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Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

Smith, Olson heading to state tourney

David Colburn
Posted 5/31/23

FIELD TWP- North Woods golfers Tori Olson and Eli Smith are headed to the state tournament after turning in strong performances at the 7A sectional tournament in Virginia last week. Junior Olson was …

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Smith, Olson heading to state tourney

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FIELD TWP- North Woods golfers Tori Olson and Eli Smith are headed to the state tournament after turning in strong performances at the 7A sectional tournament in Virginia last week.
Junior Olson was expected to challenge for a spot high on the leaderboard, coming into the tourney having placed fifth or better in every tournament this season except Hibbing, where she placed seventh. She set the pace in the opening round on Wednesday, May 24 by firing an 85 and was five shots clear of the field at the end of the day. Olson put up the same score in Thursday’s second round, but couldn’t hold off a charge from Walker-Hackensack-Akeley’s Kianna Johnson, who carded a 78 to slip past Olson 168-170 for the crown.
Smith came into the tourney playing well after having captured his third tourney title of the season the prior Monday with a two-under 33 at Babbitt. Smith struggled on the back nine Wednesday, shooting an 83 for the day and slotting in at seventh going into the second round. The Grizzlies’ senior was up and down on the front on Thursday, firing a pair of birdies to offset a couple of double bogeys, then made his move on the second nine. Smith headed for clubhouse by shooting eight shots better on the back nine than he had the previous day, canning a birdie on the 17th hole to finish with a 38 that vaulted him to fourth with a 36-hole total of 162.
Olson and Smith are no strangers to Pebble Creek Golf Club in Becker, site of the Class A state tourney on June 13-14. As a member of the North Woods state team, Olson placed 79th in 2019. The tournament was canceled in 2020 due to COVID-19, but Olson was back the next year, placing 46th. In 2022 she made a big leap in the standings, finishing 11th. Smith placed 63rd as a member of the boys team in 2021.