The duo of Jack McElroy and Ty Mericle are now one step away from qualifying for the state golf meet.

The St. Edmond underclassmen qualified for the Class 1A district meet with a second- and fifth-place showing, respectively, at a Class 1A sectional meet held at Lakeside on Wednesday.

McElroy, a sophomore, fired a 76 to finish as the individual runner-up. Mericle — a freshman — tied for fifth with Nolan Shreckengost of West Fork (81).

Sage Sunken of West Fork had a 75 to earn sectional champion honors.

“Jack and Ty played really well,” said SEHS head coach Matt Dillon. “The sky’s the limit for both of these guys. They’re just getting started.

“I’m excited for now and what the future holds.”

Newell-Fonda’s Landen Kruse qualified for districts as well, placing ninth with an 84.

The Gaels missed a district team spot by three strokes after carding a 340. West Fork (325) and Coon Rapids-Bayard (337) advanced as the Top-2 squads.

“Unfortunately, we missed out on advancing as a team,” Dillon said. “We were three shots back, so it’s frustrating to be this close and not make it.

“It was good competition and congrats to West Fork and Coon Rapids-Bayard. It’s still good to have two of our guys move through.”

McElroy shot 2-over par on both the front and back with identical 38s. On the back nine, McElroy recorded three pars.

“That was the best ball striking that I’ve seen from Jack this season,” Dillon said. “He was in the fairways on just about every hole and hit a lot of greens in regulation.

“He could have had a 72. It was a really good day for him under pressure.”

Mericle fired a 40 on the front and a 41 on the back. He finished with 11 pars

“Ty is just Mr. Consistency,” Dillon said. “Even though he’s just a freshman, he doesn’t get rattled. For most freshman, (the postseason) is a really tough spot mentally. Not Ty.”

Max Nguyen (91), Kinnick Henning (92), Landon Saathoff (92) and Hayden Derrig (95) rounded out the Gael lineup.

Class 1A district competition will be on Monday at Willow Ridge Country Club in Le Mars.

CLASS 1A SECTIONAL MEET

(At Lakeside)

Team Standings

West Fork 325; 2. Coon Rapids-Bayard 337; 3. St. Edmond 340; 4. AGWSR 343; 5. Newell-Fonda 351; 6. IKM-Manning 381; 7. Exira-EHK 404.

Individual Top Ten

Sage Suntken, West Fork, 75; 2. Jack McElroy, St. Edmond, 76; 3. Max Shirbroun, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 79; 4. Landon Showalter, West Fork, 80; 5. Ty Mericle, St. Edmond, 81; (tie) Nolan Shreckengost, West Fork, 81; 7. Logan Kenyon, Coon Rapids-Bayard, 82; (tie) Trace Eiten, AGWSR, 82; 9. Landen Kruse, Newell-Fonda, 84; 10. Eli Kuper, AGWSR, 85.

St. Edmond — Jack McElroy 76, Ty Mericle 81, Max Nguyen 91, Kinnick Henning 92, Landon Saathoff 92, Hayden Derrig 95.

Newell-Fonda — Landen Kruse 84; Jacksyn Hogrefe 87; Guyson Lyman 88; Brooks Bellcock 92; Ty Tabuer 103; Kellen Meyer 110.