Individual leaders include Bison-Hettinger-Scranton's Kahler (girls) and McIntosh's Larson (boys)
The battle for individual and team championships are far from decided after the opening day of the state Class B girls and boys golf tournaments.
Play opened with 18 holes Monday at the Cattail Crossing Golf Course (girls) and Prairie Winds Golf Club (boys) in Watertown. The tourney will conclude with 18 more holes on Tuesday.
The top six teams and 25 individuals in each division receive honors.
In the Class B girls division, Bison-Hettinger-Scranton senior Allison Kahler grabbed the opening-day lead with a 4-over 76, two shots ahead of her of teammate and fellow senior Greta Anderson and Chester freshman Jadyn McDonald; three shots better than Clark-Willow Lake eighth-grader Brynn Roehrich and Chester senior Ayla McDonald; and four shots ahead of Miller freshmen Jayce Pugh and Kaihlyn Anderberg.
Anderson and Pugh tied for medalist honors last spring and Pugh also won in 2021. Kahler tied for third, J. McDonald tied for sixth and Roehrich and A. McDonald each tied for eighth.
The McDonalds helped Chester shoot 245 and take a seven-shot lead over defending champion Bison-Hettinger-Scranton. Miller is a distance third at 260.
Chester finished second in 2022, three shots back of Bison-Hettinger-Scranton.
It appears that the Class B boys tourney, which was shortened to one day last June because of the weather, may go the full 36 holes this year. Gregory, last year's champion, opened its bid to repeat with a 243 and shared the opening-day lead with Ethan. Gregory and Ethan are nine shots ahead of Edmunds Central and Colman-Egan.
Some new faces are atop the individual leaderboard. McIntosh freshman Wyatt Larson leads the pack after a 2-over 74. He is three shots ahead of Edmunds Central Harrison Beyers and four shots ahead of Gregory senior Eli Fogel and Ethan junior Ryan Gerlach. Taylor Kriech of Colman-Egan, Gavin Colson of Sully Buttes, Tray Hettick of Selby Area and Blaize Amdahl of Webster Area are next at 79.
Fogel, who tied for the 14th last spring, is the leading returnee among the top four. Larson tied for 41st, Gerlach for 27th and Beyers for 71st in 2022.
Class B Girls
Team Scores: Chester 245, Bison-Hettinger-Scranton 252, Miller 260, Howard 272, Deubrook Area 273, Burke 277, Clark-Willow Lake 291, Faulkton Area and Castlewood 294, Garretson 296, Jones County 298, Selby Area 309, Mount Vernon-Plankinton and Webster Area 320, McCook Central-Montrose 321, Bennett County 366.
Top 25 Individuals: 1. Allison Kahler, Bison-Hettinger-Scranton, 76; 2. (Tie) Jadyn McDonald, Chester, and Greta Anderson, Bison-Hettinger-Scranton, 78; 4. (Tie) Brynn Roehrich, Clark-Willow Lake, and Ayla McDonald, Chester, 79; 6. (Tie) Jayce Pugh and Kaihlyn Anderberg, Miller, 80; 8. Adisyn Indahl, Burke, 82; 9. (Tie) Kamri Kittleson, Jones County, and Neva Mikkelsen, Potter County, 84; 11. Jessie Jo VanDerWerff, Platte-Geddes, 85; 12. (Tie) Allison Andrews, Deubrook Area; Gabby Kast, Faulkton Area and Trinity Palmquist, Howard, 86.
15. (Tie) Olivia Mikkelsen, Potter County; Kelsi Clements, Newell; and Ayla Texley, Estelline-Hendricks, 87; 18. Cadence Olivier, Chester, 88; 19. (Tie) Abigail Svatos, Andes Central-Dakota Christian; Piper Thompson, Howard; Eva Koisti, Hamlin; Maddie Horn, Castlewood; Maddy Lueck, McCook Central-Montrose; and Berkley Groos, Colman-Egan, 89; 25. (Tie) Claire Berg, Baltic, and Megan Jackson, Newell, 90.
Class B Boys
Team Scores: Gregory and Ethan, 243; Edmunds Central and Colman-Egan 252, Wessington Springs 253, Hanson 255, Ipswich 256, Castlewood and Webster Area 259, Sully Buttes 260, Wall 262, De Smet 268, Howard and Hill City 270, Platte-Geddes 271, Hamlin 274, White River 276, McCook Central-Montrose 282. Freeman 287, Deuel 295, Chester 299, Centerville 308, Baltic 310.
Top 25 Individuals: 1. Wyatt Larson, McIntosh, 74; 2. Harrison Beyers, Edmunds Central, 77; 3. (Tie) Eli Fogel, Gregory, and Rylan Gerlach, Ethan, 78; 5. (Tie) Taylor Kriech, Colman-Egan; Gavin Colson, Sully Buttes; Tray Hettick, Selby Area and Blaize Amdahl, Webster Area, 79; 9. (Tie) Kade Stukel, Gregory; Blake Larson, Wessington Springs; Brenden Pesicka, Parker; and David Hubacher, Hill City, 80.
13. (Tie) Lane Tvedt, Castlewood; Chet Peterson, Ipswich; Kody Klumb, Ethan; Trevor Schultz, Wall; and AJ Wilber, Hanson, 81; 18. (Tie) Ben Wilber, Hanson, and Tom Aughenbaugh, De Smet, 82; 20. (Tie) Cooper Long, Lyman, and Wesley Wittler, Sully Buttes, 83; 22. Aiden Riggs, Ethan, 84; 23. (Tie) Trey Murray, Gregory; Connor Andrews, Deubrook Area; Cole Bukaske, Edmunds Central; Jace Konsor, Ipswich; and JD Thompson, Wessington Springs, 85.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Battle for titles up in the air after opening day of State B golf tourneys
