Putting in the time was a consistent mantra for the Wessington Springs Spartans Varsity golf team, and after claiming the Championship Title at the 2024 Class B State Boys Golf Tournament, it’s clear that the team and time-focused strategy paid huge dividends.
Shooting a 237 on Monday and 241 on Tuesday (total 478), the team from Springs made up of Blake Larson, Brock Krueger, Luke Larson and JD Thompson finished with a one-shot lead over Hanson (479). Following in third was Hamlin (481), Ipswich in fourth (494), Chester took fifth (496) and Hill City shot 499 for sixth.
Individually, Blake Larson tied for fourth with 154, Luke Larson tied for 18th shooting 162, Brock Krueger tied for 29th with 165 and JD Thompson tied for 52nd with 171.
“They just continued to do what they had been doing in Wessington Springs everyday, not change anything and just relax. Heading into the State B Tournament, I was very confident in all of them,” said Spartans Head Golf Coach Regina Teveldal. “They put in a ton of time and it shows, not only with their game but also with the mental side of it and with working through the nerves that come along with a meet like this.”
Blake Larson said he treated the State Tournament, held at Brookings Country Club, as “just another meet.”
“I stayed focused and kept my mind on golf,” he said. “The team factor was a lot different this year. This team had been at State once and our goal was to be at the top. We wanted to place and add another banner to the gym. Last year at State started a fire that continued all year.”
Last year’s trip to State marked the first Wessington Springs Boys Golf team to qualify for State in nine years. Made up of the same members as last year, the boys had set high goals for themselves. Placing eighth in South Dakota in 2023, all four team members shared the same resonating goal: to place in the top six. A goal that they all realized could only be reached by executing two days of good golf.
“My goal was to cut out the small mistakes and hone in on the skills that help me do what I do best and allow me to stay consistent,” Krueger shared. “As a team it was more real this year, we had a better chance of going out on top. This year we’ve played really well together.”
Teveldal continued to point to sheer drive and relentless dedication demonstrated by the team.
“Back to their drive, they are on the course all day. These kids literally will do four rounds in an afternoon. They are nuts, they are out there as much as possible always wanting to get better,” she shared. “They are the first to tell the younger kids, golf practice will help you but if you really want to improve, you have to be out here other than this. It really rubs off on the kids below them and they make the extra effort to encourage the kids below them.”
“We are always on the course, all four of us,” said recent graduate Larson. “We’re out here most days from 3 p.m. until dark. Golfing together, we hold each other accountable.”
Krueger added that the team’s competitive nature helped each golfer individually.
“We golf together almost everyday and we are all so competitive,” Krueger said. “That competitive spirit makes us shoot better, push harder and dig deeper.”
The two sophomore Spartans shared the hyper-focused team mentality of the recently graduated senior members of the team.
“We are all within range of each other and make it very competitive every time we play,” said Thompson.
“We performed the best we could for the team, which pushed everyone forward and kept everyone working hard,” Luke Larson said.
Larson also shared that his center of attention was on consistency and focus, while Thompson was aimed at playing the same game he plays at his home course when at the State Tournament.
“My goal was to keep a cool head, let go of any bad shots and keep my focus on the next shot,” Thompson explained.
While the team from Springs had all mind and body focused on the last day of State competition, they understand that their success and dedication is essential in the continuation of the program at home in Wessington Springs.
“I hope we encourage younger kids from what we’ve done together this year,” Thompson expressed.
Luke Larson recognizes that as his older brother Blake and teammate Krueger head off to college, he and Thompson will have big shoes to fill.
“I hope the younger golfers can say, look, they’re losing these two seniors, we need to step it up at the next practice and get out on the course more,” he said.
The two seniors have been playing under Teveldal’s direction since sixth grade.
“We didn’t have any junior high kids out that first year I coached and Blake and Brock were on the course practicing all the time,” Teveldal reflected. “We didn’t have enough to fill a full varsity team and didn’t have a lot of kids overall. We pulled them up into junior high and they’ve been playing since.”
After starting the second and final day of State competition in the lead, Larson maintained his focus on the task at hand while expressing gratitude for the road that brought him to that point, “Seeing the program grow from when we were in sixth grade and the improvement of Spartans golf is something special. It’s been a good thing to be a part of that.”
Editor’s note: The 2024 State B Golf Championship ended just as the True Dakotan was being sent to press Tuesday. Addditional coverage from the State Tournament will be published in upcoming print and e-editions of the True Dakotan.