Golf: Douglas leads after first day of regionals

The Douglas girls’ golf team battled through frigid conditions Monday at Elko to emerge as the Day 1 leader in the Northern 4A Regional championships.

Douglas carded a team score of 334, 18 strokes ahead of second-place Manogue (352) and sophomore Bethany Wurster came in as the overall leader with a three-over 75.

“The kids played really well today,” Douglas coach Steve Gustafson said. “They hit a lot of greens today but the pins were in some very tough spots.

“It was difficult to putt. The scores were higher than they expected, but overall they played great as a team.”

Senior Michele Nikkels came in fourth with an 84, Heather Henderson tied for sixth at 86, Shelby Louie tied for 13th at 89 and Annika Crowe shot a 106.

“Michele was solid today,” Gustafson said. “She was consistent throughout her round and made a lot of great shots. Heather and Shelby played pretty well today. They learned a lot about this course and they expect to play better tomorrow.

“Annika played really well with a new season-low. She had a great chance of scoring lower, but an unfortunate break on No. 9 cost her two strokes (out of bounds).

After Douglas, Manogue, Spanish Springs and Elko are all within 15 strokes of each other.