Williston High School has been a regular at the state girls golf meet over the years.

In order to make it back to state for a sixth straight year, the Lady Coyotes will need to take their individual games to another level.

"We've got to have everybody firing on all cylinders to get back," said Williston girls goal coach Dennis Healy.

Despite the loss of Ashley Beard, one of the top golfers in the state last season, Williston has plenty of returning experience, making a return trip to state a real possibility.

Williston's top returner is Miranda Zavalney, who finished 14th in the WDA last season. She also came in 13th at last season's state meet. Zavalney's round of 81 was the second-best round posted by a Williston golfer at the state meet.

Kayla Barke finished 37th in the WDA last season. She was 60th at state and finished the season with an average of 109.

"She has put in a lot of work this summer," Healy said of Barke. "She's won a couple of tournaments."

Cari Zavalney was 40th in the WDA, 62nd at state and finished the season with a 116 average.

Anna Peterson was 42nd in the WDA, 67th at state and had an average of 118.

Although it doesn't appear anybody will be able to fill the void left by Beard directly, the Lady Coyotes are more than capable of making up for her loss as a team.

"We're not going to be able to replace her individual score," Healy said. "But if everyone takes 10 strokes off their average, we will be able to match our team scores."

As the season gets under way, the talk around many of the state's golf courses is the Minot Lady Magicians. Minot is the defending state champion and appears ready to defend its title.

Minot returns three golfers, who finished in the top 10 at state last season. The Lady Magicians also have two other returners, who finished last season in the top 28.

But the Lady Coyotes are focusing on themselves.

"Our goal is back into the 300s team score," Healy said. "We had a 387 average last year at all of our meets."

Williston will open the season Friday at Turtle Mountain Community High School Invitational in Rolla.

The Lady Coyotes will also take part in the East/West Classic on Monday and Tuesday in Jamestown.

The Lady Coyotes lone home match of the regular-season will be Sept. 10.

Williston will also host the WDA meet on Sept. 28. Both meets will be played at the Links of North Dakota.