Golf, baseball and rodeo athletes among the Public Opinion's Top Performers for June 3-9

Golfers, cowboys and cowgirls and baseball players take center stage in the Public Opinion's Top Performers for June 3-9 story.

This is the final top performers segment for the 2023-24 school year. So here goes:

Girls Golf

Brynn Roehrich, Clark-Willow Lake — The Cyclone freshman won medalist honors in the state Class B girls golf tournament with a two-day total of 12-under 152, winning by six shots.

Shelby Pearson and Gabi Olson, Watertown — The duo helped Watertown win its first state golf title since 1979 by tying for fifth in the state AA tournament. They shot 17-over 161s.

Avery Palmquist and Aspen Reynolds, Watertown — Palmquist tied for seventh (163) and Reynolds for eighth (164) in the state AA tournament.

Olivia Braun and Emma Dohrer, Aberdeen Central — Bruan finished second (150) and Dohrer 10th (167) to lead the Golden Eagles to a third-place finish in the state Class AA tournament.

Taryn Hettick, Selby Area and Olivia Mikkelsen, Potter County — Hettick placed fourth (172) and Mikkelsen tied for fifth (173) in the state Class B girls tournament.

Carly Guthmiller, Groton Area — Guthmiller placed eighth and also recorded a hole-in-one in the state Class A girls golf tournament.

College Track:University of Florida freshman Gracelyn Leiseth takes 15th in women's shot put at nationals

Boys Golf

Chet Peterson, Ipswich — Peterson tied for second, two shots out of first, in the state Class B tournament with a two-day total of 8-over 152.

Logan Vavruska, Florence-Henry — Vavruska rallied to tie for sixth in the state Class B tournament with a two-day total of 156. He shot a 73 on the final day of the tourney.

Rodeo

Jimmy Lammers, Orient — Lammers won the steer wrestling and team roping (along with partner Stetson Stearns of Ludden) over the weekend in the Watertown East Region High School Rodeo at Derby Downs.

Grady Hemmingson, Bradley — Hemmingson topped the field in the bareback riding event over the weekend in the Watertown East Region High School Rodeo at Derby Downs.

Paige Marzahn, Redfield — Marzahn won the breakway roping event over the weekend in the Watertown East Region High School Rodeo at Derby Downs.

Kylie Wittnebel, Hayti — Wittnebel won the pole bending over the weekend in the Watertown East Region High School Rodeo at Derby Downs.

American Legion Baseball

Drew Salfrank, Cooper Eisenbeisz and Zane Backous, Aberdeen Smittys — The Smittys went 8-0 last week in Legion baseball with Salfrank tallying 13 hits to go with 11 runs and 10 RBIs; Eisenbeisz seven hits with nine runs and 12 RBIs; and Backous with nine hits, 11 runs and seven RBIs.

Mitch Olson, Nathan Briggs and Marcus Rabine, Watertown Post 17 — Post 17 went 5-3 last week with Olson getting 11 hits with four runs scored and seven RBIs; Briggs eight with 11 runs and five RBIs; and Rabine eight with six runs and seven RBIs.

Dillon Abeln and Colby Dunker, Groton Area — Abeln scattered six hits and fanned 12 batters in a 4-3 win over Redfield and Dunker's two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh lifted Groton to a 5-4 win over W-I-N (Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern).

Ethan Axtell, Garrett Bothe and Christopher Moberg, Volga — Volga went 3-0 in a tourney at Milbank, beating Castlewood 7-1 behind three hits from Axtel, beating Claremont 14-0 with a four-inning no-hitter by Bothe and Milbank 9-1 behind Moberg, who had two hits and allowed only three hits in four innings on the mound.

Area Baseball:Watertown Post 17, Aberdeen Smittys both solid in American Legion baseball

Gavin Maag and Watson Grantham, Castlewood Post 250 — Castlewood finished 2-1 at Milbank, beating Sisseton 13-1 and Redfield 20-4 and losing to Volga. Maag and Grantham combined to pitch 11 innings with 19 strikeouts inj the two wins.

Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com