Kernels finish in 14th at state tourney

Jacob Rice finished the second day of competition at the Class AA high school boys’ golf state tournament five strokes better than his first and helped Mitchell High School move up one spot in the standings to finish in 14th place Tuesday at Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell.

Rice finished in 38th place with a two-day total of 165, while Jaron Weich was the Kernels’ top finisher with a 163 to tie for 36th place. Both golfers are in their sophomore seasons.

As a team, Mitchell carded a 695 to finish in 14th place. The Kernels ended day one in 15th place but shot 13 strokes better than Sturgis to surpass the Scoopers in the standings.

“The kids did a lot better and felt better about the round,” Mitchell coach Sean Moen said about his team’s performance on the final day of the state tournament.

“We’re so young and there are a lot of years there for improvement.”

The Kernels’ team score from the second round was seven strokes better than their day one total.

Mitchell’s other golfers to compete in the state tournament were Aaron Sudbeck, who finished 77th with a 183; Tyson Allen, 80th with a 185; Landon Pooley, 87th with a 193; and Ryan Solberg, 90th with a 196.

“It’s a lot of pressure to try and perform with all the people watching,” Moen said. “I’m very happy with how they performed compared to how the season started.”

Solberg, a freshman who has played golf competitively for just two years, said he began to feel more comfortable on day two in his first state tournament and hopes the team can use what it learned heading into next season.

“I didn’t play too well, but it was interesting and a good experience,” he said.

“We’ll get better next year. We want to work a lot harder and we’ve got to get going.”

Moen said he doesn’t expect the competition in South Dakota’s highest class to drop anytime and wants to see his team mature into a contender.

“Double-A is just loaded every year,” he said.

“Our guys know what it takes and they’re going to work very hard. They’ve learned a lot and they’re very dedicated.”

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