Warriors Athlete of the Week: Brainerd’s Oseland adding to his young resume

BRAINERD -- Brady Oseland is proving what a little confidence can do.The Brainerd Warriors freshman advanced to the Class 3A State boys golf tournament as an eighth-grader last season.

He packed everything he learned from that and has started his second varsity season on fire.He tied for second in an early-season dual with Stewartville with a 5-over 75 April 4 at Willow Creek Golf Club in Rochester.Oseland tied for second again in Brainerds Central Lakes Conference opener April 17 at Blackberry Ridge Golf Club in Sartell.

His even-par 72 featured three birdies and three bogeys.

His string of seconds was snapped April 22, when he tied for first at the CLC meet at Geneva Golf Club with a 1-under 70.I was just hitting the ball straight and hitting my wedges well, Oseland said.

Inside of 100 yards, I was just making birdies.

Oseland is finding himself inside of 100 yards more often this season.

He added some muscle and because of it, his tee shots are sailing farther than normal.Last year, I hit the ball really short, Oseland said.

This year, Im playing all of these courses again like theyre brand new because Im hitting my drives in a whole different spot.

Im way closer to the green and Im getting to the par 5s in two and that makes it a lot easier to make birdies.Distance is my biggest improvement.

Getting closer to the hole gives me more opportunities to make better scores.

To know that we have eight guys who can play well and were all battling for those six spots that helps get the best out of everybody.During the two-day Cardinal/Wildcat Invite in Willmar and New London-Spicer, Oseland fired a 4-over 148 to place fifth and help the Warriors to a team first place.

He opened the tournament with a 4-over 76 Thursday, April 24, at Little Crow Country Club.

His round featured one birdie, but he stayed away from big numbers.Hes our No.

1 guy and hes playing with better players, but he deserves to be there, Warriors head coach Tim Johnson said.

He always rises to the occasion with those better players.

Hes playing to his talent.

Hes keeping those larger numbers off of his scorecard already, so when he strings together a few birdies, that makes him even more valuable when he starts keeping his score around or under par.

Hes been very steady for us.During the tournaments second round, Oseland opened with a birdie Friday, April 25.

He then carded a double bogey and a bogey to fall to 2-over.

He finished his opening nine at 3-over.

Then he hit the back nine and fired in three birdies, including back-to-back birdies on the 11th and 12th holes.

A birdie on the 18th helped him shoot even par for that round.Last year, mentally, if I had a couple of bad holes, it would be frustrating and I would let it get the best of me, Oseland said.

This year, Im working on knowing I can come back and make birdies to finish the round.

Playing with a coach following me, our new coach, Tyson Genz, helps me get into the zone and get a good vibe to play well.No matter what you shoot, the next day is a new day and the score you shot the day before doesnt mean anything.

I just put that round behind me and decided to start fresh and it worked out.

Despite being an eighth-grader, Oseland didnt show any nerves in his state debut.

He opened with a 4-over 76 at Bunker Hills Golf Club.

He managed two birdies in his opening round.He carded another birdie in his second round, but par was a hard score as he finished with an 84 for a two-day 160 that tied him for 58th.Hes a guy who we know were going to get a solid score from at every competition, Johnson said.

Theres a lot less worry knowing we have that and a lot of the other guys can feed off of that.

You can see they have already with Alex (Imgrund) shooting under par this week.

Tyler Lehmann shot under par.

Theyre seeing that and theyre all feeling more comfortable about doing it.

As a coach, its awesome to see that.Oseland tied for sixth in the Section 8-3A Tournament with a two-day 154.

He secured the fifth of six individual state spots at Headwaters Golf Club.

He fired rounds of 78 and 76 to land his state spot.

On the back nine of his second round, Oseland opened with three straight bogeys, but birdied the 13th and 15th to make the state cut.Going into the season, I had a lot of confidence, Oseland said.

I was playing a lot of golf during the winter on a simulator and just grooving my swing and getting ready to play.

Having a good team around me makes it exciting.Last year, I learned to have the confidence that I could play with other good players and stick around with them.

Johnson said he doesn't coach up Oseland much.

He said there arent many days Oseland isnt at the Legacy playing or practicing.

After his competitive rounds, Oseland hits the practice greens to work on his putting and chipping.

Johnson said Oseland has a terrific short game with great touch, but hes also setting a standard that his teammates have noticed.At Blackberry, he finished almost 45 minutes before the next group and hes over on the putting green when all of the other kids come in, Johnson said.

As they do, they see him and all of a sudden, we have two or three other kids on the green with him doing the same exact thing and none of us coaches had to do or say anything.

Its contagious and hopefully, well be hitting our stride with all of our team at the end of the year.Winning the conference scoring average and helping his team to a conference title are Oselands early goals.Its fun to have a good team because were all pushing each other, Oseland said.

To know that we have eight guys who can play well and were all battling for those six spots that helps get the best out of everybody.JEREMY MILLSOP may be reached at 855-5856 or [email protected].

Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jeremymillsop.Brady Oseland Sport: Boys' golfYear: FreshmanAge: 15Height: 6-footCareer highlight: Advancing to the Class 3A state tournament last yearOther sports: BasketballGrade-point average: 3.6Favorite class: MathFavorite teacher: Mr.

Eric JobeFavorite food: PizzaFavorite movie: Home AloneFavorite musician: Lil BabyFavorite athlete: Anthony EdwardsWhat sport do you wish you would have played: A sprinter for the track and field teamWho inspires you: His dadFuture plans: Hopes to play college golfParents: Josh and Mackenzie OselandOther notable performancesGage Germundson, boys lacrosse, scored four goals against St.

Cloud Crush.Mya Tautges, softball, pitched a no-hitter with 15 strikeouts against Moorhead and went 2-3 with a run and an RBI in Game One of a doubleheader.

In Game Two, she went 2-3 with two home runs, three RBIs and three runs and pitched her second win with 2.1 perfect innings of relief.

She struck out five.

She struck out nine in a win over Sartell.Kyler Carlson, baseball, went 2-3 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI against Rocori.Ty Nelson, boys track and field, won the long jump and broke the school record in the triple jump with a first-place 49-foot-3 leap at the Warrior Quad.

He won the triple jump at the Hamline Elite Meet.Ava Loney, girls track, won the long jump and the 200-meter dash at the Warrior Quad.Owen Robertson, boys tennis, went 3-0 last week with two singles victories and a doubles win.John Cowell, Austin Nichols, Ben Stadum and Carter Mielke, boys track and field, ran a meet record 8:22.14 to win the 4x800-meter relay at the Fargo Elite Meet.]]>.

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