April 28, 2015

Watford boys golf team competes in two tournaments

By Neal A. Shipman
Farmer Editor

The Watford City boys golf team had a busy last week as they competed in two tournaments. The Wolves took sixth at the Beulah Invitational on Thursday and then finished in third place at the Stanley Invitational on Friday.
“We have a young team this year with only one golfer returning from last year’s region championship team,” states Scott Wisness, Wolves’ head coach. “Korbin Knutson will be looked to for leadership this year as he greatly improved throughout the season last year and was named to the All Region Team.”
At Beulah, Knutson led the Wolves with an 18-hole score of 93 followed by Brett Skarda, 94, and  Adrian Castaneda, 95.
Rounding out the other individual scores for Watford City was Jarek Hogue, 107, Austin Johnson, 117, and Cooper Knutson, 111.
Team scores: 1. Dickinson Trinity, 309; 2. Heart River, 315; 3. Beulah 342; 4. Southern McLean, 370; 5. Beach, 386; 6. Watford City, 389; 7. Hazen, 411; 8. Grant County-Flasher, 448; 9. Standing Rock, 494.
The Wolves improved their scores considerably on Friday at Stanley with Brett Skarda tying for fifth individually with a score of 80, while Adrian Castaneda tied for eighth with a score of 84.
Other Watford City scores at Stanley were Sean Larsen, 88, Colton MacDonnell, 90, Korbin Knutson, 94, and Jamison Flynn 95.
Team scores: 1. Stanley, 320; 2. Kenmare, 330; 3. Watford City, 342; 4. Tioga, 344; 5. New Town/Parshall,  373; 6. Des Lacs-Burlington, 374; 7. Lewis & Clark, 392; 8. Divide County, 414.
“Skarda, a freshman, has already stepped up his game as he placed in the top 10 in two tournaments this year,” states Wisness. “He has hit the ball really well and will be competitive with the top golfers in the region as well.
According to Wisness, Castaneda,  MacDonnell, Flynn and Larsen, who  are all sophomores, played very well at the Stanley Invitational.
Vying for varsity spots will be junior Logan Mehlhoff, sophomores Kallen LaDue-Bruington, Lane Kinden, Brady Leiseth and Dominic Ferrari, and freshmen Austin Johnson, Jarek Hogue and Cooper Knutson.
“Stanley returns everyone this year with a young team and looks to be the team to beat in the region,” states Wisness. “Tioga and Kenmare will also be very competitive in the region as Hunter Harris from Kenmare and Mitchell Fifer from Tioga will be two of the top golfers in the state. And  Divide County, New Town/Parshall, and Des Lacs-Burlington also have potential in the region.”
With a young team, Wisness says that the team’s goal is to place in the top three in the region and to again qualify for the State Tournament.
“We will be travelling to New Town on May 1 for their invitational and to Burlington on May 4 for the Northwest Conference Tournament,” states Wisness. “Both will be great experience for our young golf team and will give us a chance to compete against those top teams in our region.”
While the golf season is just getting started, Wisness likes what he is seeing from his young team.
“You never know, we may surprise our region teams again and win the Region Championship for the third year in a row,” states Wisness. “With the attitude my golfers have, I have confidence that they could accomplish that.”

WATFORD CITY WEATHER