‘This is the year we’re gonna do it if we’re gonna do it’ - Brandon Valley 2014 boys’ golf team brings home program’s first – and only – state title

In the 2014 boys’ golf season preview report, Scott Carroll, head coach of the Lynx, offered up a bold statement: “This is the year we’re gonna do it if we’re gonna do it.”

What Carroll meant by that is if a Brandon Valley boys golf team was ever going to win the program’s very first state title, this was the team that, for lack of a better phrase, “we’re gonna do it.”

“It was a team that I saw some potential in; they just kind of grinded,” Carroll remembers. “They loved golf and they loved playing it.”

And they had fun in the process, too.

“The one thing about that group is they just weren’t the most serious type,” Carroll reflects. “When things came at them – maybe as a negative – they would take that as a challenge and not get upset about it, but just push it off and then go on to the next hole. That kind of mentality in golf is huge, just to be able to – if you do make a mistake – forget about it and have that mindset, and then just go to the next hole. Sometimes people dwell on it, and it carries over to the next hole and the next hole and the next hole.”

Carroll’s bold statement was said for good reason. With four of its five returning players from Brandon Valley’s 2013 state runner-up team, the Lynx were certainly positioned to be in the driver’s seat against their Class AA opponents in 2014.

“It’s always nice to be under the radar a little bit, but the last four years we’ve placed pretty well, so I think teams will know that we’ll be pretty good,” Carroll said in the 2014 preview report.

A trio of seniors – Alex Hamner, Riley Duncanson and Greg Koehn – were charged with leading this team, and were backed by sophomore Zane Swenson, Taylor Fjerestad and junior Jackson Dziedzic. These six played for the Lynx in the state tournament.

Carter Erickson, Thomas Siemonsma, Joel Kocer, Mitchell Gusso, Nathan Mutschelknaus, Lucas Schobert and Austin Swenson also represented the Lynx that season.

Carroll said this team had each other’s backs.

“When things were going good, they went good, and when things went south, they picked each other up. You had your bottom three guys and you had your top three or four, but if one of them struggled, you always had that. That was the year that we always had a guy that would play really good to take over that score that we needed, where a lot of times you just don’t get that. If your top three or four don’t shoot well, then you’re kind of in trouble,” he said.

The state tournament

At the start of the season, Carroll forecasted that Sioux Falls Lincoln would win the Metro Conference, and potentially be a contender for the state title. O’Gorman was on his radar, too.

“Those teams never really had down years. They were always just good with the number of kids that they got to pick from,” he said.

What Carroll didn’t factor into his forecast is how the 25 mph winds at the state tournament would factor into the team’s success.

“I was talking to (Assistant Coach Todd) Geerdes and some of the kids on a (group) text the other day. I think the weather definitely helped us a little bit. Some of these other teams they needed no wind, things like that, so it just made for a lot of people that were usually at the top to not play as good as they usually do,” Carroll said.

With strong winds that hovered around 25 mph, the greens at Cattail Crossing were super-fast, forcing many of the golfers into three- and four-putt holes.

“There was a couple of kids, like (Sioux Falls Lincoln’s Tommy) Vining that were really, really good and would shoot under par all of the time. But that not-so-good weather evened the playing field. They had to kind of grind like everybody else, and I think that’s what gave us a legitimate shot is just the weather not being great,” he said. Vining was sixth at 150.

After the first day of the State AA high school boy’s golf championships, the Lynx dug down deep on day two to pull off the feat. As a team, BV posted 303 in their opening rounds, and followed up with a 304 on day two. Combined, they finished 10 shots better than runner-up Sioux Falls Lincoln (617) and third-place Rapid City Stevens (619).

And to add icing to the cake, Hamner claimed the individual medalist honors with a two-day score of 144. Equally exciting was teammate Riley Duncanson’s 145 two-day tally, which placed him in a tie for second place.

Koehn posted a 156 for 11th place. Rounding out BV’s scores were Fjerestad (166), Erickson (177) and Dziedzic (181).

The one-two finish by Hamner and Duncanson were the best individual finishes under Carroll’s 20 years at the helm.

“Those two were battling for one and two, which was crazy, and then obviously battling for the team title. I don’t think that happens quite often. More or less, you’ve got your individual guy, and then you have some other guys, but to have two guys that were battling each other for the individual crown, and then obviously us, as a team battling for the team title, it was kind of a mix of emotions. It was awesome for the team, but you wanted both kids to do well, so you just kind of had to let them go. At the end of the day, I don’t think either one of them would’ve been upset if they got second to the other one,” Carroll said. “In hindsight, I would think that they both were more excited about the team title than they were about the individual title. That just shows some the character of the kids that we’ve had at Brandon Valley.”

The team’s ride drive home in the school-issued Suburban following their state title win was surely a memorable one.

“It was just a lot of joking, a lot of laughing, a lot of just reminiscing about the whole year, some things about golf, some things about what happened in practice, some things that happened in hotel rooms, some things that happened with each other, just goofing around, and that’s what that team. They were just different and special,” Carroll said. “The guys were happy, excited – ‘Hey, we finally did it.’ It was kind of cool, the first time ever for Brandon Valley. We came close a couple times, but that’s the only state championship that we’ve ever gotten.”

The season

In following tradition, the team opened the season with their home event, the Lynx Invite. BV won the 10-team tournament, besting runner-up O’Gorman by 14 strokes. Duncanson was the medalist, firing a 4-under-par 67.

The Lynx posted a team score of 284, followed by the Knights (298) and Yankton (304).

“It was a great start to the year,” Carroll said. “We have a real solid team and if we get everyone playing up to their capabilities, our depth will take us a long way.”

Hamner fired a 69 to claim third, while Koehn and Fjerestad penciled 74s to tie for fifth.

“We are taking each match one at a time and trying to focus on the task at hand with the big picture of finishing well at state and ESD in the back of our heads,” Carroll said, “but I was very pleased with how they started off.”

In their first dual of the season, BV defeated Yankton by eight strokes, 299-307.

Hamner’s 71 score earned him medalist honors, while Koehn fired a 73 for second and Duncanson tallied a 76 for fourth place.

“Alex has a lot of confidence going right now, which is great for us as a team,” Carroll said.

The lowest finish for the Lynx came on Aug. 29 at the Huron Invitational, where BV placed fourth in the 15-team tourney.
“We came into Huron playing really good golf and had very high expectations, but we didn’t play as well as we would have liked,” Carroll said.

On Sept. 2, they finished two strokes behind Lincoln, 145-147, and four better than third-place O’G.

“I believe this could be the best three teams in the state and it was a battle,” Carroll said. “I was very happy with our score and was really excited to see someone outside our top four come up big.”

That golfer was Erickson, who carded a 1-under-par 70 to place third behind Duncanson’s second-place finish, a 70.

Koehn, Duncanson and Fjerestad nabbed third through fifth place at the Sept. 8 dual against Sioux Falls Washington. Played at Willow run, BV beat the Warriors 154-158. 

Koehn’s nine-hole round topped off at 37, while Duncanson and Fjerestad posted scores of 38 and 29, respectively.

BV’s showing at the Madison triangular on Sept. 9 was yet another dominating performance as a team. The Lynx registered a combined 331 score, overcoming Harrisburg (342) and the host Bulldogs (354.) Hamner led the charge, penciling a 74.

The team title came home with the Lynx from the Brookings Invite on Sept. 13, rallying a 313 total. Yankton was second in the 14-team tourney with a 322.

Despite the victory, Carroll said consistency is key.

“We have been playing good enough to win but as a whole team we haven’t been playing as good as we would like. We are going enough to win our duals and triangulars, but need to play better as we gear up for some big invites and our conference and state tournaments.”

Mitchell claimed their home invitational win, defeating the Lynx by five strokes, 294-299.

“Anytime you shoot under 300 you figure you have a legitimate chance to win,” Carroll said. 

Koehn fired a 73, tying for sixth, and Hamner shot a 74 tying for ninth.

Fjerestad found his “golf groove” at the invite, carding a 75 (tie for 12th), while Duncanson placed 22nd behind is 77 tally.

“Our goal is to get four scores of 75 or better. If we continue to do that we will be at the top no matter what day it is,” Carroll said. “I am very happy with the way the boys have played in the last two weeks.”

Despite the five-stroke defeat, Carroll was optimistic as the headed into the ESD and Metro conference meets and state.

“This is the time of year I want us to play consistent and well and we have done that in our last three invitationals. I look forward to seeing what happens at the ESD and Metro conference tournaments,” he said.

Speaking of ESD, the Lynx marched to the title win once again after taking a year off. BV won ESD in both 2011 and 2012, and finished third in 2013. The Lynx posted a 302-team score, 18 strokes better than Mitchell and Pierre, who tied for second at 320.

“They all had one goal that day, and that was to take home the ESD championship, and that they did,” Carroll said. “I was impressed how they battled, stayed consistent and smart golf shots. They grew up on the golf course today and managed their game. I hope we can keep this momentum going as we head into the Metro Conference and state.”

BV placed four in the top 10, including medalist, Hamner, who shot a 71. Koehn tied for second with a 76, while Fjerestad (77) and Duncanson (78) tied for fifth and eighth, respectively.

“Alex really deserved this,” Carroll said in the 2014 report. “He has been playing well all year and had his sights on winning this tournament. He played smart and kept within himself. He is a good player and today he showed that he can be right up there with the best of them.”

“Greg continues to be consistent and scores well for the Lynx, while Taylor and Riley rounded out our four all-conference players. To have four kids get all-conference, one individual champion and a team championship, I think the day was pretty complete.”

Coming off their ESD title, the Lynx were second behind Sioux Falls Lincoln. The Patriots put up a 295-team score, followed by runner-up BV’s 313 and third-place O’G’s 318.

Three of the Lynx top four secured All-Metro honors. Duncanson tied for third with a 76, Koehn tied for sixth with a 78, and Fjerestad tied for eighth with a 79.

“If you looked at those six guys, never in the world would you have ever thought they could have won a state title. They just were happy, go lucky kids. They didn’t practice every single second of the day. They didn’t pour every minute into golf. They just were kids who loved the sport, and they played it and they happen to have some really good years. Honestly, I think just by them being the people that they were is what made them so good and so special,” Carroll said.