MHS girls' golf kicks off season today

Like many other Mitchell High School spring athletics, the girls’ golf team is taking full advantage of the good weather Mother Nature has dealt.

“It’s been an unbelievable spring,” said Mitchell coach Mark Horan, whose team opens its season at 1 p.m. today in a triangular against Yankton and Sioux Falls Washington at Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell. “We’ve been on the course playing holes and we typically don’t get to do that this time of year, so we’re taking advantage of that.”

Compared to last year, Horan said the team has gotten a head start with being able to get some practice early on.

Horan said the Kernels are a young team and they have a lot to work on.

“There are no seniors on the team and only one junior,” Horan said. “We’ve got a whole bunch of sophomores and a lot of freshman, so we’re looking at this year as kind of a rebuilding year.”

Among the veteran golfers are junior Kristin Sabers and sophomore Macy Miller. Horan said that Sabers is one of the top ten golfers in the state. He also feels Miller has a shot at making the all-state team this year.

Sophomore Alyssa Sorenson, freshman Kylie Barington, freshman Madison VanWalleghen, sophomore Allison Miller and sophomore Baily Magstadt are all underclassmen who Horan said have a good chance of making the top-six players on the team. Sorenson is a returning letter winner, and the rest also have experience from being on the team last year.

“All of them have shown a lot of improvement in practice and will be battling for those top six spots,” Horan said. “After our first match, I’ll be able to have a first impression of how the girls will be competing this year. Things can definitely change throughout the season.”

Despite the team’s youth, Horan said there were a lot of girls who came out for the golf team this season, and he’s excited to see what the team will be able to do. On Tuesday, the Kernels have a dual with Huron, a meet Horan said he’ll be able to send 12 to 14 girls to compete. He said it will be a good opportunity for everyone to get a chance to play early in the year.

“We’ve got good numbers going into the season. We have 18 girls who have signed up for golf, so that’s a good sign,” Horan said.

So far, the team has been working on getting back in the swing of things and preparing for its first competition.

“We’ve just been knocking off the rust,” Horan said. “You can’t play golf all winter so we’ve been working on getting back into the rhythm of things, getting our swings back and working on the fundamentals.”

Tags: sports, updates, kernels, golf