Rangers take fourth at state

The Hill City Rangers golf team took home another fourth place finish at the 2026 Class B State Meet. 

The team finished a mere one stroke behind third place Clark-Willow Lake. This is the second year in a row the team finished in fourth place at State. 

The Rangers were tied  with Willow Lake after the first day of competition with both teams at 239 for the day.

“We played a solid round on day one that kept us in the hunt. Nothing was spectacular, but we didn’t play ourselves out of contention, which we had done the last few tournaments,” said head coach Josh Daiss

Day two on the Brookings Country Club course brought another battle in windy conditions  with Willow Creek edging out the Rangers 241 to 242 for the day, giving them that fourth-place tournament finish.

“We played well the second day also. We stayed within striking distance the whole tournament but never found that spark we needed to make a big push,” said Daiss.

Bon Homme took home the championship with a two-day total of 472. Philip was the runner up at 478 followed by Clark-Willow Lake’s 480 and the Rangers at 481.

Senior Zane Messick ended the tournament in 18th place with a two-day total of 157. Messick got one birdie in the tournament. Breylon Rahn finished just a stroke behind at 158 for the two days. He tied for 20th and had four birdies overall.

Senior Max Rupert finished 52nd with a two round total of 166, and Leyton Thayer finished tied for 61st with a 168 overall. All four finished in the top half. 

“Zane and Max have had wonderful careers with the Rangers, and their leadership has left the program in a great spot for the future,”  said Daiss. “We are going to miss them, but we have young players who have been biding their time and are ready to step up for the Rangers next season.”  

Daiss was also once again named Region 6B Coach of the Year.