ABERDEEN, S.D. – Aberdeen’s Olivia Braun and Sioux Falls’ Drew Velasquez turned in outstanding final-round performances to win their respective divisions at the SDGA Sanford Series Junior Championships.
Braun rallied from two shots back by firing a tournament-low 5-under-par 67 to finish at 2-under par, winning the girls championship by five strokes over Gabi Olson of Watertown, who finished at 3-over. Vanessa Smith of Brandon and Kaitlin Strain of Rapid City tied for third at 5-over.
Other area golfers also posted strong finishes, with Sisseton’s Kenzley Heath placing 11th at 22-over, Aberdeen’s Claire Crawford finishing 12th at 23-over, and Aberdeen’s Mackenzie Wegehaupt taking 18th at 32-over.
In the boys division, Velasquez erased a five-shot deficit with a tournament-best 2-under 70 in the final round to finish at 4-over and claim the championship. Jalen Dwire finished second at 6-over, while Henry Kiesow placed third at 7-over.
Aberdeen’s Harper Schnabel tied for eighth at 11-over after closing with a 75. Wolsey’s Larz Tvedt tied for 18th at 16-over, and Aberdeen’s Cole Brust tied for 27th at 25-over. Check out the FULL leaderboard HERE: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5805395
Boys
| Place | Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total |
| 1 | Drew Velasquez | 77 | 70 | 147 (+4) |
| 2 | Jalen Dwire | 72 | 77 | 149 (+6) |
| 3 | Henry Kiesow | 77 | 73 | 150 (+7) |
| T-4 | Tyson Lunn | 76 | 75 | 151 (+8) |
| T-4 | Jonathan DeBoer | 79 | 72 | 151 (+8) |
| 6 | Henry Schmitz | 74 | 78 | 152 (+9) |
| 7 | Asher Dannenbring | 76 | 77 | 153 (+10) |
| T-8 | Ben Akin | 81 | 73 | 154 (+11) |
| T-8 | Max Vincelli | 75 | 79 | 154 (+11) |
| T-8 | Trevor Rick | 72 | 82 | 154 (+11) |
| T-8 | Harper Schnabel | 79 | 75 | 154 (+11) |
| T-12 | Kaiden Weinreis | 78 | 78 | 156 (+13) |
| T-12 | Colton Clark | 77 | 79 | 156 (+13) |
| T-14 | Gavin Schlekeway | 82 | 75 | 157 (+14) |
| T-14 | Max Stemwedel | 80 | 77 | 157 (+14) |
| T-14 | Seth Hettick | 79 | 78 | 157 (+14) |
| 17 | Cooper Shuman | 80 | 78 | 158 (+15) |
| T-18 | Larz Tvedt | 78 | 81 | 159 (+16) |
| T-18 | Andrew Heinze | 76 | 83 | 159 (+16) |
| T-18 | Drew Easter | 79 | 80 | 159 (+16) |
| 21 | Kalen Pudwill | 83 | 78 | 161 (+18) |
| 22 | Jack Baszler | 84 | 78 | 162 (+19) |
| T-23 | Elijah Larson | 82 | 81 | 163 (+20) |
| T-23 | Atticus Eyjolfson | 80 | 83 | 163 (+20) |
| 25 | Gavin Neyens | 85 | 80 | 165 (+22) |
| 26 | Seth Lesnar | 81 | 86 | 167 (+24) |
| T-27 | Will Lockner | 87 | 81 | 168 (+25) |
| T-27 | Landon Krzmarzick | 88 | 80 | 168 (+25) |
| T-27 | Cole Brust | 86 | 82 | 168 (+25) |
Girls
| Place | Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Total |
| 1 | Olivia Braun | 74 | 67 | 141 (-2) |
| 2 | Gabi Olson | 72 | 74 | 146 (+3) |
| T-3 | Vanessa Smith | 74 | 74 | 148 (+5) |
| T-3 | Kaitlin Strain | 74 | 74 | 148 (+5) |
| 5 | Brynn Roehrich | 73 | 77 | 150 (+7) |
| 6 | Erin Hurd | 80 | 73 | 153 (+10) |
| 7 | Katie Betsworth | 81 | 74 | 155 (+12) |
| T-8 | Finley Young | 83 | 77 | 160 (+17) |
| T-8 | Ari Jacobs | 79 | 81 | 160 (+17) |
| 10 | Tafney Lunn | 81 | 80 | 161 (+18) |
| 11 | Kenzley Heath | 86 | 79 | 165 (+22) |
| 12 | Claire Crawford | 82 | 84 | 166 (+23) |
| 13 | Taryn Hettick | 84 | 83 | 167 (+24) |
| 14 | Anna Eliason | 85 | 84 | 169 (+26) |
| 15 | Makenna Kindt | 86 | 84 | 170 (+27) |
| 16 | Stella Smith | 87 | 85 | 172 (+29) |
| 17 | Kaia Bear | 90 | 84 | 174 (+31) |
| 18 | Mackenzie Wegehaupt | 90 | 85 | 175 (+32) |