Oct. 15—GRAND FORKS — The first two weeks of October have been thrilling for Grand Forks Red River golfer Ella Speidel.
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, Speidel won the North Dakota Class A girls golf state tournament after shooting a 151 (7-over) over the two-day tournament at Prairie West Golf Club in Mandan. The Roughriders won the team state championship, too, their first since 2017.
Eleven days later, on Oct. 12, Speidel, a junior, announced her commitment to golf collegiately at UND.
“Obviously, with winning state as a team and individually, it feels great,” she said. “And then to build on to that, the offer, it was just like a complete full-circle moment. It was such a good feeling. It feels good.”
UND women’s golf coach Kris Kroetsch reached out to Speidel at the beginning of the summer to gauge her interest in playing college golf. Kroetsch watched Speidel at tournaments this fall, and Speidel took an official visit to her hometown school.
“I really liked Kris as a coach, and I thought we clicked really well,” Speidel said. “After some tournaments, he had given me an offer, and I knew it was the perfect fit.
“That was one of the big things, too. I love the fact that I get to stay at home and play for my hometown school. I’ve always been a UND fan. So to be able to play college golf for UND is just great.”
Kroetsch took over the golf program in July 2023 after more than 10 years as a PGA Teaching Professional in Fargo.
The Grand Forks native, who played men’s golf at UND from 1998-2001, is focused on improving UND’s status as a program.
“Kris has talked a lot about the future of the program,” Speidel said, “and it’s something that’s really appealing, and something that I definitely want to be a part of. It’s something I feel that I can hopefully contribute to. That was one of the main reasons, is that the future of the program is really bright, and it’s something I really just wanted to join and be a part of.”
Speidel’s fall season just ended, but she’s not afraid to think toward next year and her final season golfing at Red River.
“Obviously, it’d be cool to go back-to-back for state, as a team and individually,” she said, “but honestly, next year being my last year, I just want to enjoy every bit that I can of it.”
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