A second place finish was nothing to blow off for the Minnesota Golf Association Junior golf team sponsored by Green Lea Golf Course, but somehow it was an afterthought for Tyler Brackey, Sam Matheson, Robert Peterson and Casey Marka — they had burritos on their mind.

The Albert Lea foursome had just finished playing in an MGA junior team regional tournament at the Mankato Country Club unaware that their second place finish to Fairmont at the tournament had qualified them for the state tournament. Instead their attention shifted to Chipotle and scarfing down those delectable rice-and-bean filled tortillas. Who could blame them after a second place finish to a team they beat during the high school season?

But the second place finish was more than that. A call from an MGA director came through to the Green Lea clubhouse to Eric Amann, informing him that the team had just qualified for state and should return for their trophy.

“We were at Chipotle and Eric called us and was like, ‘Hey, you guys should probably get back there and get your trophy.’

“We thought only one team went to state, but apparently two do,” Matheson said.

The team shot 237 and needed to go to a tiebreaker to determine second. Peterson’s 84 was the difference and put them in the 49th MGA Junior Team Championship at Monticello Country Club Aug. 5-6. The team will play in the 36-hole event against a field of 60.

“They’re a good bunch of kids,” said Green Lea owner Jeff Elseth, who has sponsored an MGA junior team for a number of years. “They play a lot of golf together, they know each other’s games. I think they’ll do quite well up there.”

According to the MGA Web site, approximately 150 golf courses around the state participate in the MGA junior program, which was created in 1961.

Teams compete in districts, which range from six to nine courses. The district schedule is three weeks. At each tournament the team totals are determined by counting the three lowest scores. After district play concludes the top two teams move on to the regionals, where teams from three districts compete. The top two teams from the regional advance to the state tournament.

“To improve, a lot people say summer tournaments are a good idea,” Matheson said. “It gets kind of boring in the summer without tournaments.”

Matheson, Brackey and Marka will all return next season for their senior seasons, Peterson graduated in the spring. The summer tournaments help keep players sharp through serious competition. It’s a big confidence boost for the group as well. During the high school season the team played in one of the most difficult tournaments in the state when it competed in the Tri-State Invitational at the Les Bolstad University of Minnesota Golf Course. The MGA Junior Team Championship will only add to their experience of playing in tough tournaments with good golfers.

“It kind of prepares them (for the high school season),” Elseth said “A lot of these kids are either juniors or seniors and it kind of keeps them sharp.”