Stockert finishes strong

Seventh-grader Nick Stockert closed the season on a high note.

Stockert fired a season-best 88 at the West Region meet at Riverwood in Bismarck to lead the Blue Jays in their final meet of the season.

Stockert fell just 6 shots from qualifying for state. The top 10 finishers in the meet, plus any players within eight strokes of the medalist advanced.

"Nick did a great job of keeping the ball in play. He took a very conservative approach and it paid off," coach Dean Kraft said.

The Blue Jays finished ninth overall, but were within 5 shots of Williston, 366-391 -- the closest they've come to beating a team all season.

Brandon Hart (92), an eighth-grader, finished with a 92. Mitch Smyth (95) and Troy Borowicz (95) -- the lone senior on the team -- rounded out the JHS top 4. Brandon Stahlhut (99) and Ben Harris (117) also played.

"It didn't go the way we wanted, but we gave it a good shot," Kraft said. "We formulated a good game plan for the course that the guys did a good job trying to implement."

After a rough season with a young team, good things appear to lie ahead.

"The good news all along has been to look to the future," Kraft said. While we hate to see our lone senior Troy Borowicz graduate, we've laid a good foundation for the program with all the experience our young players got this year.

"And with Mitch Smyth back next season to provide good senior leadership the future looks bright."

Bismarck claimed the team title in a tight 4-way finish.

Senior Athlete of the Year Oliver Boeckel led the Demons by winning the tournament with a 2-over-par 74. He finished 1 up on Minot's Rand Hammer (75).

Bismarck nipped Minot by 2 shots for the team title, 316-318. Bismarck St. Mary's (320) and Bismarck Century (322) were also in contention.

The state meet will also be played at Riverwood June 8-9.

West Region Golf Tournament

At Riverwood Golf Course, Bismarck

Team results

1. Bismarck 316. 2. Minot 318. 3. St. Mary's 320. 4. Century 322. 5. Dickinson 334. 6. Turtle Mountain 348. 7. Mandan 354. 8. Williston 366. 9. Jamestown 371.

Individual results

State qualifiers

1. Oliver Boeckel, BHS, 74. 2. Rand Hammer, Minot, 75. 3. (tie) Alex Gustafson, BHS, and Kavin Dvorak, Century, 76. 5. Jake Deforest, St. Mary's, 77. 6. (tie) Andrew Nelson, St. Mary's, and Chandler Pender, DHS, 78. 8. (tie) Cole Eckmann, Minot, Ryan Rasanen, Minot, 80. 10. (tie) Davis Becker, St. Mary's; Jarl Abrahamson, DHS; Jacob Dehne, Century; Sam Barney, Century; and John Ross Desjarlais, TM, 81. 16. Branden Boff, Mandan, 82.

r NOTE: Top 10, plus ties, are All-West Region. That group, plus any players who are within eight strokes of the medalist (82 or better) qualify for state.

Results by team

Bismarck (316): Oliver Boeckel 74. Alex Gustafson 76. Brittian Bentz 83. Matt Schirado 83. Jordan Bosch 86. Cody Fried 90.

Minot (318): Rand Hammer 75, Cole Eckmann 80, Ryan Rasanen 80, Cliff Butler 83, Drew Groves 85, Devin Blada 93.

St. Mary's (320): Jake Deforest 77, Andrew Nelson 78, Davis Becker 81, Tanner Megal 84, Josh McCormick 85, Casey Dohm 85.

Century (322): Kavin Dvorak 76, Jacob Dehne 81, Sam Barney 81, Troy Ressler 84, Sean Ternes 87, Jordan Dahl 97.

Dickinson (334): Chandler Pender 78, Jarl Abrahamson 81, Austin Fournier 87, Tanner Halter 88, Tyler Cooper 94, Luke Hanel 95.

Turtle Mountain (348): John Ross Desjarlais 81, Larimie Keplin 83, Weston Poitra 92, Zach Hall 92, Clarence Davis 96, Ian Pays 100.

Mandan (354): Branden Boff 82, Chris Neubauer 86, Ryder Schwagler 92, Jake Faehnrich 94, Taylor Trenda 97, Zach Vollan 98.

Williston (366): Heath Glenn 85, Robby Keehn 90, Derek Anderson 92, Keaton Leininger 99, Nate Smith 100, Ryan Jessen 102.

Jamestown (371): Nick Stockert 88, Brandon Hart 92, Mitch Smyth 95, Troy Borowicz 96, Brandon Stahlhut 99, Ben Harris 117.

Awards

Senior athlete of the year: Oliver Boeckel, Bismarck.

Coaches of the year: Vern Brew, Bismarck St. Mary's, and Lynn Gress, Bismarck Century.

All-West Region

(Based on season average)

1. Oliver Boeckel, BHS, 73.33. 2. Kavin Dvorak, Century, 73.83. 3. Alex Gustafson, BHS, 75.67. 4. Chandler Pender, DSH, 76.00. 5. Jordan Bosch, BHS, 76.62. 6. Rand Hammer, Minot, 77.00. 7. Jake Deforest, St. Mary's, 77.33. 8. Davis Becker, St. Mary's, 79.17. 9. Jordan Dahl, Century, 79.50. 10. (tie) Jacob Dehne, Century, and Larimie Keplin, TM, 79.67.

Sun sports editor Dave Selvig can be reached at (701) 952-8460 or by e-mail at daves@jamestownsun.com