SPEARFISH - The Lead-Deadwood girls' golf team will be in familiar territory beginning today, chasing a fifth straight Class A team title on their home course - Spearfish Canyon Country Club.

The top flight group of Lead-Deadwood's Dani Bellet, Milbank's Rachel Patnoe, Aberdeen Roncalli's Katie Heller and Dakota Valley's Nicole Funck will tee off at 10 a.m.

Defending individual champion Abby Feehan of Dell Rapids graduated last year and will not be back to defend her title. The top returning finisher from last year's state championship at Madison is the Golddiggers' Jenessa Rantapaa. Bellet, Heller and Patnoe finished in a three-way tie for fifth last season, but Bellet enters this year's tournament as the top seed after registering a 77 at Custer's Rocky Knolls Golf Course in the Region 4A championship.

It looks like the Golddiggers' main team competition might come from a familiar place, as the arch-rival Belle Fourche Broncs come into the tourney with the next lowest region score. The Golddiggers - Bellet, Jenessa Rantapaa, Ellise Nichols, Tassy Rantapaa and Mikayla Gallagher - won their 11th straight Black Hills Conference title earlier this year in addition to the region title.

"I don't really know who the teams from around the state are to beat this season," Lead-Deadwood head coach Joan Rachetto said. "I know that Belle Fourche is very good, and that Dell Rapids and Vermillion usually have good teams, but as far as a favorite goes I don't really know.

"We just want to go out and play the course and not worry about what other teams are doing. If we can go out and do that we should be fine."

The Golddiggers head into this year's state championship for the first time in their run without a Hofer on the team, as sisters Brittnay and Tara combined for three individual titles from 2004-06.

"That's something that the girls talk about, not having Tara around," Rachetto admitted. "They miss her, but our senior, Dani, has done a great job of filling the leadership role."

The Broncs have senior Rachel Sacrison and freshman Cordelia Bowman each coming off rounds of 88 in the Region 4A championship, and Ashley Watson, Allie Day and Berlynn Browning rounding out the team.

"Bellet has to be one of the top golfers in the state," Belle Fourche head coach Clark Gusso said after the Region 4A meet. "You have to beat Lead-Deadwood; they are not going to give you anything.

"I do not see anyone beating them at the state level, Vermillion and Milbank could challenge. I feel we can be one of the top five teams at state."

Other individuals to watch include Dell Rapids' Ann Pierson, Groton's Jesssica Hoscheid, Custer's Claire Carson and St. Thomas More's Danielle Kerr. Kerr, a freshman, fired an 86 at the Region 4A meet last week to take third place behind Bellet and Jenessa Rantapaa.

The advantages of playing at home will be big for Lead-Deadwood, but could also be negated some by the added pressure of playing in a "supposed to win" situation.

"It's a big advantage because there are a lot of lay-ups on this course and we know exactly what clubs to use," Bellet said of playing in familiar surroundings. "But there's also a lot of pressure because everybody is always saying, 'You guys are going to do so good because it's your home course,' and then if you do bad it's kind of like, whoops."

The first group tees off on Monday at 10 a.m., followed by each subsequent group every nine minutes. There are 14 full teams competing for the team title this year - Lead-Deadwood, Belle Fourche, Dell Rapids, West Central, Hot Springs, Milbank, Dakota Valley, Parkston, Vermillion, Chamberlain, Wagner, Aberdeen Roncalli, Sioux Falls Christian and Elk Point-Jefferson.

There are 97 individual players scheduled to compete. The final round will begin Tuesday at 9 a.m.