Couple of shots off: Dickinson Trinity finishes runner-up, 8 strokes behind Kindred for Class B team title

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson Trinity freshman Willy Jahner watches his putt on hole No. 6 during the final round of the Class B state boys golf tournament on Wednesday at Prairie West Golf Course in Mandan.

By Royal McGregor

May 29, 2013 at 10:31 PM

MANDAN -- The Dickinson Trinity golf team's goal was to finish Wednesday with a Class B state title.

Though the Titans' play improved from day one, Kindred supplied the low numbers during crunch time.

As a result, Trinity finished runner-up with a two-day total of 660 and eight strokes back of the Vikings during the final round of the Class B state boys golf tournament on Wednesday at Prairie West Golf Course.

"I can't say that I'm happy about it, but I'll take it," Trinity senior Nathaniel Knopik said. "If we would have played well the first day, we could have easily had state. We just didn't do it, but we came back and played pretty well the second day."

The Titans applied the pressure in the opening nine, but Kindred's Blake Anderson helped answer the call for his team. The senior led the Vikings with a two-day total of 155.

With the win, Kindred repeated as state champions.

"I got it going my way and shot two over on the back, which is what we needed to close it out," Anderson said. "Our resilience is key. We had some rough patches, but we knew what we needed to do and we've been here before. We're really glad to get it done again."

Trinity had multiple turnaround performances including freshman Willy Jahner, who knocked off 13 strokes from his day one total, shot a 71. Jahner finished with a two-day total of 155.

"Second is OK, but we really wanted first," Jahner said. "Nathaniel was the only one who played well the first day."

All-around the Titans were able to lower their scores. One player that wasn't able to repeat his opening round performance was senior Nathaniel Knopik, who guided the team with a 73 on the first day.

"They were a little bit better," Trinity second-year head coach Tyler Reisenauer said. "We definitely had our opportunities to gain those eight strokes back. I have no complaints. The boys played well.

"The main thing with these guys is to keep them positive. They are going to hit bad shots. They are going to have bad holes. They just have to maintain the positive attitude."

Knopik entered the day one stroke behind Northern Light's Nick Myhre for the state's top spot. After Knopik supplied a strong opening nine, he ran into a little trouble in the back. He took quadruple bogey on Hole No. 11.

"He was right there and he had two bad holes," Reisenauer said. "When you are playing in the final group having two bad holes is hard to comeback. Nathaniel had a great senior year and we are definitely going to miss him."

After being put in a four-stroke deficit in a matter of one hole, Knopik wasn't able to climb back within content of the medalist. Knopik ended in a tie for fourth with a 154.

"I was confident going into the back nine," Knopik said after shooting a 37 on the front nine. "I felt like I could give (Myhre) a run for his money. I just jumped the gun on 11 and after that tee it was a little frustrating, but I fought back as best as I could."

Myhre went on to take medalist honors with a two-day total of 146. The junior finished runner-up last season at the state tournament and he said he was able to learn from previous experiences.

"I played solid, but I was hoping for a lot better," Myhre said. "I stayed away from that big number. I made a lot of pars and threw in a couple birdies and bogeys."

As for playing in the final group, Myhre said there are always nerves, whether it was the state tournament or any other invitational.

"I'm nervous every tournament," he said with a smile. "I like having the crowd. It doesn't make me anymore nervous. It fires me up. I was nervous from the first tee shot on day one to the last putt on day two."

South Border won the two individual awards as David Sayler was named Senior Athlete of the Year, while Jeremy St. Aubin was named Coach of the Year.

In the last two state tournaments, Trinity has opened with a tough round followed by solid resurgence on day two. Jahner hopes the team is able to learn from its previous mistakes for next season.

"We are going to miss Nathaniel next year, he is a good leader," Jahner said. "We have four people with two years of state tournament experience."

Reisenauer added: "Playing with the same guys the whole year and once you get to the state tournament you are playing with different guys from other schools, parents and people watching. It's a different atmosphere. It takes a while to get used to that stuff."

Class B boys golf state tournament

Prairie West Golf Course, Mandan

Team scores

1. Kindred 329-323--652. 2. Dickinson Trinity 337-323--660. 3. Central Cass 333-328--661. 4. Northern Lights 342-331--673. 5. South Border 340-341--681. 6. Beulah 340-345--685. 7. Fargo Oak Grove 341-347--688. 8. Heart River 351-339--690. 9. Rugby 357-339--696. 10. Minot Ryan 357-344--701. 11. Lewis & Clark-Berthold 359-350--709. 12. Hatton-Northwood-Thompson 366-350--716. 13. (tie) Park River 369-353--722 and Grafton 364-358--722. 15. Napoleon 387-369--756. 16. Sargent Central 378-384--762. 17. Watford City 386-377--763. 18. Kenmare 378-389--767.

Top 10 individuals

(All-state)

1. David Myhre, NL, 72-74--146. 2. David Sayler, SB, 74-75--149. 3. Ellery Bresnahan, CC, 78-75--153. 4. (tie) Nathaniel Knopik, DT, 73-81--154, and Jaeden Jenson, Berth, 79-75--154. 6. (tie) Blake Anderson, Kin, 76-79--155, and Willy Jahner, DT, 84-71--155. 8. Jack McClintock, Rug, 76-80--156. 9. Jake Preston, Hillsboro-Central Valley, 83-75--158. 10. Ryan Ross, Berth, 83-76--159.

By teams

Kindred (652): Blake Anderson 76-79--155, Cody Pulczinski 83-80--163, Ian Anderson 88-77--165, Austin Pulczinski 82-87--169, Riley Holland 93-93--186, Brady Kappes 94-94--188.

Dickinson Trinity (660): Nathaniel Knopik 73-81--154, Willy Jahner 84-71--155, Jaret Lee 87-83--170, Connor Friske 93-88--181, David Pokorny 95-89--184, Hunter Jerome 94-90--184.

Central Cass (661): Ellery Bresnahan 78-75--153, Devin Rehovsky 81-87--168, Jacob Geritz 87-82--169, Connor Rieniets 89-84--173, Garrett Ebach 87-87--174, Alex Geritz 97-87--184.

Northern Lights (673): Nick Myhre 72-74--146, Dalton Poitra 88-79--167, Brody Cahill 88-91--179, Casey Julson 94-87--181, Cole Thibert 103-99--202, Tanner Langan 103-114--217.

South Border (681): Danny Sayler 74-75--149, Matt Rueb 87-85--172, Adam Wishek 88-91--179, Ross Knoll 91-98--189, Jayden Lippert 101-90--191, Matt Kretschmar 102-96--198.

Beulah (685): Noah Iverson 86-86--172, Derek Morris 81-81--162, Logan Obrigewitch 89-88--177, Hunter Obridgewitch 85-93--178, Zach Kessler 91-90--181, Connor Candrian 88-96--184.

Oak Grove (688): Ben Goehring 79-85--164, Carter Kretchman 86-86--172, Cole Hill 88-87--175, C.J. Johnson 88-93--181, Nick Card 95-89--184, Coulton Dangerfield 96-92--188.

Heart River (690): Joey Wagner 84-81--165, Zach Miller 86-82--168, Mitch Krebs 88-86--174, Seth Keator 93-90--183, Kale Hushka 102-110--212, Trayden Jacobson 107-107--214.

Rugby (696): Jack McClintock 76-80--156, Benji Miller 86-82--168, Kyle Halvorson 102-85--187, Pat Stadum 95-96--191, Noah Kraft 104-92--196, Caleb Hershey 100-102--202.

Minot Ryan (701): Kalan Elm 89-77--166, Zach Wald 85-84--169, Josh Nelson 88-90--178, Aidan Shafer 95-93--188, Wyatt Ledoux 103-98--201, Ben Meyer 135-143--278.

Lewis & Clark-Berthold (709): Jaeden Jenson 79-75--154, Ryan Ross 83-76--159, Tanner Blahut 95-103--198, Colton Ryan 105-96--201, Adam Knudsvig 102-110--212, Casey Peisar 118-103--221.

HNT (716): Carl Knutson 84-78--162, Ole Knutson 93-88--181, Jace Pederson 96-90--186, Jens Johnson 93-94--187, Brandon Stevens 108-94--202, Devon Praska 110-104--214.

Park River (722): Brit Brouillard 88-79--167, Carter Arendt 92-87--179, Josh Ruzicka 93-93--186, Spencer Rehovsky 96-94--190, Jordan Johnson 105-107--212, Daniel Onstad 118-116--234.

Grafton (722): John Robideaux 82-83--165, Zach Feltman 90-90--180, Pete Hills 96-92--188, Josh Burianek 96-93--189, Landon Einarson 102-97--199, Scott Gorder 103-101--204.

Napoleon (756): Trent Fettig 86-87--173, Bryce Fettig 100-93--193, Eli Hilzendeger 104-91--195, Grant Weigel 98-98--196, Braydin Jangula 103-102--205, Tyler Moser 104-104--208.

Sargent Central (762): Justin Mlnarik 90-88--178, Caleb Christianson 87-92--179, Brook Bergh 100-100--200, Tyrone Bergh 104-104--208, Adam Weber 104-108--212, Rio Bergh 101-117--218.

Watford City (763): Alex Hanson 92-90--182, Colter Maki 90-94--184, Charles Villanueva 99-92--191, Jonathan Dunn 108-101--209, Cody Johnson 105-108--213, Devyn Marquardt 111-104--215.

Kenmare (767): Hunter Harris 83-86--169, Kyler Melby 97-91--188, Jace Helmers 98-102--200,Kirkland Melby 100-110--210, Tye Rasmussen 132-126--258.

Other individuals

Bottineau: Zack Monson 93-85--178.

Carrington: Jarret Bauer 109-108--217.

Central Prairie: Brett Williams 80-81--161.

Drayton-St. Thomas-Thompson: Grant Schumacher 83-86--169.

Edgeley-Kulm: James Delaurier 85-75--160.

Harvey-Wells County: Aaron Knudtson 87-95--182, Koby Houchin 88-110--198.

Hettinger-Scranton: Denby Lueck 101-123--224.

Hillsboro-Central Valley: Jake Preston 83-75--158.

Lidgerwood-Hankinson-Fairmount: Josh McLaughlin 88-83--171.

Minot Our Redeemer's: Jordan Dohms 99-85--184.