Lake City entered the state tournament with a pair of individuals eying the leaderboard. Those same eyes were shooting darts as the Tigers left the links after the first day of the Class AA state tournament.

Senior Travis Heitman felt like he played much better than his score indicated, though his 78 has him just seven shots back of the co-leaders. A poor finish on his first nine left him scrambling to make up ground, which he did with mixed success.

He bogeyed Hole 8 and carded a double bogey on the next hole to go 40-38.

“I really don’t know how I didn’t shoot better,” Heitman said. “I just wasn’t quite hitting the greens, I guess.”

Junior Erika Meincke expressed similar disappointment.

She was paired with Emily Roering, the individual title contender from Minnewaska Area, and actually outplayed her over the first 11 holes.

However, Meincke suffered a two-hole meltdown that caused her to slip back into a tie for 13th place with an 83.

Meincke went into the water on Hole 12 en route to a triple bogey. She then sent her drive on Hole 13 into the trees, leading to a double bogey.

“I could have been mid-70s, easy,” Meincke said. “I’m glad it’s a two-day tournament.”

Heitman was just as frustrated.

“I’m going low tomorrow,” he said. “That’s all I’m going to say.”

Lake City’s Annalise Wallerich and Marisa Haeska also competed. Wallerich carded an 88 in her state debut, but double bogeyed the final three holes. She finished with 37 putts, which Lake City coach Steve Randgaard pointed to as the reason for her sluggish finish.

Haeska putted better — 34 — but spent too much time in the sand, according to Randgaard. She finished at 94.