BROOKINGS – Aberdeen Central finished with a pair of top-10 golfers at the State AA tournament on Tuesday in Brookings.
Emma Dohrer took eighth place with a two-day total of 160, and Olivia Braun tied for ninth with a 163 to help lead the Golden Eagles to a fifth place finish as a team.
Harrisburg, behind medalist Reese Jansa who defended her individual state title, won a tightly contested team race that featured six strokes of separation among the top five teams. Central entered the day one stroke off the lead behind Mitchell, but soon fell behind by double digits.
“We were one down going into today and then about 3-4 holes into it I look at it and we’re 11 down. That kind of tells the story,” said Central coach Kim Zimmerman. “It’s really difficult when you have that many good teams bunched up. You really work hard to get into the position you are on day one which we did, and then let it slip away kind of quickly.”
While the Eagles stayed in touch throughout the final round with a total of 340 for a two-day total of 667, they were never able to get over the hump and climb into the lead.
“We just got down too many, too quick,” Zimmerman said.
The squad was led once again by Dohrer and Braun who had breakout seasons for the Eagles.
“Two eighth-graders making all-state, they’re all-conference, their achievements are above and beyond,” Zimmerman said. “It’s quite an accomplishment to go out and do what they have done all year long.”
Leah Gough finished 26th with a 171, and Kyley Wirebaugh tied for 35th with a 178. Hayley Wirebaugh shot an 88 on the day, once again giving Central four golfers under 90.
In the end, it wasn’t quite enough to fend off a powerful field of quality teams.
Zimmerman expected the tourney to be tight at the top like so many events had been throughout the course of the season.
“That’s what made the season enjoyable, exciting, you had to compete day in and day out. You just didn’t know,” Zimmerman said. “We were lucky enough to come out on top in a number of those, but it wasn’t by a lot of strokes.”
One of those major events that Central won was the Eastern South Dakota Conference Tournament, which featured three of the four teams that finished in front of the Eagles at state.
“It kind of makes our conference championship that much more special, too,” Zimmerman said considering the Eagles finished in front of Harrisburg, Mitchell and Pierre. “Nothing away from the state tournament, but that conference championship was huge. We shot our best round down in Pierre. That really meant a lot to me and the kids, that they went out and did what they did that day.”
Central, which was led most of the season by a seventh-grader and two eighth-graders, has plenty to look forward to in the future after a season full of major accomplishments.
“That’s the thing going into the summer months and going into next year,” Zimmerman said, “you have a lot of positives to look at.”
To see complete meet results, click on the following link:
