Contenders Olson, Rylance carry Arrows into position to end 52-year title drought
BRANDON VALLEY — Watertown and Sioux Falls O'Gorman golfers got off to really good starts Monday during the opening round of the state Class AA boys golf tournament at the Brandon Golf Course.
The Arrows and the Knights moved into the driver's seat for both individual and team championships in the tournament.
Watertown, seeking its first state boys golf title since 1971, shot a 2-over 286 and took a one-shot lead over O'Gorman into Tuesday's final 18 holes.
"It's going to be a battle," said Watertown head coach Corey Neale. "O'Gorman is a really good team. It's going to take our best to be able to finish on top."
Brandon Valley was third at 301, followed by Harrisburg 305, Mitchell 310, Pierre 311, Sioux Falls Lincoln 320, Yankton and Rapid City Central 328, Rapid City Stevens and Brookings 331, Aberdeen Central 335, Sioux Falls Jefferson 336, Spearfish 341, Sioux Falls Washington 351 and Sturgis 352.
"We had a fast start today. The wind came up and it got pretty tough later in the round," said Neale. "The guys stayed focused and finished strong, which was great to see."
Senior Jake Olson of Watertown, the 2021 state champion and 2022 runner-up, shot a 1-under 69 to grab a one-shot lead in the individual battle ahead of junior teammate Kaden Rylance and O'Gorman teammates Taten Mauney and Nolan Cinco. Rylance was the state AA runner-up in 2020.
O'Gorman's Mac Drake joined Carter Peterson of Brandon Valley and Asher Dannenbring of Mitchell at 82.
"Jake and Kaden played really well. They've been leaders on this team all year and it's great to see them at the top of the leaderboard," said Neale. "It's going to fun watching them battle it out."
It wasn't a two-man show for Watertown. Juniors Gabe Norberg (73, eighth) and Jaden Solheim (74, 10th) each opened in the top 10. Junior Ty Lenards is tied for 19th with a 77 and freshman Johnathan Lake tied for 29th with a 79.
Junior Carter Blanchard opened with a 73 (tied for eighth to leader Aberdeen Central. Other Golden Eagles and their first-round scores include senior Peyton Brust and freshman Cole Brust (86, tied for 59th), senior Quincy Madsen (90, 8th), junior Kyler Senger (91, tied for 85th) and sophomore Jackson Ravellette (92, tied for 88th).
The top six teams and 25 individuals receive awards.
ESD-Region 1A Golf: Monday's other sports highlights include ESD tennis, Region 1A boys golf and Miller cross country
State A Boys Golf
RAPID CITY — Defending champion Vermillion seized control in the team standings and West Central junior Anthony Lanham built a 5-shot lead during the opening day of the state Class A high school boys golf tournament on Monday at the Hart Ranch Golf Course.
Vermillion had four golfers in the top 16 and shot 308 to take 16-shot lead over Tea Area. Chamberlain shot 330, Dakota Valley 331, Aberdeen Roncalli 340, St. Thomas More 343, Belle Fourche 346, Sioux Valley 348, Groton Area 359, Parkston and Winner Area 363, Madison 369 and Custer 12.
Lanham shot a 4-under 68 to grab the lead of Dakota Munger of Chamberlain and Cooper Girard of Vermillion, who each shot 73s.
Jonathan DeBoer of Milbank shot a 3-over 75 and is tied for fourth to lead area golfers. Roncalli's Finn Anderson opened with a 77 and is tied for eighth.
Other Area Golfers — T19. Andrew Gerlach, Roncalli, 82; T22. Brevin Fliehs, Groton Area, 83; T28. Jameston Degen, Sioux Valley, 84; T31. Tate Steffensen, Sioux Valley, and Owen Fischer, Milbank, 85. T45. Jack Opitz, Sioux Valley, 88; T50. Gannon May, Roncalli, 89; T52. Logan Pearson, Groton Area, 90; T58. Carter Simon, Groton Area, and Boden Schiller, Sioux Valley, 91; T50. Jesse Hernandez, 92; T63. Jaxen Campbell, Redfield, 93; T67. William Blankartz and Jacob Zornes, Mobridge-Pollock, 94; T71. Jace Johnson, Groton Area; Lucas Daggett, Roncalli and Maverick Nelson, Sioux Valley, 95; T86. Tristen O'Daniel, Redfield, 100; T88. Seth Domke, Redfield, 101; 95. Jayden Schwan, Groton Area, 108; 97. Kevin Weller, Redfield, 114.
The top six teams and 25 individuals receive awards.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Watertown, O'Gorman lead pack in state Class AA boys golf tournament
