporter of the golf team and the school, in general," Rye said. "He didn't coach or teach, but he was a big fan and a huge supporter of the team."

>Jack Brogle has played in plenty of big golf meets.

>The Lanesboro/Mabel-Canton junior played in his first Class 1A state meet four years ago as just an eighth-grader, when he showed he can play under pressure, finishing 49th in the 88-golfer field.

>He won his first Section 1-1A championship as a freshman in 2024, then did it again last year, then won it for a third consecutive season on May 27 at Eastwood Golf Course, when he shot 73-79—152, to win by six shots.

>This is the time of year Brogle lives for, and he has enjoyed every minute of this postseason so far.

>"The state tournament, this is what it's all about," Brogle said with a smile after winning the section championship. "It's the Minnesota state golf tournament. That's like your high school Super Bowl for golf. ... If you put pressure on yourself, then there's pressure, but if you just go up there try to have a good time and shoot some good scores, that's when it's fun."

>Those past experiences will be greatly beneficial for Brogle this week. He is set to tee off at 8:42 a.m. Tuesday at Pebble Creek, in Becker.

>"The experience is a huge factor," he said. "This was the third time in a row winning sections here, so being in that position, you know what the pressure feels like. And when you're in the last pairing, and it starts to fill up around the 18th green — you see a lot of people circling it — that experience is really what it's about."

>The Stewartville boys golf team is headed to state for the first time in more than three decades.

>The Tigers are led by four seniors, including HVL champion Austin Walker, as well as Carson Jannsen, Aric Cruz and Luke Nelson. Aidyn Voyna is the lone junior who played for the Tigers at the section meet.

>Their lineup is rounded out by a standout sophomore, who is the young guy on the team, but isn't short on experience.

>Isaiah Nelson has the team's second-best scoring average (77.5), behind only Walker, this spring. Nelson heads into this week's Class 2A state meet playing his best golf of the season; he led the Tigers with a third-place finish at the section meet last week, shooting 78-74—152.

>"Isaiah is just a wonderful young man," Tigers coach Dave Honsey said. "He's worked so hard and has been very consistent. It's nice to build around somebody who you know, even on a bad day, is going to turn in a good score."