By Rich Winter

605 Sports

GREGORY — Just over a week ago, Gregory junior Kade Stukel was helping the Gorilla track team to a fourth-place finish at the Class B state track meet in Sioux Falls with his prowess as a sprinter. 

On Monday, he’ll tee off at the Elks Golf Course in Rapid City with a Gregory team that figures to be in contention for the Class B team title. 

To say that Stukel has been busy preparing for both sports this spring would be an understatement. 

“Every day except Wednesday I go to track practice first,” Stukel said. “That gets over at about 4:30 p.m. and then I go out and work on my golf game.” 

Working on his golf game is something Stukel has only been doing for a few years. He says he goofed around a bit his freshman year before current teammate Eli Fogel convinced him he should give the sport a try as a sophomore. 

A relative novice in golf, Stukel fired a (78) to earn medalist honors at the Region 4B golf meet on May 24 at Mitchell’s Lakeview Golf Course. 

“A lot of my success on the golf course is just natural,” he said. “I feel like I have a good mind set and was gifted from god to do well at this sport.” 

Stukel spends most of his practice time on the Gregory golf course but says he gets over to Burke with regularity as he notes the greens are a little bit better. 

Stukel figures the Elks Golf Course will offer a significant challenge for Class B boys golfers. 

“It’s definitely different and you have to play the ball and move it around a little more,” he said. “A challenging course means you have to get more creative but you also have to play smart.” 

The one thing this dual sport athlete thrives upon is the ‘big stage’.

“I guess I like the pressure and the atmosphere and the environment. 

For a sprinter coming off a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash (:11.26), a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (:23.03) and a second-place finish in the 400-meter relay (:44.96), Stukel notes the different mentalities it takes to be successful in such different sports. 

Gregory's Kade Stukel finished fourth in the Class B 100-meter dash.

“Golf is more of a mental game and you have to pay attention and focus for the entire golf tournament,” he said. “In track you are in the blocks and you have to focus for just a short burst.” 

The Gregory team of Trey Murray, Eli Fogel and Stukel got a lift earlier this year when senior Coy Determan was cleared for golf after missing most of the last two sports seasons with knee injuries. 

“He’s going to play basketball at Northwestern in Iowa,” Stukel said. “Everyone on the team likes one another and we text each other a lot and go out and play golf.” 

The Gorillas finished second at the Region 4B meet just two shots behind region champion Ethan. 

“The goal at the beginning of the year was to win state,” Stukel said. “And we all have our own individual goals.”

Stukel enters Monday’s Class B state tournament playing in the second flight with Sam Hansen (Great Plains Lutheran), Gavin Colson (Sully Buttes) and Wyatt Larson (McIntosh).