WATERTOWN — Watertown High School's boys golfers got to play on their home course as the final tune-up before they conclude their 2026 season with the Eastern South Dakota Conference and state Class AA tournaments.
The Arrows hosted the Watertown Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at Cattail Crossing Golf Course .
It featured all 10 schools, including Aberdeen Central, that will compete for ESD honors on Monday, Sept. 28, at the Brookings Country Club. Watertown, as the host team, also fielded a second team (Purple) in the event that also featured area Class A schools Aberdeen Roncalli, Sioux Valley and Milbank. Those golfers will play in Class A region tourneys on Sept. 28.
"The ESD will be a tough event," Watertown coach Corey Neale said. "There's a lot of good teams in the conference. Brandon Valley, Yankton, Brookings and Harrisburg are all good teams. Throughout the season, those teams interchanged when it comes to how they finished."
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK POLL: Time to vote in the Public Opinion-Aberdeen News AOTW poll for Sept. 14-20
In Watertown, Yankton led the way with 8-over par that was 10 shots better than both Brandon Valley and Brookings. Aberdeen Roncalli, which hopes to make some noise in the state Class A tourney, was fourth at 310.
Both the Arrow varsity and second team tied for seventh with 316 scores.
South Dakota's fall state golf tourneys are slated for Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 5-6 at Lee Park Golf Course in Aberdeen (Class AA) and the Lakeview Golf Course in Mitchell (Class A). Other area Class A schools include Groton Area, Redfield, Sisseton and Tiospa Zina.
Senior Max Stemwedel and freshman Riley Randall each led Watertown on Tuesday by tying for 12th with with 4-over par 76s. Senior Jonathan Lake and sophomore Jackson Ahmann tied for 16th with a 77. Randall and Ahmann both played for the second team.
Seniors Tyson Lawrence and Gavin Neyens and sophomores Colton Kasuske and Greyson Zebroski rounded out the Arrow varsity on Tuesday. Seniors Mason Maag and Landon Struckman, junior Brecken Jungen and sophomore Nolan Boettcher also played for the Arrow Purple contingent.
Neale hasn't made any final decisions on who will compete in the upcoming conference and state tourneys. Lake is the defending ESD champion.
"Lake won last year, and he has a chance to do that again," Neale said. "Stemwedel has played great golf all season, and he should also compete for the ESD title as well. Both have the game to be at the top of the leaderboard. They have been the leaders of the team the past couple of seasons, so we go as they go."
Harper Schnabel and Finn Anderson of Aberdeen Roncalli and Cole Brust of Aberdeen Central led area golfers in the Watertown Invite by tying for seventh with 3-over par 75s. Damon Uecker tied for 16th (77) for Sioux Valley.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: [email protected]