Lauryn Keller of Des Lacs-Burlington tees off on hole No. 1 at Souris Valley Golf Course on Monday, ending the day in second place overall and the Lakers finishing in fourth as a team. Sean Williams/MDN

With the 2022 girls golf regular season concluding, the athletes finally got the opportunity to put their skills to the test at the pinnacle of their sport, as the Class B state tournament began its two-day round on Monday at Souris Valley Golf Course in Minot.

After the early morning chill cleared the way, it made for a beautiful morning and afternoon of golf, as the athletes began teeing off starting at 9 a.m. with pairings filtering in behind.

As the excitement began to build up for the participating athletes, they began their first round by starting on hole No. 1 or No. 10, looking to set themselves and their team up to be in a good position moving into Tuesday.

Following play on Monday, Oak Grove led the way in the team standings, finishing with an overall score of 353. Not far behind was Heart River, finishing with an overall score of 355.

Behind those two, the rest of the team standings as of Monday were 3, Kindred, 362; 4, Des Lacs-Burlington, 363; 5, Napoleon, 363; 6, Grafton, 384; 7, Linton/HMB, 388; 8, Rugby, 395; 9, Carrington, 398; 10, Park River, 399; 11, Hatton-Northwood, 412; 12, Bottineau, 414; 13, Nedrose, 416; 14, Sargent County, 426; 15, Hazen, 429; 16, Kenmare, 438; 17, Bowman County, 446; 18, and Stanley, 454.

Avery Bartels of Kindred had the best score among individuals, finishing with a 69 on the afternoon to get off to a scorching start and putting herself in a prime position moving into the final round.

However, there were many golfers that put forth valiant efforts on Monday, keeping themselves within striking distance of the top spot.

Behind Bartels and rounding out the top 25 after Monday included 2, Lauryn Keller (Des Lacs-Burlington, 75); 3, Ainsley McLain (Grafton, 76); 4, Libby Dulmage (Rugby, 79); 5, Elle Nicholas (North Star, 80); 6, Trista Bilden (Hatton-Northwood, 81); 7, Emma Ketterling (Napoleon, 82); 8, Kacie Rexin (Carrington, 82); 9, Charli McQuillan (Kindred, 83); 10, Mackenzee Schneider (Heart River, 83); 11, Sophie Brantner (Oak Grove, 83); 12, Paige Hulm (Linton/HMB, 85); 13, Sophie Ketterling (Napoleon, 86); 14, Laila Christianson (Des Lacs-Burlington, 86); 15, Megan Robb (Heart River, 87); 16, Hudsyn Hubrig (Hankinson-Lidgerwood, 88); 17, Josie Brantner (Oak Grove, 88); 18, Sylvie Brantner (Oak Grove, 89); 19, Molly Robb (Heart River, 91); 20, McKenna Mau (Kenmare, 92); 21, Meadow Roberts (Nedrose, 92); 22, Olivia Dick (Thompson, 92); 23, Sadie Neustel (Sargent County, 92); 24, Jada Schwartzenberger (Napoleon, 93); and 25, Abby Beneda (Park River, 93).

Today marks the final day of the state tournament as the girls and teams will make one final push to take home the ultimate hardware to end the 2022 season.