Austin's chances of advancing to state as a team have not been eliminated, but 27 strokes separate the Packer girls' golf team from Section 1AA leader Red Wing after Thursday's preliminary round at Northern Hills Golf Course in Rochester.

Only the top team advances to state from Tuesday's Section finals at Cannon Falls, but the top five individuals not on that winning contingent still get the opportunity to golf at state. Current co-leaders Mallery Voight and Samantha Braschler from Red Wing and Austin's Brittany Bertilson are tied at 79 through Thursday's round.

"I'm so proud, I'm so happy for Brittany," said Packer coach Mark Anderson. "That's a phenominal round of golf. That gives her a leg up for the second day of sections."

Defending state champion Red Wing leads the eight-team field into Tuesday's finals with a 330. Austin trails at 357, with Rochester Century (360) and Owatonna (361) close behind. Lakeville (366) and Rochester May (367) are also in the running for second place, where Austin has humbly refocused its goals upon.

"Twenty-seven strokes … I'm not sure we can make that up," Anderson said. "But the girls really gave it a heck of a try though. We're going to try and stay in second place for sure to finish the yeaer solidly.

"There's a lot of competition here. To stay in second we're going to have to play well on Tuesday."

Bertilson and Braschler tied for 12th at state last year at Bunker Hills, while Voight finished 26th overall.

"(Brittany) said she putted OK, which means she could have done better," Coach Anderson said. "We just hope we can play well and send one or two people on to state from here."

Claire Johnson trails the pack after a first-round 91, while Noelle Wiebelhaus shot 93 and Andrea Petersen carded a 94. Emily Lorenzen finished in with a 108, while Carissa Gabrielson battled illness but completed the round with a 115.

Call Ross Thede at 434-2234 or e-mail him at :mailto:sports@austindailyherald.com.

Results:

Team standings - 1. Red Wing 330, 2. Austin 357, 3. Rochester Century 360, 4. Owatonna 361, 5. Lakeville 366, 6. Rochester Mayo 367, 7. Winona 373, 8. Faribault 378.