Whitefish golf dominates CFalls tourney, good showing at Western A Kickoff

In the first week of competition, the Bulldog golf team got off to a solid start despite weather conditions getting in the way of the invitationals.

Whitefish was set to kick off its season against Laurel at the Old Works Golf Course in Anaconda last Wednesday, however thunderstorms and rainy weather led to the cancellation of the event. At the last minute, Whitefish was able to get into the Columbia Falls Invite at Meadow Lake Golf Course.

Whitefish came out strong in its opening competition, with both the boys and girls teams winning in the team standings. Johnny Nix shot a winning score of 76 and teammate Billy Smith came in second with 81.

Anyah Cripe shot a 94, which was good enough for third place in the overall standings for the girls. Behind her, teammates Tallory Workman and Macy Whisenand both shot a score of 126.

On Saturday Whitefish only took a boys team to the Browning Invite. According to head coach Tait Rocksund, it rained off and on all day which led to challenging conditions. Whitefish was led by freshman Otto Klein with a score of 84; Klein took second in the individual scores with Polson’s Torrin Ellis edging him by one less shot.

“Otto made a lot of up and downs and clutch putts to put himself in position for contention to win,” Rocksund said. “There was a par-3 that was 235 yards, which made par a great score. This was the theme for many of the holes as the wet conditions really kept the ball from rolling out.”

Bulldog Riley Brown had the next best score for Whitefish with 90. Rocksund says Brown really came through on the back nine, the second time through the 9-hole course.

“When Riley’s ball striking is on, he can keep up with anyone in Class A golf,” Rocksund expressed. “Riley’s distance off the tee helped shorten up a long golf course [Saturday] to help him put up a competitive score.”

Whitefish hosted the Western A Kickoff at Whitefish Lake Golf Course on Monday and again the boys came away with the team victory.

Nix led the boys team and took tournament medalist honors with a solid four under par, scoring a 68. Smith came in second in a strong field of northwest and southwest schools scoring 71. As a team the boys scored 295.

“Anytime you break 300 in a high school tournament you know your team put up some solid numbers,” Rocksund said.

For the girls on their home course, Cripe led the Lady Bulldogs with a 96, putting her in sixth place overall. The rest of the girls put up good scores as well and the girls team finished second behind Polson.

“I am very excited about the progress our girls’ team is making,” Rocksund said.

The coach said he was pleased overall with the first tournament of the year that pinned the top golfers in the western divisions against each other.

“We don’t need to play our best golf right now; we do at state in early October,” he said. “I think the progress I’m seeing right now as a head coach confirms we are getting better each week, which will make for an exciting year.”

Next the Bulldogs play in Ronan on Thursday morning at 10 a.m.

Western A Kickoff

Whitefish Lake Golf Course

Aug. 23

Boys — Team Scores

Whitefish 295; 2. Polson 310; 3. Libby 365; 4. Ronan 368; 5. Frenchtown 391; 6. Col. Falls 407; 7. Browning 424

Individual Whitefish Scores

Johnny Nix 68

Billy Smith 71

Marcus Kilman 76

Bjorn Olson 80

Gates Gilman 86

Girls — Team Scores

Polson 395; 2. Whitefish 424; 3. Frenchtown 437; 4. Browning 453; No score for Libby, Col. Falls, Ronan.

Individual Whitefish Scores

Anyah Cripe 96

Stella Jaffe 108

Tallory Workman 109

Macy Whisenand 111

Leia Brennan 123

Browning Invite

Glacier Park Lodge Golf Course

Aug. 21

Boys — Team Scores

Polson 347; 2. Whitefish 371; 3. Havre 379; 4. Libby 388; 5. Frenchtown 406

Individual:

Torrin Ellis 83, Polson; 2. Otto Klein 84, Whitefish; 3. Carson Hupka 86, Polson; 4. Christian Lund - 87, Polson; 4. Kamas Romney - 87, Frenchtown

Columbia Falls Golf Invitational

Meadow Lake Golf Course

Aug. 18

Boys — Team Scores

Whitefish 329; 2. Libby 372; 3. Col. Falls 410; 4. Corvallis 417; 5. Frenchtown 425; 6. Browning 484

Individual Whitefish scores

Johnny Nix 76

Billy Smith 81

Bjorn Olson 85

Marcus Kilman 87

Matthew Peschel 90

Girls — Team Scores

Whitefish 479; 2. Frenchtown 483; Did not field full team: Corvallis, Ronan, Col. Falls

Individual Whitefish Scores

Anyah Cripe 94

Tallory Workman 126

Macy Whisenand 126

Stella Jaffe 133

Leia Brennan 158