RAPID CITY The Brookings boys golf team finished in fourth place in the Class AA State Tournament on Tuesday at Meadowbrook Golf Course in Rapid City.
The fourth-place finish was the best in 26 years for the Bobcats as they shot 33-over par as a team. They shot a 319 in round one and a 290 in round two. The 290 on Tuesday was the first time that Brookings shot under 300 as a team in the State Tournament and was the lowest round of any team in the tournament.
Brookings head coach Andy Lee said he talked with his four seniors the night before the final day of the tournament and wanted them to decide how they wanted to end their careers.
I think we had a really good conversation the night before. It was no secret, the seniors knew it was their last day going into day two. I decided to bring it up because they needed a little pressure. We just talked about how there were two ways they could look at it. The first way is, its my last day and Im going to be really nervous and its going to be hard, or I could do something special and leave my mark on Bobcat golf, Lee said.
Harrisburg won the tournament after shooting 14-over par. OGorman came in second (+20) and Sioux Falls Lincoln finished in third (+25). Brandon Valley rounded out the top five (+40).
Tyson Lunn was the top finisher for the Bobcats and he tied for second place after shooting three-over par (147). He tied with Sioux Falls Lincolns Braxton Hollan, Harrisburgs Charlie Swift and OGormans Jayden Antonen.
[Lunn] really likes those moments, Lee said. He wants to play college golf and he likes those moments where he has people following and watching. We got a chance to watch a lot of holes with him because he teed off quite a bit after our first five and we had our whole team watching his final five or six holes. He just thrives in those moments and that was the corner he turned this year. He was extremely excited to play in that final group and he just took it and went with it and shot a 71 and it was awesome to see him in that moment.
Brookings Jase Bauer and Issak Earley each tied for 21st (155). Andrew Heinze tied for 39th (160) and Rhys Heiberger tied for 43rd (161). Jack Baszler tied for 52nd (163).
We do not finish in fourth place without Jase Bauer, Lee said. He had an unbelievable three-under 69 in his final high school round. [All of the seniors] stepped up big time for us.
The four seniors scored the highest for the Bobcats in their final round for Brookings. Lee said it was bittersweet to have them finish out their high school careers, but they deserved the success that they had on Tuesday.
I just thought those seniors really took over, Lee said. Nothing against the younger guys, they helped us a lot this year. But it was really fun to see the four seniors, we took their four scores on the final day, and just to see them take the pressure and run with it was awesome. It was a really fun group. It was bittersweet watching them finish those rounds, but I just told them, what a way to finish.
They were always rooting for each other and always had each other’s backs and it was really fun to see them come together [on Tuesday]. Im just really proud of the effort they put in over the past six years because this was a tournament in the making for them and they proved that they should be in that top four.
OGormans Taten Mauney won the individual tournament after shooting a two-under par 142.
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