Hi-Liner Golf continues to strike the ball well finishing 3rd at Region 3

The youth movement continues to shine for the Valley City Hi-Liners boys golf team. After weeks of steadily building confidence and consistency throughout the spring, the Hi-Liners turned in another impressive performance Tuesday at the Region 3 Tournament in Carrington, placing third overall out of 14 teams with a team score of 329.

For a program that has quietly developed into one of the most intriguing teams in Region 3 this season, Tuesday’s finish felt less like a surprise and more like confirmation of what this group has been building toward all spring long.

Valley City finished behind only Linton/HMB (316) and New Rockford-Sheyenne (323), while finishing ahead of solid regional programs including Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter, Griggs-Midkota, Carrington, and Edgeley-Kulm.

Leading the charge were eighth graders Kallen Hansen and Gray Kasowski, who each fired rounds of 80 to finish tied for ninth overall individually and earn All-Region 3 honors.

That alone tells the story of where this program is headed.

Not only are the Hi-Liners competitive right now, they are doing it with an incredibly young core that continues to mature meet after meet. Hansen and Kasowski have consistently placed themselves near the top of leaderboards throughout the season, and once again showed poise on one of the biggest stages of the regular season.

The depth behind them continues to be equally important.

Freshman Austin Anderson carded an 84, eighth grader Brody Kalbrener shot an 85, Beck Dietrich added an 86, and seventh grader Gavin Wiebe rounded out the varsity scoring with an 87.

Perhaps the most impressive stat of the entire day: all six Hi-Liner golfers finished inside the top 26 individually out of 77 total competitors.

That type of balance matters tremendously this time of year.

Throughout the season, Valley City has steadily lowered team scores while showing the ability to survive difficult spring conditions, windy days, and pressure moments. Earlier this season the Hi-Liners captured the Valley City Invite title at Bjornson Park and have consistently hovered near the top of tournament standings across Region 3 competition. The growth from early April into mid-May has been noticeable, especially in overall consistency from spots one through six in the lineup.

Now the focus shifts toward the postseason push.

The Hi-Liners will close out the regular season Tuesday, May 19 at Memorial Park Golf Course in Grand Rapids before turning their attention to the NDHSAA Super Regional on May 26 at Jamestown Country Club. The Super Regional combines teams from both Region 3 and Region 4, with the top four teams and top 20 individual golfers advancing to the state tournament.

Based on how Valley City has played over the past several weeks, the Hi-Liners have positioned themselves squarely in the conversation to qualify for state as a team.

And maybe the most dangerous part for the rest of the region?

This group still feels like it is only scratching the surface. ⛳🔥