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BEMIDJI 鈥� Each of Josh Galvin鈥檚 last two head-to-head wins at the 100th annual Birchmont Golf Tournament have come with a bittersweet feeling.

Galvin eliminated North Dakota State teammate Jacob Skarperud on Thursday to clinch a spot in the Men鈥檚 Division quarterfinals. He advanced to the semifinals with a 1-up win over teammate Rylin Petry at the Bemidji Town and Country Club on Friday.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard,鈥� Galvin said. 鈥淵ou want to win the tournament but you鈥檙e also rooting for them at the same time. During the match, it鈥檚 kind of just about playing the best you can, and whoever plays better moves on.鈥�

To get to the championship, Galvin will have to do it again. He tees off against teammate medalist Ian Simonich on Saturday morning. Simonich beat Lucas Feterl 3-and-1 on Friday.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

If Galvin beats Simonich, his recently graduated teammate Nate Deziel could stand in his way of winning a second men鈥檚 title if he knocks off defending champion Nick Schaefer.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really cool to have a lot of us still in it,鈥� Galvin said. 鈥淚 have to play my teammate again tomorrow, which kind of sucks. We could have to play another after that, too. But it鈥檚 good that we鈥檙e all here and that we鈥檙e the cream of the crop.鈥�

Deziel beat Red Lake鈥檚 Alex Barrett in his quarterfinal match. Schaefer, in search of his fourth title, cruised to a 4-and-3 win over Bemidji鈥檚 Matthew Gregg.

Galvin, a Maple Grove native, is playing in his third Birchmont. He won the Men鈥檚 Division crown in 2022 in his first entry, and it turned him into a regular player.

鈥淭his is somewhere I want to take my kids in 20 years,鈥� Galvin said. 鈥淚 want to play with the execs, the seniors when it鈥檚 time. Hopefully, I鈥檒l get a couple of older (championships), too.鈥�

Galvin got a glimpse of what his future could look like on Sunday night at the inaugural champions dinner. The invite-only event was open to former champions and a guest, meaning Galvin was honored among the others who have outlasted the Birchmont competition throughout the tournament鈥檚 century-long history.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Galvin admitted he was taken aback by the amount of times a few of the former champions had won across the respective divisions. But he鈥檚 also locked in on doubling his title total on Saturday.

鈥淚t would be really awesome to win this one,鈥� Galvin said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to beat at least three of my teammates to do it. I think this year I鈥檝e played better competition so far. There鈥檚 a lot of great champions out here. At the champion鈥檚 dinner, they announced the one-time winners, two-time winners, nine-time winners 鈥� all of them. That鈥檚 where I want to be.鈥�

Above all else, Galvin wants to see one of the three remaining Bison representatives climb the mountain so they can celebrate as a team on Saturday night.

鈥淚 told my teammates, 鈥�20 years from now, you鈥檙e not going to remember who won and who lost,鈥欌�� Galvin said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the fun you have on the course and the battles you have with your friends that make it fun.鈥�

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

The Junior 12U Division championship has eluded Jackson Fogelson in each of the previous two summers. But in his last chance, before he moves up to the 17U field, he took home gold.

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Fogelson rolled through his first two matches, winning the nine-hole bouts 5-and-4 and 4-and-3. On Friday night, he beat Graham Urbanaik 1-up to win his first Birchmont championship. Fogelson was 3-up through five holes before Urbanaik won Nos. 6 and 7. Fogelson matched Urbanaik鈥檚 scores on the final two holes to become a 100th Birchmont champion.

Emily Israelson鈥檚 opponents aren鈥檛 making her sixth Women鈥檚 Division championship chase easy.

Israelson trailed sixth-seeded Ava Olson by three holes after seven. However, the medalist won three of the next four holes to square the match, then went 1-up on No. 15. Israelson outlasted Olson, matching her scores over the final three holes to clinch a spot in Saturday鈥檚 final.

She will play against Emersyn Walker, who took down defending champion Morgan Hetletved in the other semifinal match on Friday. Hetletved was 1-up at the turn before Walker won three consecutive holes. Hetletved got one back on No. 14 before Walker responded with two more. A par on No. 16 sealed the 3-and-2 win for the fourth seed.

Ekren Miller鈥檚 run in the Executive Division came to an end on Friday morning.

The Bemidji State men鈥檚 golf head coach and 16th-seeded player won a qualifying playoff to claim the final spot in the championship flight. He dispatched the defending champ before beating Paul Gustafson 1-up.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

But Daal Omar was too much for Miller, pulling out a 2-up win to claim a spot in the final on Saturday. Omar was 4-up through six holes before Miller went on a run to tie it on No. 15. But Omar won Nos. 16 and 18 to end Miller鈥檚 Cinderella bid.

Third-seeded Mark Ewing ensured the medalist also wouldn鈥檛 make the final. He beat Troy Johnson 4-and-3. Trailing by four, Johnson led a comeback charge with wins on Nos. 9 and 10 to pull within two. However, Ewing won three of the final four holes played.

Much like the Men鈥檚 and Women鈥檚 Divisions, the Senior medalist is still in the running.

Dale Finck notched a 2-and-1 win over Brad Anderson to claim one of the two spots up for grabs in the championship match. Finck trailed as late as the 13th hole before winning three of the last four to end the match.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

Finck will take on No. 5 Trent Wilcox, who dispatched eighth-seeded Bob Bye in his semifinal match. Wilcox, playing out of Park Rapids, lost just two holes in his 4-and-3 win.

Two Masters Division players will square off on Saturday, with each of them searching for their first Birchmont title.

Fifth-seeded Rick Vanyo rolled to a 5-and-3 win over Bill Thoreson. Douglas Taylor, the No. 15 seed, picked up a 3-and-1 win over Jack Seiberlich.

• Monday: Qualifying rounds for the Men鈥檚, Senior, Executive and Junior Divisions.
• Tuesday: Qualifying rounds for the Women鈥檚 and Masters Divisions; second round of qualifying for Men鈥檚, Senior and Executive divisions; match play begins for Junior 10-12 division.
• Wednesday: Match play begins for all championship divisions. (Men鈥檚 letter flights, Executive Regular and Junior 10-12 divisions do not play.)
• Thursday: Match play continues for all championship divisions. (Senior Regular, Masters Regular and Junior flights do not play.)
• Friday: Match play continues for all divisions. (Women鈥檚 Regular flights do not play.)
• Saturday: Match play finals for all divisions.

Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer