BISMARCK — On the third hole of the North Dakota Class A state golf tournament, Izzy Hale reaggravated a lingering injury.
By the time she was walking down the fairway on No. 18 the next day, the Mandan junior had all but locked up a state championship. West Fargo Sheyenne kept the key from last season to repeat as team champions.
For Hale, there were plenty of interested observers, both at Riverwood Golf Course and elsewhere.
“Treatment worked,” Mandan coach Dean Johs said. “The doctor’s been on my phone for the last hour and a half texting back and forth. He’s following.”
Hale followed her opening-round 77 with a 1-over 73 on Tuesday. After a string of birdies on the back nine, she tapped in a par putt on 18 to finish with a 1-over 73. Her 36-hole 150 was good for medalist honors, finishing seven shots ahead of runner-up Alexis Fabian of Grand Forks Red River (157).
Fabian carded a two-day total of 157 to edge Ava Keene of West Fargo Sheyenne (158) by one stroke for second place.
Keene, named the Senior Athlete of the Year, helped the Mustangs win its second title in program history.
West Fargo Sheyenne’s Ava Keene chips her ball out of a bunker during the second day of the North Dakota Class A girls golf tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at Riverwood Golf Course in Bismarck.
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
Morgan Foss (tied for seventh, 163), Kelsey Schulz (tied for ninth, 164) and Julia Melhus (tied for 11th, 167) gave the Mustangs four top-20 finishers in posting a two-round team score of 651.
That was 14 strokes better than runner-up Fargo Shanley (665). West Fargo Horace made it a 1-2-3 finish for East teams with a 676.
The Mustangs took 17 strokes off their opening-round 334 with a team score of 317 on Tuesday.
“Yesterday was a challenge,” Mustangs coach Dan Wolf said. “It was a tough day for everyone and I don’t think like as a team we thought we played like we were capable and we said we’ve got to go out and perform today.”
Hale approached the green on the final hole knowing she was about to join Anna Huettl (2023) as the second Brave to win a state title.
“It was a crazy feeling. Just crazy,” Hale said.
“It was a grind. It was so much focus. I put in so much work and just had to stay focused. It felt good. I haven’t had a back nine like that before, so that felt good.”
After closing with a 37 on the back nine on Monday, Hale put together a 34 on the back nine to finish, recording a string of three birdies in four holes and four in a span of six holes before closing with her ninth par of the day.
“My putting helped me a lot. I had 12 putts on the back nine,” Hale said.
“Her heart was amazing,” Johs said. “That back nine was (like) watching a clinic. It was just, wow.
Fargo Davies’ Sidney Elliott chips her ball onto a green during the second day of the North Dakota Class A girls golf tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at Riverwood Golf Course in Bismarck.
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
“It was amazing to watch. She was draining anything that was there and when she missed, she chipped it close and drained the putt. It was so much fun to watch. She was just calm and cool. I think my heart rate was higher than hers.”
West Fargo Sheyenne used its depth to win a second consecutive state title.
“What was our secret all year was our depth,“ Wolf said. “There were players that contributed today that we didn’t use their score yesterday and that’s what got us to this point all season.
“Super proud of them. We had three senior leaders and the juniors came through huge — two of them in the top 10. Ava Keene finishing third, that was just huge. That was the difference, our depth and that so many people could contribute.”
After opening with an 80, Keene followed with a 78 on Tuesday.
“She had two solid rounds,” Wolf said. “She was disappointed yesterday and she played well today. Certainly there was nothing wrong, but Izzy Hale – what a great performance by her. She knew the course, knew how to play it.
“Ava didn’t have enough at the end, but third place overall — I know she dearly would have loved to have won it after her sister won last year, but I did remind her she’s a two-time state champion, which her sister can’t say, so there is that consolation.”
After getting off to a slow start on Monday, Mandan capped the week as the top West Region finisher, coming in fourth with a 677. After opening with a 353, the Braves turned in their best score of the year with a final-round 324.
Fargo Shanley’s Anika Astrup tees off a hole during the second day of the North Dakota Class A girls golf tournament on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at Riverwood Golf Course in Bismarck.
Tanner Ecker / Bismarck Tribune
“Our best day of the year. Our lowest score of the year,” Johs said. “We kept track of it, to be at 12th at one point yesterday and to rise up and finish fourth, what a blessing. I even told Izzy on the last hole, if you hole out, we take third. That’s all it would have taken. We told her to go for it. Why not?”
The Braves’ strong finish was a relief for a team dealing with the emotions of a weekend fatal traffic crash that killed two Mandan teenagers.
“A beautiful day. We enjoyed it,” Johs said. “I enjoyed seeing the joy on our girls’ faces.
“Because when we started yesterday, our hearts were heavy and our community is really heavy. We needed to bring some joy and we tasked them with that and they did it. So proud of them. So proud of them.”
Legacy’s Bill Kalanek was named the state coach of the year. The Sabers finished fifth with a 681, four strokes back of Mandan and six shots ahead of Grand Forks Red River.
Rawni Roemmich led the Sabers, shooting rounds of 80 and 81 to finish fifth individually with a 161.