YANKTON — Aberdeen Central put three golfers in the top eight, but finished on the short side of a 3-team race to the finish at the Eastern South Dakota Conference girls’ golf tournament Thursday. The Golden Eagles (334) were third behind Mitchell (323) and Watertown (332).

“I think as things played out throughout the course of the year, you kind of figured it was going to come down to Watertown, Mitchell and us,” said Central coach Kim Zimmerman. “It did just that.”

The three squads have traded victories on a regular basis throughout the season, a virtual merry-go-round of podium finishes. Thursday happened to play out in favor of the Kernels. 

“I thought maybe if you shoot in the three-teens, you’d win it, which it would have. One of our higher scores today. It’s unexpected, but it’s part of golf. It happens, and you tip your hat to Mitchell and move on.”

The higher score came on the heels of a 326 for the Golden Eagles on the same course just a handful of days ago.

“I think we’re a little disappointed, based on our goals and how we had played all year,” Zimmerman said. “Then you come to this and obviously didn’t play as well as we did in our practice round on Monday just a few days ago. Maybe thought we would play a bit better, but all in all, we didn’t.”

Olivia Braun continued her strong season with a top-five, carding a round of 80 to finish in a tie for fifth. Kyley Wirebaugh followed with an 82 in seventh place, while Emma Dohrer’s 84 put her in eighth place.

Chloe Vikander and Morgan Jones tied for 14th with identical rounds of 88.

All five individuals earned All-ESD honors for their performances.

“We had five all-conference (golfers),” Zimmerman said. “If you’d have told me we’d have five all-conference, I’d have said that’s probably good enough to win it. But not the case. I don’t think Watertown or Mitchell had five all-conference. I want to say they had three or four each, maybe. So I’m proud of the girls that achieved that honor.”

Central will have a bit of time off until the Golden Eagles return to Yankton for the Class AA state tournament June 3-4.

Team Points: Mitchell 323, Watertown 332, Aberdeen Central 334, Pierre 365, Brandon Valley 376, Brookings 376, Yankton 380, Harrisburg 392.

Top 15 Individual Results

1, Maddie Childs, Mitchell, 74; 2, Allison Meyerink, Mitchell, 75; 3, (tie) Elisa Homstad, Yankton, 79, and Avery Palmquist, Watertown, 79; 5, (tie) Aspen Reynolds, Watertown, 80, and Olivia Braun, Aberdeen Central, 80; 7, Kyley Wirebaugh, Aberdeen Central, 82; 8, Emma Dohrer, Aberdeen Central, 84; 9, Quinn Dannenbring, Mitchell, 85; 10, (tie) Hadley Hart, Pierre, 86, and Shelby Pearson, Watertown, 86;

12, (tie) Delilah Fuls, Brookings, 87, and Gabi Olson, Watertown, 87; 14, (tie) Chloe Vikander, Aberdeen Central 88, and Morgan Jones, Aberdeen Central, 88.

To see complete tournament results, click on the following link:

https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/10590270063124719669