FAIRFIELD BAY -- In keeping with the theme of the week at Mountain Ranch Golf Course, the Bismarck Lady Lions won their first state championship Tuesday when they edged Melbourne for the title in the Class 3A Girls' Golf State Tournament.
Barely 24 hours earlier on the same course, the Lead Hill Lady Tigers won their first state championship when they took home the Class 1A title.
Bismarck finished at 307 while Melbourne (322) took second. Bald Knob was third with a 332.
Bismarck was led by Carlye Norris, who shot 90 and finished fourth in the individual standings.
Madison Hinds finished with a 107 for 11th place and Esther Filipek was 13th with a 110.
"This was obviously a team effort and I am proud of their performances today," said Bismarck Coach Tony Hardage, who is in his ninth year with the program. "Two seniors and two freshmen made up the four and they all did their job today. The two seniors stepped up and were our two lowest scores. The two freshmen were a little nervous but this being their first state tournament they each shot a good round today."
Winning the individual medalist honor was Melbourne's Jose Love, who shot an 87.
The top four golfers finished within a shot of each other. Bald Knob's Ana Pearrow (88) was second, Michaela Ball of Two Rivers (89) was third and Norris at fourth.
"Honestly, I kind of thought I might have a chance to win," said Love, a junior who finished ninth last year as a sophomore. "I was trying to be more confident than I usually am."
Love was medalist at the 3A-1 tournament earlier this month and won most of the matches Melbourne played this season. Love said her strategy was to limit herself to no worse than a bogey on the difficult Mountain Ranch course.
"I tried to play a strategy game more than anything," said Love. "I tried to stay out of trouble as much as I could."
Love said being in the hunt for the team title was as gratifying as competing medalist honors.
"Last year we finished fifth overall so we didn't think we had much of a chance this year," Love said. "Until Bismarck's last golfer turned in her scorecard we were in the running for first but we are still very happy with what we accomplished here today."
Sports on 09/28/2016