SPEARFISH, S.D. — In the first round of qualifying for the Notah Begay III National Junior Golf Championship, Mitchell product Anna Eliason advanced with room to spare.
Eliason, who will be a junior at Mitchell High School in the fall, shot a round of 84 en route to a second-place finish in the girls 16-18 division at Elkhorn Ridge Golf Club on Wednesday, earning one of four spots into the regional qualifier, which will be held on August 11-12 at The Meadows at Mystic Lake in Prior Lake, Minnesota.
In total, 21 spots were awarded to golfers across eight age divisions. Chamberlain’s Trey Speer also qualified for the regional in the girls 16-18 division, coming in fourth place following a round of 89 across Elkhorn Ridge’s par-72 layout, claiming the final spot by two strokes. Yankton’s Ellia Homstad was the top division qualifier following a 5-over 77.
For the boys, Parkston’s Landon Weber secured one of the five qualifying spots into the regional event the boys 16-18 division, firing a 4-over 76 to finish in third place, carding three birdies for his round. Sioux Falls’ Jayden Antonen shot a 3-under 69 to secure top honors.
The local qualifier was held in conjunction with the South Dakota Golf Association’s two-day Sanford International Series event contested at Elkhorn Ridge and Spearfish Canyon Golf Club.
Eliason posted the highest finish among Mitchell-area golfers, securing a sixth-place result after shooting an 82 on Day 2 to post a two-day score of 166 in the girls competition. Speer was eighth at 177 following an 88 against Spearfish Canyon’s par-72 layout. Mitchell’s Mia Larson was 12th after posting a 184.
Rapid City’s Kaitlin Strain shot 75-74 to secure the girls’ medalist honors with a 149, besting Aberdeen’s Olivia Braun by four strokes. Rapid City’s Rylan Horning (157) was third, followed by Homstad (160) in fourth and Hartford’s Ari Jacobs (165) in fifth.
Weber was the highest Mitchell-area area boys finisher with a 162, finishing in 15th place following a Day 2 score of 86. Wessington Springs’ JD Thompson shot 81-86 en route to 19th at 167, Alexandria’s Will Jarding was 23rd with a 174 (87-87) and Mitchell’s Carter McCormick came in 27th after posting a 176 (89-87).
Antonen held on after a second-round 78 to defeat Jonathan DeBoer of Twin Brooks and Parker Reede of Spearfish in a playoff, winning on the first extra hole. All three golfers had a regulation score of 147. Rapid City’s Hayden Heig was fourth with a 152 and Fort Pierre’s Luke Olson was fifth at 153.
The next Sanford Series event takes place on Monday, June 30, at Moccasin Creek Country Club in Aberdeen.
Blake Durham is a Sports Reporter for the Mitchell Republic, having joined in October of 2023. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in December of 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in Communications. Durham can be found covering a variety of prep and collegiate sports in the area.
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