Hill City boys golf right outside top 5 at state tournament
Rangers tied for 6th place after Day 1, Wessington Springs leads
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - The Hill City boys golf team is tied for 6th place after the first round of Monday’s Class “B” state golf tournament in Brookings.
The Rangers qualified for state last week after winning the Region 6B tournament for the second straight season. Some of the Hill City boys have played at the Brookings Country Club in years past, and hope their experience will translate the next couple of days.
“While we’re still competitors, we all have that fail safe in case one of us does bad we know another one can pick us up,” Hill City junior Leo Daiss said of the Rangers team chemistry.
Chemistry looks a little bit different in golf versus in other sports where everyone works together. However, at state this week, Hill City is banking on their group preparation to lead them to a championship.
“We are really lucky to be be able to play and practice here at Hart Ranch,” Hill City head coach Josh Daiss said. “Obviously one of the nicest facilities in the state. A lot of the Class “B” schools maybe don’t have that opportunity.”
While everyone may not have the same resources as the Rangers, most the golfers who qualified for state will have more than one shot to get back to this point.
“All the teams around here are young,” Josh said. “A lot of young good golfers in the region and in the state really. So, we’re looking obviously forward to having the same group next year, and then even after that we’ve got a young group coming up after that.”
“Around Region 6B it’s a lot tighter,” Leo said. “And then once you get into state there’s people that you recognize and people that you know.”
Hill City is looking to Leo Daiss and Zane Messick for composure this week. Only a sophomore and junior, the two bring years of experience to the final days of the season.
“Both Leo and Zane have qualified for the state golf tournament since they were 7th and 8th graders,” Josh said. “In fact, it’s at Brookings this year, both of those kids played at that golf course when they were young kids.”
The focus this week is staying in the moment which has been a concern for some. Control what you can control and let everything else fall into place.
“The biggest thing for me is just keeping it all focused and not getting...I look too much at the big picture and I worry about what if I don’t play well my team doesn’t do well,” Hill City sophomore Zane Messick said. “And I got to just tone in and think more about just what I need to do and not what everybody else is going on.”
The Rangers will be back on the course Tuesday for Round 2.
For state results, click here.
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