SPEARFISH, S.D.- The Black Hills State Yellow Jackets will head out to Arizona for the first time since spring of 2022 to open their season. The Yellow Jackets will be competing with 12 teams including two who are ranked in the top 100 in the country as BHSU will get it's first test since their fall season ended in mid-October and will look to take what they've learned in the offseason to help them keep building on what was a pretty strong fall. BHSU will be in Litchfield Park, Arizona at the Wigwam Golf Club-Blue Course Monday and Tuesday in what will the be the first of four spring tournaments for the Yellow Jackets.


TOURAMENT DETAILS
Dates: March 16-17
Location: Litchfield Park, Ariz. – Wigwam Golf Club-Blue Course
Time: Monday will be tee times that begin at 10:16 AM with BHSU's first player teeing off at 12:49 PM
Tuesday will be tee times that begin at 10:16 AM with BHSU's first player teeing off at TBA
Live Scoring: Live Scoring will be on Scoreboard Live at the link above
Par: Par 70
 
BLACK HILLS STATE STORYLINES

• The Yellow Jackets enter the spring season after playing some great tournaments in the fall in Billings as well with the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational. The Yellow Jackets finished eighth place at the YFI with them shooting a 680 (+104) over the two days in Billings in which they dropped a spot on day two. BHSU was very close to cracking the top ten 18 hole scores after the first round when they shot a fantastic 335 (+47) and sat in seventh place after the first day before shooting a 345 (+57) on day two.
• The Yellow Jackets finished their fall season with a sixth place performance in their second tournament in Billings where they shot a team score of 695 (+119).
• This will be the first time BHSU has played at the SMSU Classic and will be the first time since 2022 that BHSU has played a round of golf in Arizona. The last time was at the RMAC Championships when they were hosted at Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Ariz. BHSU did play at Wigwam in 2021 in the RMAC Championship as well in a tournament that Jade Burr posted what was the best ever 54-hole score of 246 (+36) before it was broken a couple of times in past two years.
• BHSU was picked to finish 10^th in the RMAC in the RMAC Women's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll finishing ahead of Adams State and just behind rivals Chadron State and South Dakota Mines.
• Katie Jorgenson played in all six tournaments this fall and finished with a 85.4 scoring average that season. She had her best tournament of the season in Spearfish shooting a 167 (+23) over the two days and finishing 18^th in the Homestake Invite. She shot a 83 and an 84 over the two days which were the two best rounds of the tournament by any Yellow Jacket. She was able to put together a strong 84 (+12) at the Yellowjacket Fall Invitational on day two of the tournament to put her with a 171 (+27) and in a 34^th place finish. She had a top 15 finish in the Briarwood Shootout, when she posted a 170 (+26) over two days to finish in 15^th.
• Shelbi Gardner is looking to continue one of the best freshman year's in BHSU history after averaging an 83.7 in the fall. She led the team with a 165 (+21) over the two days at the Travis Roy Memorial Invite and shot her second round in the 70s this season with a 79 on day one in Sheridan. This came a week after she shot 77 (+5) on day one of the Swan Memorial, which was tied for the seventh best round in BHSU history and the second best by a freshman. She then finished by shooting 82 (+10) on day two to score a 159 (+15) for a 36-hole score that would put her tied for sixth all time in BHSU history and the best 36-hole score by a freshman in program history. Gardner once again led the team with a 167 (+23). She had a very consistent 83 (+11) and 84 (+12) on the two rounds and had a birdie each day of the tourney. She finished 24^th in the event. She finished 20^th in the Briarwood with a 174 (+30).
• Makaela Swanson will look to keep going strong after a great end to her season, where she shot 169 (+25) for a 13^th place finish at the Briarwood Shootout, which led the team. She also shot a 169 (+25) at the Travis Roy Memorial Invite this past week that included an 82 (+10) on day two of the tourney. She had a strong finish at the Swan Memorial as well where she finished in a tie for 49^th place with a 164 (+20) and had a team-low 79 (+7) in round two. Swanson had a great 81 (+9) on the first day and still shot second on the team with a 168 (+24) over the two days at the course she's been very good at. She still finished top 30 with a 28^th place finish.
• Abbi Beld is coming off an impressive fall season, where she averaged 84.6 over five rounds. She had a 170 (+26) at Spearfish that put her top 25 in the tournament. She will be trying to continue her solid year so far in Billings, including an 83 (+11) in the first round of the Swan Memorial before she withdrew on the second day. She was off to a brilliant start shooting a 40 (+4) on the front nine in her only round and still shot a great 18-hole score with only one hole worse than bogey. She shot a 174 (+30) in her final fall tournament at the Yellowjacket Fall Shootout, which put her in 31^st place.
• Leyni Stavola is looking to bounce back in the spring after a up-and-down fall, where she averaged 90.7 over eight rounds. She shot a 196 (+52) in the Homestake Invite. Stavola broke that with a 193 (+49) in Billings at the Yellowjacket Fall Invite to end her fall season. She tied her career-low 18-hole score at the Swan Memorial when she shot a 79 on day two.
• Olivia McCandless will be making her 2025-26 debut as an individual at the SMSU Classic in Arizona. The senior did not play in the fall, but ended her 2024-25 season on a hot streak finishing with two top ten finishes in her final three tournaments. She posted a 164 (+22) at the 2025 Hardrocker Spring Invite for a third place finish and then posted a 164 (+20) for a ninth place finish at the DWU Spring Invite. This included an 80 (+9) on day two of the HSI.
• Randy Doran is currently in his second season as head coach at BHSU and is looking to continue breaking records and setting new lows.

 
BLACK HILLS STATE TEAM LINEUP

Position	Name	Tee Time
1.	Katie Jorgenson	12:49 p.m.
2.	Shelbi Gardner	12:58 p.m.
3.	Makaela Swanson	1:16 p.m.
4.	Abbi Beld	1:25 p.m.
5.	Leyni Stavola	1:34 p.m.

BLACK HILLS STATE INDIVIDUAL ATHLETES
 

Position	Name	Tee Time
1.	Olivia McCandless	1:43 p.m.