Jun. 1—WATERTOWN — After 18 holes on Monday, the Mitchell High School girls golf team holds control of third place at the Class AA state tournament at Cattail Crossing Golf Course.
All four scoring golfers on Mitchell's team scorecard came in at 78 strokes or better, combining for 308 strokes, just three off of the program's single-round tournament record. Defending champion and Day 1 leaders Aberdeen Central recorded 295 strokes, which was 7-over-par cumulatively, and O'Gorman (304) checked in ahead of MHS through the first round.
Visit mchezo.co.za for more information.
The two-round tournament concludes with a second 18-hole round on Tuesday.
The 13-stroke gap between Mitchell and Aberdeen Central matches the cushion the Kernels have over fourth-place Sioux Falls Lincoln (321). Brandon Valley (330) rounds out the top-5 of the team standings.
Maddie Childs paced the Kernels on Monday with a 3-over 75 on the par-72 course. Childs is part of a three-way tie for eighth place in the individual standings with Watertown's Gabi Olson and Aberdeen Central's Chloe Vikander. Brynlee Sabers, who notched a team-best four birdies during her opening round, shot a 77 and is in solo control of 12th place, as Mia Larson and Londyn Hajek each posted scores of 78 strokes to tie for 13th place.
Anna Eliason (84) and Elliot Smith (100) were also on the course for Mitchell, with Eliason involved in a four-way tie for 25th place. The top 25 individual finishers after Day 2 earn an all-state medal.
O'Gorman's Ari Jacobs posted the only below-par round of Day 1 with a 2-under 70 to lead the 79-golfer field, while Aberdeen Central's Olivia Braun sits in second place at an even-par 72 and Sioux Falls Lincoln's Abbigail Westra is third at 1-over 73. Just ahead of Mitchell's Childs and the three-way eighth-place tie is a four-way fourth-place logjam including O'Gorman's Erin Hurd, the Aberdeen Central duo of Emma Dohrer and Kyley Wirebaugh and Brandon Valley's Vanessa Smith, all at 2-over 74.
Mitchell enters the second round looking to extend a streak of five consecutive seasons in the top-two of the Class AA tournament standings.