Mitchell girls golf dominant in effort to retain Marchand Cup
May 7—YANKTON — A team effort showcasing the Mitchell High School girls golf squad allowed the Kernels to retain the Marchand Cup by a 16.5 to 3.5 score on Tuesday at Fox Run Golf Course.
After Mitchell won three of the five best-ball matches over the first six holes, the Kernels swept the scramble holes 5-0 to take an 8-2 lead into the singles portion. Mitchell then won eight of the 10 singles matches and halved another to set the final margin with 16.5 points out of a possible 20.
The pairs of Quinn Dannenbring and Ava Eliason, Anna Eliason and Mia Larson and Londyn Hajek and Elliot Smith each won two matches in the best ball and scramble formats for the Kernels.
Dannenbring, Ava Eliason, Anna Eliason, Larson and Hajek each scored three points for the Kernels, winning each segment. Raegan Sperl and Abbi Schnabel teamed up to win their scramble match and both won in singles, while Maddie Childs won two points and Allison Meyerink scored 1.5 points for the Kernels.
It is the second consecutive year Mitchell has won the cup, after winning 17-3 in 2023 at home.
The Ryder Cup-style tournament is scored three different ways, with the first six holes as a four-ball best-ball, holes 7-12 were a two-player scramble and holes 13-18 were individual match play. The tournament is named in memory of Rob Marchand, who graduated from Yankton and coached golf in Mitchell before his death in 2014.
Mitchell is back at Lakeview Golf Course on Friday when it hosts the Mitchell Invitational with nearly all of the Class AA schools in attendance. The start will be at 10:30 a.m.
