State golf roundup: Thompson, Wessington Springs in contention after Class B boys first round
· Yahoo Sports
Jun. 1—BROOKINGS — Wessington Springs' JD Thompson is among the contenders in the Class B state high school boys golf tournament after the first day of competition Monday, shooting a round of 1-over-par 73 at Brookings Country Club.
Thompson is two shots behind Sully Buttes' Gavin Colson, who has the lead after a 1-under-71 on the first day. Thompson had two birdies on the front nine for a 2-under-34, but then had bogeys on four of his first six holes on the back nine before he was able to close with a birdie on Hole No. 18.
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Colson finished in second place for the state championship last season and he rode the roller coaster on the back nine with his only par on Hole No. 10, before coming up with four bogeys and four birdies in his last eight holes on the course.
Thompson is tied for second with Gettysburg's Wiley Cronin and Wolsey-Wessington's Larz Tvedt. Thompson, Cronin, Tvedt and Colson are in the final group teeing off Hole No. 1 at 10:50 a.m. on Tuesday.
Four other golfers are tied for fifth place after rounds of 2-over-74, led by Bon Homme's Madden Merkwan. That grouping also includes Sioux Falls Lutheran's Drew Knobloch, Philip's Shay Weber and White River's Bryson One Star.
The Spartans are in second place as a team after Monday's competition, shooting 232, which is three shots behind first-round leader Philip at 229. Thompson's teammate Luke Larson is tied for 16th place after shooting 77 on Monday and Tucker Thompson shot 82, which has him in a tie for 46th place.
Bon Homme is in third place with a score of 234, followed by Clark/Willow Lake and Hill City tied for fourth place at 239. In addition to Merkwan's 74, Michael Branaugh shot 78 and is tied for 20th, while Kashius Tucker shot 82 and is tied for 46th.
McCook Central/Montrose's Liam Rayman is tied for 25th after shooting a 79, and Lyman's Canyon Garnos is in top-25 contention after shooting 80, standing in a tie for 33rd after 18 holes.
BROOKINGS — In the Class B state high school girls golf tournament at Edgebrook Golf Course, past state champions Clark/Willow Lake's Brynn Roehrich and Miller's Jayce Pugh are currently tied for the lead after 18 holes.
Roehrich and Pugh both shot rounds of 74. The Cyclones' standout shot 4-under-32 on the front nine of the course, but then shot 42 on the back nine to finish with a 74. Pugh shot 37 on both sides of the course, and had back-to-back birdies at Holes No. 6 and 7 to answer three-straight bogeys early in her round.
Roehrich won the 2024 and 2025 state titles in Class B, including by four shots last season. Pugh, who was the Class B champ in 2021 and co-champion in 2022, was third a year ago when the tournament was played at Prairie Winds Golf Course in Watertown.
Chester's Jadyn McDonald and Webster Area's Bailee Ninke both shot rounds of 77 and are three shots back in a tie for third place. Dell Rapids St. Mary teammates Allie Hansen and Maddison Bacon both shot 78s and are tied for fifth place.
The Cardinals have the lead after the first day in the team competition, shooting 239 with their top-three golfers. Miller is in second (240), Clark/Willow Lake is third (251), followed by Deubrook Area (260) and Philip (261) in the top-five. Platte-Geddes leads the Mitchell-area team qualifiers in eighth place with a score of 280.
The leading Mitchell-area golfers after the first round are Corsica-Stickney's Claire Gerlach and Ethan's Bella Guthrie, who are tied for 24th place after rounds of 88. Burke's Paige Beckers is tied for 28th place after a round of 89.
NORTH SIOUX CITY, S.D. — Dakota Valley's Katie Betsworth's 4-under-par round of 66 leads the way at the Class A state high school girls golf tournament at Two Rivers Golf Club.
Playing 8 miles from the Dakota Valley campus, Betsworth had five birdies and one bogey on her final scorecard. She also was 3-under on the back nine to close her round with a 32 on the final nine holes. She was the Class A state champion in 2024.
Betsworth holds a one-shot lead over St. Thomas More's Kaitlin Strain, who shot 67 and is at 3-under-par. Strain had an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys on her day. Cavalier colleague Rylan Horning and Dakota Valley's Addicyn Sailer are tied for third place with rounds of 72, five shots off the lead and Chamberlain's Trey Speer is in fifth place at the halfway point of the tournament after shooting a 5-over-par 75. Horning is the 2025 champion from last season.
St. Thomas More leads the team competition with a first-round team score of 297, with Dakota Valley 13 strokes back in second place with a score of 310. Sioux Falls Christian shot 314, Aberdeen Roncalli shot 319 and Vermillion shot 321 to cap the first-round top-five teams.
After Speer, Winner's Gracie Root has the next-best score of Mitchell-area golfers, tied for 28th after a first-round 83.