Sean Seefeld - Dickinson State Sports Information Graduate Assistant
Hawley, Minn. - Blue Hawk golf headed to Hawley Golf and Country Club for the 1st Annual Comet Invitational. The women continued to succeed from the fall conference tournament, taking 1st over University of Jamestown. After one day of play the women were all square with UJ, with a score of 321 (+37), the Blue Hawks performed great in the second round clearing the Jimmies by 15 strokes firing a 314 (+30) "running away with the tournament in the last 9 holes" as Head Coach Thadd O'Donnell stated.
4 of the Blue Hawk women finished inside the top 5. Brooklyn Materi finished 2nd place with a two day total of 157 (78,79), junior Ellia Soydara carded two 79's to finish in 3rd, senior Elly Leblanc finished 4th with a two day total of 159 (80,79), Cheyenne Jacobs rounded out the group carding a 161 (84,77). Freshman Jori Haugen capped off a strong fall showing with a two day total of 169 (87,82) good enough for 9th place overall. The two individuals for the Blue Hawk women were Emma Welch and Abby Beggar finishing 18th and 21st respectively.
Head Coach Thadd O'Donnell said this about the mental approach during the tournament. "I was very happy (with) how we competed. I think the takeaway was their mindset. We have been working on being where their shoes are, meaning playing in the moment, do not look ahead or behind."
The Blue Hawk men finished in a tie for 3rd place with Mayville State University. The men fired a two day total of 608 (308,300) +40 on the par 71 track. Led by an 8th place finish from freshmen Torrin Ellis carding a two day total of 148 (76,72), freshman Jayce Johnson tied for 14th with a total of 153 (79,74), seniors Blake Barner and Trevor Berry both finished in a tie for 17th place with a score of +13, Tyus Thomas rounded out the 1st team with a two day total of 160 (76,84) finishing tied 26th.
Head Coach Thadd O'Donnell had this to say about the men's performance "They were in too deep of a hole after day one, but tied for the low team total on day two which shows where we can be with a little maturity."
The second team for the Blue Hawks finished in 8th place. Freshman Kaden Bishop led the way with a tied 30th finish, sophomore Henry Maughn finished tied 39th, while Tyler Gjellstad ended in a tie for 42nd, and rounding out the group freshman Braxton Wolfe finished in a tie for 45th individually.
After the fall seasons ended Head Coach O'Donnell said "I am very proud of both the men's and women's team" when discussing the fall seasons.
The 1st Annual Comet Invitational marks the end of the fall season as the Blue Hawk golf team will enjoy five months off, starting the spring season in Arizona for the annual Blue Hawk Golf trip.