Area golf roundup for May 19: Thompson powers Spartans to region golf triumphs
May 20—BROOKINGS — Wessington Springs' JD Thompson won the individual medalist honors at the Region 2B boys golf tournament Tuesday at Edgebrook Golf Course. Thompson shot a round of 79, finishing one shot ahead of three other golfers, including teammate Luke Larson. Thompson hung tough after a triple bogey on the opening hole and starting 5-over-par in his first four holes, stabilizing to shoot 41 on the front nine and then firing a 38 over his final nine holes, including a key birdie at the par-4 16th hole late in his round.
De Smet's Gradyn Henrich and Hamlin's Aiden Abraham joined Larson by each shooting rounds of 80, with Henrich in second, Abraham in third and Larson fourth based on a scorecard tiebreaker. Wessington Springs and Howard emerged with the team state tournament berths out of Region 2B, with the Spartans winning the team title with a score of 249 and Howard in second with a score of 251. De Smet (253), Estelline/Hendricks (260) and Hamlin (262) rounded out the top-five team slots.
Howard's top finisher was Max Shumaker with a seventh-place finish and a score of 82, while Westyn Kizer was eighth and shot 83. Rowen Kizer (86) and Dre Bolden (89) each finished 14th and 18th respectively, and finished in state-qualifying positions. Sanborn Central/Woonsocket's Sam Baruth qualified for the state meet with a score of 85, good for 11th place.
Tucker Thompson had Wessington Springs' third counting team score with a round of 90 and finished 22nd. In the girls competition, Howard's Halle Schulz was the top area finisher with a second-place finish with a round of 88. Deubrook Area's Ava Crooks won the individual title with a round of 85, while De Smet's Brooke Jennings tied with Schulz for second with an 88.
The girls team title was won by Deubrook Area with a score of 265, while Elkton-Lake Benton was second (302), and Howard (306), Deuel (311) and Sanborn Central/Woonsocket (312) rounded out the top-five slots. Wessington Springs' Kaitlyn Braun and SCW's Allison Westendorf tied for 12th place and both qualified for the Class B state meet after shooting rounds of 100. The Class B state golf meet will be in Brookings on June 1-2, with the Class B girls competing at Edgebrook Golf Course and the Class B boys at Brookings Country Club.