Lady Dog golfers take first at Northwest A Kickoff

Bulldogs golf teed off their season with some strong performances at the Northwest A Kickoff at Whitefish Lake Golf Club last week.

The girls took first place overall while the short-handed boys team took fifth.

“I’m really proud of the way the kids played,” head coach Bill Kahle said. “I’m pretty excited about this season.”

“The younger ones really stepped up and played well for their first tournament of the year,” he added.

The Whitefish girls put together an overall team score of 399 for first, ahead of Polson’s 402 and Libby’s 446.

Ella Shaw led the girls with a 91 for third place, behind Frenchtown’s Courtney Ockum (83) and Ronan’s Brooklyn Olson (88). Senior Gracie Young shot a 97 for sixth and Megan Archibald posted a 103.

“[Shaw] had never broken 100 ever and she shot a 91 for her low score on the girls side,” Kahle said. “It’s great to see them hitting the ground running this year. They’re off to a great start.”

For the boys, Kahle said the team played well despite missing a few golfers in the early season tournament.

Cameron Kahle posted a team-high 86 to tie for 11th, and Drew Brozek (92) and Grant Kahle (94) followed behind to round out the Bulldogs’ top three.

“It was great to see them play relaxed and follow through on playing the whole 18 holes. They were very consistent all the way through, that’s a good sign for the future,” Kahle said.

Libby’s Ryggs Johnston continued his dominating prep career with an 11-under 61, breaking the North Course record of 64 set by professional golfer Ryan Malby.

On the boys side, Hamilton took first as a team with a 320, with Polson and Libby following in second and third place.

Kahle said he’s happy to see a big turnout of nearly 50 kids for the sport this season. Despite a wide range of ability levels on the team, Kahle is hoping to see his players at the state tournament in Sidney at the end of the season.

Along with Kahle, the coaching staff of Tait Rocksund, Doug Reed and Jeff Doorn will be working with the student athletes this year.

This year’s team has just a pair of seniors — Young for the girls and Jamie Schwartz for the boys — and a couple of juniors, Kahle said, so developing the younger players on the team as much as possible will be key to setting up a strong Bulldogs golf program for years to come.

“[We’re] very young,” he said. “The future for the Bulldogs looks very, very promising.”

Whitefish will head to Frenchtown today for the next competition on their schedule.

Northwest A Kickoff Results

Whitefish Lake Golf Club

North Course

Wednesday

Boys Individual

Ryggs Johnston Libby 61

Bryce Reed Hamilton 74

Tristen Hanson Hamilton 75

Carson McDaniel Polson 75

Matt Hobbs Polson 76

Trey Kelley Polson 79

Zel Frost Stevensville 80

Derek Wolff Frenchtown 81

Tanner Hanson Hamilton 84

Tyler Langton Columbia Falls 85

Logan Lybbert Columbia Falls 86

Cameron Kahle Whitefish 86

Zach Taylor Hamilton 87

Ben Duhame Frenchtown 89

Trey Perkins Columbia Falls 90

Sean Craft Stevensville 92

Drew Brozek Whitefish 92

Sebo Sanders Libby 94

Calvin Nowlan Polson 94

Grant Kahle Whitefish 94

Anthony Camel Ronan 95

Ivan Yazvac Stevensville 95

Colby Emmoas Frenchtown 96

Hogan Kelley Polson 96

Michael McKay Corvallis 97

Nate Hull Corvallis 97

Andrew Freese Libby 97

Riley Vogel Libby 98

Colton Mauler Stevensville 102

Mark Pollock Browning 103

Alex Stein Whitefish 103

Trey Thompson Libby 104

Erik Miller Whitefish 104

Nick Draper Hamilton 106

Luke Schlimgen Corvallis 107

Matt Glenn Corvallis 107

Nic Maetello Frenchtown 107

Reush Powell Columbia Falls 112

Ashton Pintok Corvallis 118

DJ Laycock Columbia Falls 141

Girls Individual

Courtney Ockum Frenchtown 83

Brooklyn Olson Ronan 88

Ella Shaw Whitefish 91

Cali Cannon Polson 93

Maykayla Iabuff Browning 96

Gracie Young Whitefish 97

Amanda Farley Polson 98

Kelci Martin Hamilton 101

Berkley Ellis Polson 101

Sammee Bradeen Libby 102

Keelee Storrud Corvallis 103

Megan Archibald Whitefish 103

Anna Elm Whitefish 108

Cathrine Gustin Frenchtown 109

Harper Armitage Frenchtown 110

Esme Yarbrough Polson 110

Allie Snyder Libby 112

Kendall Reed Whitefish 112

Dainya Polk Browning 113

Sydney Croucher Libby 116

Kahlyn Hagness Libby 116

Haile Spear Hamilton 126

Chloe Patterson Corvallis 128

Signee Storrud Corvallis 129

Hylee Cannon Libby 133

Kalie Patterson Corvallis 149

Boys Team

Hamilton 320

Polson 324

Libby 350

Stevensville 369

Columbia Falls 373

Frenchtown 373

Whitefish 375

Corvallis 408

Girls Team

Whitefish 399

Polson 402

Libby 446

Corvallis 509