West Fargo sophomore Riley Johnson shoots par to lead after Day 1 of Class A state boys golf tournament
West Fargo has been waiting for this moment for the last three years — a solid round to start the state tournament.By: Royal McGregor, The Dickinson Press
- Riley Johnson
- Ty Kennedy
- Cody Reynolds
- Jacob Dehne
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West Fargo has been waiting for this moment for the last three years — a solid round to start the state tournament.
The Packers used sophomore Riley Johnson’s even par on a blustery day to take the a seven-stroke lead after the first day of the Class A state golf tournament on Tuesday at Heart River Golf Course.
“We’ve never fared well at the start of the state tournament,” West Fargo co-head coach Chuck Gad said. “We’ve always gotten so far behind the first day and our goal (this year) was to get a good chance. I think we did that. I think we did quite well.”
Gad put it so kindly.
“It’s a lot better to be ahead than it is behind,” he said with a laugh.
Johnson posted dual 36s on the front and back nine to finish out the day in first place at 72. Though the conditions weren’t favorable for scoring, Johnson said playing in the wind is one aspect golfers get used to in North Dakota.
“Short game was very important,” Johnson said. “That’s pretty normal when you play in the wind and, living North Dakota, you need to practice your knockdown shots. Every round you go out, you have play to play through wind in North Dakota.”
The West Fargo sophomore has a two-stroke advantage over Grand Forks Central’s Ty Kennedy, who shot a 74. Johnson said he was pleased with the round.
“I was very happy with my round,” he said. “I left some shots out there, but I’m still very happy my round.”
As a team, the Packers had Connor Holland end with a 78, while Nick Evin added a 79 and Payton Johnson came in with an 83. Gad said the only thing the boys wanted after the first day was a shot at a state title.
“The kids are where they want to be,” Gad said. “It’s kind of been this way all year with (Fargo) Shanley. We’ll have to go out and shoot great golf tomorrow to win.”
Shanley is nipping at West Fargo’s heels in second place with a 319. The Deacons’ No. 2 golfer, Grady Meyer, had a tough time on the course shooting a 90, but it was No. 6 player Ben Wobaum who came to the rescue again with an 82. Wobaum helped Shanley win the East Region Tournament and he came through in the clutch again.
“He (Wobaum) came through the second time in a row,” Shanley head coach Don Johnson said. “He’s pretty young and this is his first state tournament. I give him a lot of credit for keeping it together. I’m sure he was nervous.
“The shocker is Grady shooting a 90. I bet Grady hasn’t shot a 90 in probably three or four years. He guaranteed me he’ll be back tomorrow.”
Tyler Rivard is leading Shanley and sitting in fourth individual with a 77. The senior struggled was five over on front nine but picked up the pace on the back nine firing off a 36.
“He’s been that way, he never gives up,” Don Johnson said. “Tyler is a scraper.”
Bismarck High, Bismarck Century and Bismarck St. Mary’s are all separated by six strokes. Century, the West Region champions, are in fourth at 326. The Patriots are two strokes behind Bismarck and four strokes ahead of St. Mary’s.
“Realistically, West Fargo is at a 312 and that’s a lot of shots to divvy up between four guys,” Century head coach Lynn Gress said. “We’d have to play pretty well as a team to overcome that. I don’t want to say that we’re playing for second, but it certainly looks like it could be that way.”
Senior Jacob Dehne, Century’s No. 1 golfer and West Region player of the year, is in third with a 76. Though he was four over par, Dehne’s putts weren’t falling.
“He hit it pretty well today and really didn’t get anything out of his round, because he didn’t make any putts,” Gress said. “That was kind of disappointing to hit as well as he did in the winds like that and get nothing out of it.”
There are currently two players tied for fifth. West Fargo’s Connor Holland and Shanley’s Cam Hager each posted a 78. Holland led the East, averaging 72 shots per 18 holes. The West’s average leader was St. Mary’s sophomore Jake DeForest, who is in a tie for seventh at 79.
The biggest surprise of the day was East Region Tournament champion Fargo South’s Landon Poss being disqualified because of a scorecard infraction. His round on the first day doesn’t count toward his team score. He is able to come back and play the second day.
Win or lose, Don Johnson knows the second day of the state tournament will be fun.
“Seven strokes isn’t that many and I’m sure West Fargo is thinking the same,” he said. “It’s going to be fun, however it turns out.”
West Fargo isn’t feeling any type of pressure. The Packers just want to go out and perform well in the second round. Tee times begin at 9 a.m. today.
“These kids are so even-keel and they’ve been that way for a couple years,” Gad said. “They came off and felt like they accomplished what they wanted to do today and are looking forward to playing tomorrow.”
Day 1 Results
Class A State Golf Tournament
At Heart River Golf Course in Dickinson
Team scores: 1, West Fargo 312. 2, Fargo Shanley 319. 3, Bismarck High 324. 4, Bismarck Century 326. 5, Bismarck St. Mary’s 330. 6, Wahpeton 334. 7, Minot 335. 8, Grand Forks Red River 337. 9 (tie), Dickinson 340; Fargo Davies 340. 11, Fargo South 345. 12, Mandan 351.
Individual results: 1, Riley Johnson, West Fargo, 72. 2, Ty Kennedy, Grand Forks Central, 74. 3, Jacob Dehne, Century, 76. 4, Tyler Rivard, Shanley, 77. 5 (tie), Connor Holland, West Fargo, 78; Cam Hager, Shanley, 78. 7 (tie), Nick Evin, West Fargo, 79; Nick Stavn, Bismarck, 79; Jake DeForest, St. Mary’s, 79. 10 (tie), Nick Nustad, Bismarck, 80. 10 (tie), Jordan Smith, St. Mary’s, 80; Drew Lingle, Century, 80; Zach Overvold, Davies, 81. 14 (tie), Ryan Ames, Wahpeton, 81; Luke Strom, Red River, 81; Thomas Strandemo, Shanley, 82. 17 (tie), Trenton Schwehr, Bismarck, 82; Nick Jenson, Valley City, 82; BJ Mahar, Williston, 82; Ben Wobaum, Shanley, 82; Austen Strom, Fargo North, 82.
23 (tie), Payton Johnson, West Fargo, 83; Derek Weninger, Bismarck, 83; Tanner Halter, Dickinson, 83; Austin Fournier, Dickinson, 83; Brady Ohman, Red River, 83; Taran Albright, Minot, 83; Ben Sorenson, Valley City, 83. 31 (tie), Sam Wangler, Bismarck, 84; Jared Lentz, Valley City, 84; Jared Steen, Fargo South, 84; Thomas Nelson, Wahpeton, 84; Jake Richels, Wahpeton, 84. 37 (tie), Troy Ressler, Century, 85; Jake Hintz, Fargo South, 85; Charlie Hermes, Wahpeton, 85; Sean Ternes, Century, 85; Josh McCormick, St. Mary’s, 85; Alex Priebe, Dickinson, 85.
43 (tie), Cole Johnson, West Fargo, 86; Braxton Heupel, Minot, 86; Grant Dvorak, St. Mary’s 86; Jersey Kelly, Minot, 86; Zach Sklebar, Fargo North, 86. 48 (tie), Colton Murphy, Mandan, 87; Chase Fuginger, Fargo South, 87; Tucker Bruington, Mandan, 87; Jake Kist, Mandan, 87; Eric Christiansen, Wahpeton, 87; Parker Sirek, Wahpeton, 87. 54 (tie), Max Restemayer, Davies, 88; Matt Schirado, Bismarck, 88; Bryan Pallen, Davies, 88; Joe Kassian, St. Mary’s, 88; Ricky Phillips, Grand Forks Central, 88. 59 (tie), Jon Baune, Fargo South, 89; Jon Nord, Red River, 89; Thomas Gilchrist, St. Mary’s, 89; Austin Rene, Jamestown, 89.
64 (tie), Jack Eickhof, Red River, 90; Zach Vollan, Mandan, 90; Grady Meyer, Shanley, 90; Tyer Kast, Minot, 90; Trevor Swangler, Davies, 90; Michael Storandt, Shanley, 90. 70 (tie), Taylor Trenda, Mandan, 92; Tucker Windels, Davies, 92. 70 (tie), Carter Donnan, Dickinson, 92; Ty Jones, Minot, 92; Tyler Miller, Century, 92; Barret Eickhof, Red River, 92. 76, Chase Pulczinski, West Fargo, 94. 77 (tie), Jordan Beyer, Century, 95; Jakobi Lux, Jamestown, 95. 79, Jake Wavra, Grand Forks Central, 96.
80, Austin Tweet, Mandan, 99. Andrew Thompson, Grand Forks Central, DQ. Landon Poss, Fargo South, DQ. Shay Ridl, Dickinson, WD. Jarrett Etches, Fargo South, WD.
Tee Times
Tee No. 1
9 a.m. – Alex Priebe, Dickinson; Josh McCormick, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Sean Ternes, Bismarck Century.
9:08 – Troy Ressler, Bismarck Century; Jake Hintz, Fargo South; Charlie Hermes, Wahpeton.
9:16 – Jared Lentz, Valley City; Nathan Hemming, Grand Forks Red River; Jake Richels, Wahpeton.
9:24 – Sam Wangler, Bismarck High; Jared Steen, Fargo South; Thomas Nelson, Wahpeton.
9:32 – Austin Fournier, Dickinson; Taran Albright, Minot; Ben Sorenson, Valley City.
9:40 – Tanner Halter, Dickinson; Brady Ohman, Grand Forks Red River; Aaron Pallen, Fargo Davies.
9:48 – Nick Jenson, Valley City; Payton Johnson, West Fargo; Derek Weninger, Bismarck High.
9:56 – Austen Strom, Fargo North; BJ Mahar, Williston; Ben Wobaum, Fargo Shanley.
10:04 – Luke Strom, Grand Forks Red River; Thomas Strandemo, Fargo Shanley; Trenton Schwehr, Bismarck High.
10:12 – Drew Lingle, Bismarck Century; Zach Overvold, Fargo Davies; Ryan Ames, Wahpeton.
10:20 – Nick Nustad, Bismarck High; Jordan Smith, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Cody Reynolds, Minot.
10:28 – Nick Evin, West Fargo; Nick Stavn, Bismarck High; Cam Hager, Fargo Shanley.
10:36 – Tyler Rivard, Fargo Shanley; Connor Holland, West Fargo; Jake DeForest, Bismarck St. Mary’s.
10:44 – Riley Johnson, West Fargo; Ty Kennedy, Grand Forks Central; Jacob Dehne, Bismarck Century.
Tee No. 10
9 a.m. – Austin Tweet, Mandan; Andrew Thompson, Grand Forks Central; Jarrett Etches, Fargo South.
9:08 – Jake Wavra, Grand Forks Central; Landon Poss, Fargo South; Shay Ridl, Dickinson.
9:16 – Chase Pulczinski, West Fargo; Jordan Beyer, Bismarck Century; Jakobi Lux, Jamestown.
9:24 – Ty Jones, Minot; Tyler Miller, Bismarck Century; Barrett Eickhof.
9:32 – Taylor Trenda, Mandan; Tucker Windels, Fargo Davies; Carter Donnan, Dickinson.
9:40 – Tyler Kast, Minot; Trevor Swangler, Fargo Davies; Michael Storandt, Fargo Shanley.
9:48 – Jack Eickhof, Grand Forks Red River; Zach Vollan, Mandan; Grady Meyer, Fargo Shanley.
9:56 – Luke Hanel, Dickinson; Thomas Gilchrist, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Austin Rene, Jamestown.
10:04 – Joe Kassian, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Jon Baune, Fargo South; Jon Nord, Grand Forks Red River.
10:12 – Matt Schirado, Bismarck High; Bryan Pallen, Fargo Davies; Ricky Phillips, Grand Forks Central.
10:20 – Max Restemeyer, Fargo Davies; Jake Kist, Mandan; Parker Sirek, Wahpeton.
10:28 – Chase Fuginger, Fargo South; Tucker Bruington, Mandan; Eric Christiansen, Wahpeton.
10:36 – Jersey Kelly, Minot; Zach Sklebar, Fargo North; Colton Murphy, Mandan.
10:44 – Cole Johnson, West Fargo; Braxton Heupel, Minot; Grant Dvorak, Bismarck St. Mary’s.
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