Golf tournaments are hard to win, especially when you’re competing against the top high school talent around South Dakota. Factor in the tournament setup is a two-day, 36-hole marathon to the finish and you’re left with a tall mountain to climb. We saw tournaments won in multiple different ways this afternoon from tossups at the finish line to Tiger Woods-esque course domination. Here’s how round two across classifications shaped up today.
In Class AA girls, consistency was the key for Olivia Braun from Aberdeen Central. After firing an even-par 72 on day one, she found herself two-strokes behind another title favorite in Ari Jacobs from O’Gorman. But after a five-over 75 from Jacobs, Braun’s steadiness thrust her to the top of the podium as she matched her day one round and finished the tournament even-par, one stroke ahead of Jacobs in second place.
Aberdeen Central was a fixture inside the top five as three of the top four spots belonged to the Golden Eagles. Emma Dohrer finishing third with a tournament score of +3 and Kyley WIrebaugh finishing in a tie for fourth. Aberdeen Central would finish 23-strokes ahead of second place O’Gorman with the Golden Eagles combined team total tallying 27-strokes over par. Mitchell finished third in the team championship.
In Class B girls, one player set herself apart from the pack in a way that can only be described as ‘special’. Brunn Roerich out of Clark/Willow Lake had a round to remember in day two after coming into the round tied for the lead. Roerich fired a -3, 67 on the final day of state to take the title by an astounding 13-strokes. No one came remotely close to matching Roerich’s surgical second round. There was not another player within single digits of Roerich’s Tuesday round, she was simply that good. The battle for second was one that certainly turned heads as Miller’s Jayce Pugh held onto the runner-up spot by a single stroke with a final round 80. Jadyn McDonald of Chester and Maddison Bacon out of St. Mary’s finished third and fourth in the individuals.
Unlike the individual title, the team championship came down to the wire as Miller, St. Mary’s and Clark/Willow Lake all battled for the top spot. The Cyclones entered the day in the third position, but a solid day out of Brynn and Faith Roerich and Mallory Nelson, they thrust themselves to the top to take the state championship title. They were neck-and-neck with St. Mary’s who finished at a combined total of +63, just two strokes behind the champion Cyclones. Miller finished in the third spot at +71.
Boys Class B also saw some second day movement at the top and saw proof that one good round can change your golf career altogether. Sully Buttes senior Gavin Colson entered the day with a two-stroke lead after firing the only subpar round from Class B Boys (-1, 71). However, with the amount of talent hot on the heels of Colson, it was expected that today would bring some drama. Coming from six-strokes behind, Hamlin’s Aiden Abraham posted a -3, 69 to catapult his name to the top of the leaderboard with a tournament score of +2. Doland’s Kaiden Weinreis was within one stroke of the lead going to the 18th hole, he would bogey to finish in sole second at +4. Seth Lesnar of Webster Area took third with tournament score of +5.
In the team championship, Bon Homme was able to separate themselves towards the end of day two and complete a five-stroke comeback to take the title. Bon Homme finished +40, with Philip taking second at +46, and Clark/Willow Lake taking third at +48. Miller would see a top ten finish, taking seventh with a combined team score of +60.
As of this writing, the Class A Girls individual state title is still up for grabs. Kaitlin Strain and Katie Betsworth have been battling back and forth these past two days, and they are currently tied at -2 on the 18th hole. The team title is going to go home with St. Thomas More thanks to their unbelievable week of play from Strain and Rylan Horning who both had rounds in the 60’s this week. Also showing out well for St. Thomas More was Mara Wilkening and Finley Young who both saw either a low 80 or high 70 on the scorecard in their tournament. To win a title, you need everyone together playing solid golf, and that’s exactly what STM had this week.
To view the full list of leaderboards from each class that competed this week, CLICK HERE.
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