Photo by Jake McNeill: Marshall’s Dayton Webskowski takes a swing in a Marshall Golf Club fairway during the Big South Conference’s first girls golf event of the season. Marshall finished second to Redwood Valley by five strokes in the six-team event.

MARSHALL — Dayton Webskowski’s first varsity round under 40 wasn’t enough to get the Marshall girls golf team a win in their Big South Conference opener on Monday afternoon at Marshall Golf Club. The Tigers hosted six teams in the conference tournament, finishing second only to Redwood Valley in the 9-hole tournament.

“I think [we played] pretty well, actually… We struggled a little bit at times but mentally I think we stayed in it, which allowed us to keep it pretty close,” Marshall head coach Nancy Blanchard said. “I think all the girls will say there are a few shots they left out there, but we’re coming. We’re young and it’s only our second meet, so I’m fairly pleased with what we’ve done the last two rounds. Now we just need to get a little bit more consistent and I think our scores will go even further down.”

The tournament is the Tigers’ second tournament of the season after they hosted Minnewaska on a very windy Saturday. Marshall kept pace with the Lakers through the first nine holes of the 18-hole tournament before Minnewaska pulled away for a 352-401 victory.

Mental and physical stamina was a factor in the tournament, Blanchard said, citing that it was her team’s first 18-hole round of the season. 

In Monday’s tournament, Webskowski finished as the No. 2 individual, carding a 39 on the day. It was the sophomore’s first time breaking 40. She finished only behind Redwood Valley’s Mila Jenniges.

After settling for a double-bogey on the first hole, Webskowski scored a par on seven of her next nine holes. The only exception was a bogey on hole four, bringing her to a total of 3-over on the day.

“I just kept focused on what shot it was and not worrying about the bad ones,” Webskowski said of her round. “I think I’m in a good spot right now, but it’s early so anything could happen.”

The Tigers finished with a team score of 195, putting them just five strokes back of first-place Redwood Valley. Worthington took third at 209 and Luverne placed fourth at 211. Neither Pipestone nor Windom fielded a team score.

“When putts matter and when you’re this close, I think that’s the lesson that’s going to be taught now after we’re done is just that every shot matters,” Blanchard said. “Within [five] strokes, over the course of four girls and nine holes, 190 to [195], I know there are a lot of shots out there that they wish they had back but that’s how you learn. Competitive golf is different.” 

Many of the team’s girls came right from middle school golf to varsity, Blanchard said, so this is their first season contributing to a team score rather than just recording an individual number.

Rokeh put together another solid day for the Tigers. The other member of the Tigers’ sophomore duo placed sixth in the 28-golfer field with a 6-over 50. She put together pars on her first and fourth holes — holes 4 and 7 — to finish the day tied with Windom’s Ali Lund and Worthington’s Claire Meyer.

“The vitamin D felt really good, so that just kind of pushed me forward,” Rokeh said of the day’s sunny conditions, adding that she felt that her ability to keep a positive mindset and move past mistakes played a key role in her ability to put together a quality round.

While this was the Marshall girls team’s second tournament of this season, the Tigers hadn’t played a varsity tournament at this time last year due to weather conditions. This time around, a shorter and warmer winter gave the Tigers more time to train out on the course heading into the season. The team used that extra time leading up to the season to focus on specific shots, Rokeh said, adding that she personally worked on punch shots and recovery.

Rylee Jacobson and Maddi Panka rounded out the Marshall’s scorers at 8-over 53, tying for 13th place along with Worthington’s Madison Beckmann and Luverne’s Kiesli Smith.

Jacobson, the team’s lone senior, scored a pair of pars on the par-5 seventh hole and the par-3 ninth hole. Panka, a freshman, didn’t record a par on the day but limited her mistakes to limit large numbers on any single hole.

Jenniges, the tournament’s top individual, finished with a par on every hole except hole 3, where she finished two strokes over par with a 6. Her teammate, Taylor Klabunde, also placed third in the meet at 10-over 46.

Freshman Isabella Gossen and junior Ali Pederson also competed for Marshall on the day, placing 17th with 55 strokes and 20th with 56 strokes respectively.

The Marshall girls golf team will remain on its home course today when it hosts the Marshall Class A Girls Invitational at 1 p.m. Golfers from Dawson-Boyd, MACCRAY, Murray County Central, Lac qui Parle Valley, Jackson County Central, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton and Redwood Valley will all field teams in the event, which was scheduled to be played last Tuesday before heavy rain forced it to be postponed.