Boys take 3rd, girls 4th in Great Falls

By DAVID ERICKSON

Whitefish Pilot

The Whitefish boys golf team finished third and the girls finished fourth at the Great Falls Invitational high school golf tournament Aug. 20-21.

Daniel Marcus, 81-71—152, greatly improved his play on the second day to lead the Whitefish golfers. He finished in third place, the only Bulldog golfer to place in the top 10.

“I was pleased to see him do that in the tournament, because I know he’s capable,” said Terry Nelson, the head golf coach at Whitefish High School. “It was a great tournament, and our kids did well.”

Sam Krause had a 77 on Monday and an 84 on Tuesday, which Nelson described as a “really bad day” for him.

Chelsea Ray opened with an 87 and closed with an 85 to lead the Whitefish girls with a 172. Nelson also praised some of the younger girls.

“We had a good surprise from Kiley McConnell (89, 100—189) for a freshman, and a good tournament from sophomore BreAnna Cameron (95-88 — 183),” Nelson said. “We can expect her to do really well.”

As is common in Great Falls, wind was a factor.

“Our kids aren’t used to playing in 40 mph winds, and after a while it wears you down,” Nelson said. “The real long hitters in the wind paid the biggest price. We need to learn how to adjust when the wind’s blowing and get the most out of our golf game.”

Nelson said he is optimistic about the upcoming season for both of his teams.

“With the boys, the competitiveness was great, and with the girls, depth is what’s going to make them so good this year,” he said. “We’re off to a good start.”

Following are final scores after two round of the Great Falls Invitational, played Monday at Meadow Lark Country Club, par 72, and Tuesday at Eagle Falls Golf Course, par 71.

Girls team scores

Bozeman 720, Billings West 730, CMR 737, Whitefish 738, Butte 783, Billings Senior 785, Helena Capital 826, Great Falls High 827, Glacier 831, CMR No. 2 833, Missoula Sentinel 839, Havre 845, Helena 861, Missoula Hellgate 868, Flathead 885, Billings Skyview 918, Missoula Big Sky NS.

Top 10 girls

1st Morgan Lee, GFH, 82-85 — 167; 2nd Chelsea Ray, Whitefish, 87-85 — 172; 3rd (tie) Whitney Lamb, Hellgate, 89-85 — 174; Julie Campbell, Boz, 85-89 — 174; Emily Gates, West, 84-90 — 174; 6th (tie) Alexa Bell, CMR, 84-91 — 175; Rikka Holiday, Boz, 89-86 — 175; Ashleigh Ogolin, Butte, 87-88 — 175; 9th (tie) Natalie Beard, CMR, 84-93 — 177; Erin King, West, 86-91 — 177.

Individual scores girls

Whitefish (738) — Chelsea Ray 87-85 — 172, Kiley McConnell 89-100 — 189, BreAnna Cameron 95-88 — 183, Quinn Micklewright 95-99 — 194, Ellen Scheffer 118-121 — 239.

Boys team scores

Billings West 630, Glacier 637, Whitefish 646, Billings Senior 650, CMR 657, Missoula Hellgate 658, Helena 661, Bozeman 664, Missoula Big Sky 665, Billings Skyview 668, Missoula Sentinel 675, Butte 677, Helena Capital 678, Flathead 695, Havre 697, CMR No. 2 703, Great Falls 721, Great Falls No. 2 762.

Top 10 boys

1st Larry Iverson, Glacier, 77-72 — 149; 2nd Jake Hedge, West, 74-76 — 150; 3rd Daniel Marcus, WF, 81-71 — 152; 4th Colin Gunstream, Hellgate, 78-75 — 153; 5th (tie) Aaren Remus, CMR, 81-73 — 154; Austin Dean, West, 76-78 — 154; Tyler Wengel, Butte, 81-73 — 154; 8th (tie) Jeremy Jensen, Havre, 78-79 — 157; Graham Schmaltz, Glacier, 77-80 — 157; 10th (tie) Matt Beard, CMR, 79-79 — 158; James Gibbon, Boz, 80-78 — 158; Brian Beach, Big Sky, 82-76 — 158.

Individual scores boys

Whitefish (646) — Sam Krause 77-84 — 161, Ryan Zalucky 77-84 — 161, Daniel Marcus 81-71 — 152, Joel Mallams 88-87 — 175, Andre Groschupf 91-84 — 175.