JAMESTOWN, N.D. - Jennifer Marsh watched her ball hit water, leading to a disastrous triple bogey on No. 13 on Tuesday at the Jamestown Country Club. The Fargo Davies junior’s nine-stroke lead had dropped to four with four holes to play.
“I think I got nervous,” Marsh said. “I kind of panicked a little bit, not a ton. I think I handled it pretty well.”
Marsh bounced back with a birdie and put the finishing touches on by chipping in for eagle on No. 17 to take medalist honors at the Class A state tournament. She had a tremendous seven-stroke lead after shooting a 73 the first day and came back with a 74 for a 147.
“It’s pretty cool,” Marsh said of her state title. “I just had to keep a good swing and hit it straight.”
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Jamestown junior Sierra Bennion finished second, nine strokes back. She carded an 80-76 for a two-day 174. Katie Kasper of Bismarck was third with a 163, helping the Demons (714) to the team title over Jamestown (725).
Grand Forks Red River finished seventh with a two-day total of 766. The Roughriders slipped a bit on Day 2 with a 380 on Monday and a 386 on Tuesday.
Red River was paced by the trio of Morgan Hetletved (185), Hilary Whalen (186) and Alexis Caoili (187).
Bennion’s chances looked bleak after 11 holes, but Marsh opened the door on No. 12, struggling with her short game and taking a double bogey on the par 3 hole. Bennion, on the other hand, knocked her tee shot right next to the pin, making an easy birdie.
Marsh’s problems continued when she hit into water on the next hole, a par 4. Her triple bogey dropped her lead to two after Bennion bogeyed it with four to play.
“Just move forward,” Marsh said of her two worst holes of the tournament. “I didn’t even want to think about those two holes.”
Her tee shot on the ensuing hole - a par 3 - left her with an 8-foot putt, which she calmly sank for birdie. Bennion, however, missed the green off the box and settled for bogey.
Hole No. 17 was close to a dream finish for Marsh, as her long drive left her just short of the green. She chipped-in for eagle, posting the best two rounds of the tournament on both days.
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“That (birdie) and then after I chipped in for eagle, that kind of sealed it,” Marsh said. “I felt like that was it.”
Bismarck High trailed Jamestown by two strokes heading into the final day, but came out firing to win its first state championship. Standout junior Katie Kasper, who had Class A’s best average heading into the state tournament, bounced back from an 88 with a 75.
“We needed Katie to play a little better,” Bismarck co-coach Andrew Schmitz said. “We count scores from a different girl it seems like every event, but it helped that Katie bounced back.”
Taylor Miller (174) placed fifth for the Demons, who had their sights set on a state championship in the preseason.
“We knew that we were pretty deep with the talent that we had and we knew Katie was gonna be the rock star of the team,” said Scott Bergan, Bismarck’s other coach. “We knew (Katie) would have a very good supporting cast, and every single girl pulled their weight.”
Wahpeton’s Savonnah Haselhorst placed in the top five, finishing fourth with a 170. She was also the Class A senior athlete of the year. Her coach, Jeff Ralph, was named Class A coach of the year.
