MILBANK, S.D. — Area youth golfers put together strong performances Wednesday at the South Dakota Golf Association junior tour stop, held at Whetstone Creek Golf Club.
In the girls 12-13 nine-hole division, Paisley Neale of Watertown captured first place by carding a 54. Her hometown teammate, Lydia Schafer, followed closely behind to secure third place with a 55.
Watertown golfers also found success in the boys nine-hole divisions. In the 12-13 age group, Madden Stein earned a second-place finish with a 56, finishing just two strokes behind division winner Cole Neal of Aberdeen. In the 9 and under division, Ethan Stein took third place with a 55, while Carson Wahl finished fourth with a 56. Mason Vaslka of Warner won the division with a 44.
In the 10-11 boys nine-hole division, Watertown’s Luke VanLaecken placed fifth after shooting an 88. Luke Snyder of Aberdeen claimed the top spot with a 52.
In the 18-hole divisions, Jackson Ahmann led the Watertown contingent in the 14-15 boys group, placing fourth with an 89. Riley Randall finished seventh in the same division with a 94. Logan Borns of Clark took home the gold with a score of 81.
In the intermediate 12-13 boys 18-hole division, Sam VanLaecken placed eighth with a 105, and Brody Palmquist finished ninth with a 106. Braylon Liebl of Aberdeen won the division with an 88.
Other division winners on Wednesday included Brady Kirch of Rock Rapids, Iowa, who won the boys 16-18 division with an 82; Ellis Johnson of Aberdeen, who took the girls 16-18 title with an 87; and Zoey Zeigler of Winner, who claimed the girls 9 and under crown with a 56.
WTNSports.com 